News Updates

For the United States to maintain its lead over China, the US government must take a stronger hand in guiding and supporting emerging technologies, says a former head of Google who chaired two government panels on innovation and national security. In a finer look at the challenge, an expert on US-China relations writing in the latest Issues examined China’s efforts to dominate 5G cellular technology globally, and she laid out what the US government should do to keep the nation ahead, including getting over its “allergic reaction” to industrial policy.

Technology start-ups had a rough time over the past decade, and many of them are now moving from pushing fast growth to prioritizing profits—with the shift unfolding “in precisely the areas that drew the most hype,” a New York Times article says. In Issues, a technology consultant recently presented data showing how hype—by innovators, investors, companies, universities, and media—was leading to economic losses and slower innovation, and he called on all parties to “evaluate the economic promise of emerging technologies in more realistic ways.”

Three young teenagers are set to be tried as adults for the killing of a college student in New York City in late 2019, but the New York Times editorial board cites problems with trying children as adults, including evidence that adolescent brains differ from adult brains. In Issues, a pioneer in studying brain development laid out the evidence, noting that adolescents’ immature brain anatomy makes them inherently less able to control impulses, assess risk, or consider long-term consequences, and thus makes them deserving of different, less severe treatment by the legal system.

Following the latest Democratic debate, presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg’s campaign posted a video on Facebook that critics claimed was heavily edited to make the other candidates look bad, raising again the question of who should regulate online content, what should be regulated, and how should decisions be made. In Issues, a leading scholar recently argued that the best approach would be for social media companies to propose standards, clearly stating the guidelines used to include or exclude content, and then Congress would regularly review them for approval or modification.

When a new coronavirus emerged in China, some media outlets reported that bats may have spread the pathogen to humans, but there are now calls for caution in placing blame. Indeed, a Texas-based researcher who has spent more than 50 years studying bats around the world earlier warned in Issues against focusing excessively on bats’ possible role in transferring viral diseases to humans—small, in his estimation—adding that society should be worrying more about what humans are doing to bats in the name of science and public health.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is committing $10 billion to combat climate change by supporting “any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.” Sounds good, but will it actually encourage a robust response? Most other climate-focused philanthropic efforts have led to “group think” on solutions, a columnist in Issues recently argued, calling on funders to recognize “not only the need for a broader set of technological options, but also the need to build a broader political coalition that seeks out nontraditional allies and welcomes challenging ideas.”

In a deep look at the history of unidentified flying objects, including the US military’s veiled interest in what it prefers to call “unidentified aerial phenomena,” a journalist writing in Issues didn’t come away a believer, adding that “the Pentagon may well have its own good reason for keeping the UFO story alive.” Now seconding this motion, Popular Mechanics reports on its nearly yearlong investigation of the Pentagon’s “secret”—and often confusing—interest, finding that “the government can’t keep its story straight about its involvement with UFO research.”

Ever more countries and private companies are exploring or working in space, often outpacing the innovation, speed, and cost effectiveness of government agencies of established space powers, an analyst recently noted in Issues. And the beat goes on, as the tiny United Arab Emirates is taking an unusual approach—and building an unconventional team featuring high percentages of young and female scientists and engineers—to send a spacecraft named “Hope” to Mars, where it will orbit and remotely probe the Red Planet to answer key questions about its atmosphere.

A coalition of stakeholders from across US political, economic, and social sectors has released new details fleshing out its plan to use carbon fees—an idea explored in Issues—as a cost-effective and equitable climate solution. Along with nudging domestic actions, the plan is expected to spur other nations to act by allowing the United States to apply border-crossing adjustments—another idea explored in Issues—to boost fees or grant rebates on carbon-intensive exports and imports based on whether the other country had comparable carbon-pricing policies.

In a major international trial, two experimental drugs designed to fight brain plaques widely linked to Alzheimer’s disease have failed to stop the cognitive decline characteristic of the disorder—a result a team leader called “really crushing.” But perhaps not surprising. In Issues recently, a policy analyst recounted the poor track record of other Alzheimer’s drug candidates, stressing that “innovation has mostly been in patient care, not biomedical advance,” and a philanthropy leader argued that it is time to focus on “new directions in aging and neurodegeneration research.”

An increasing number of states are using algorithms for legal tasks such as granting parole and setting prison sentences, the New York Times reports, noting that criticism is growing apace, including worries that they are not easily understood by the public and have built-in racial or class biases. Already on the case, a journalist and researcher examined in Issues the claimed pros and cons of using algorithms in criminal justice systems, going on to propose improvements including making their inner workings more transparent and subjecting them to independent audits to spot any untoward effects.

Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has approved a major expansion of a pipeline from the oil sands region in Alberta to storage facilities on the Pacific Coast, ruling against several First Nations groups concerned about the pipeline’s environmental impact. In a column for the Winter 2020 Issues, a communications researcher examined the controversy, tracing the Canadian government’s steps—and missteps—in dealing with the pipeline and larger climate concerns, and offering some lessons for politicians in the United States.