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“How Russian Twitter Trolls Influence Society and Elections with Patrick Warren” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast Transcript Episode 013: “How Russian Twitter Trolls Influence Society and Elections with Patrick Warren” Recorded on: October 29, 2018 Sarah: Welcome back to TPI’s Podcast Two Think Minimum. It’s Monday, October 29th, 2018, and I’m Sarah Oh, a research fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Today, we’re excited to talk with Patrick Warren, who has a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and is now an Associate Professor of Economics at Clemson University. Patrick studies how organizations work – organizations including companies, bureaucracies, parties, even armies. Patrick’s […]

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Bitcoin, the Internet of Things, Privacy, Robots, and More. Research Roundup September 2018

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*The Research Roundup is a semi-regular list of outside research we have found interesting and think is worth sharing. The views and conclusions of the papers’ authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone affiliated with TPI. The information below includes edited author abstracts*   This month’s Research Roundup includes new research on the integration of emerging technologies into daily life. “Scheduling last-mile deliveries with truck-based autonomous robots” by Nils Boysen, Stefan Schwerdfeger, and Felix Weidinger discusses the challenges and potential benefits of combining human-driven and autonomous vehicles in delivery systems on […]

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“Victoria Graham on Antitrust and Corporate Crime Journalism” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast Transcript Episode 012: “Victoria Graham on Antitrust and Corporate Crime Journalism” Recorded on: September 27, 2018   Sarah:  Hi and welcome back to TPI’s podcast Two Think Minimum. It’s Thursday, September 27, 2018, and I’m Sarah Oh, a research fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Today we’re excited to talk with Victoria Graham, a journalist with Bloomberg. Victoria Graham as an antitrust and corporate crime reporter for Bloomberg Law in Washington, covering news and trends with the Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal […]

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Home internet access for low-income household helps people manage time, money, and family schedules

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Low-income people may face a “bandwidth tax.” This tax is not necessarily part of the digital divide and is not a reference to the internet at all. Instead, it refers to the phenomenon of not being able to focus on long-term goals because so much cognitive effort is spent simply figuring out how to make ends meet in the short run. But perhaps internet bandwidth could help mitigate the “bandwidth tax.” Could home broadband access help ease the tax burden by giving low-income people a tool to better manage time […]

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5G: Infrastructure, Challenges, and Opportunities – Research Roundup August 2018

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*The Research Roundup is a semi-regular list of outside research we have found interesting and think is worth sharing. The views and conclusions of the papers’ authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone affiliated with TPI.*   This month’s Research Roundup focuses on research discussing new regulatory and economic implications, opportunities, and challenges of 5G. Discussing everything from thirty-thousand-foot views of 5G technology and applications to localized discussions of small cell technology, spectrum, and intermarket relationships, the papers included here are just a small sample of recent 5G research. […]

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Getting rid of Chevron? Be Careful What you Wish For

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While unlikely to draw the level of attention given to abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act, and affirmative action, the status of the “Chevron doctrine” is, to many, a crucial consideration for and against the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. The Chevron doctrine gives regulatory agencies substantial discretion to decide what they can do under the laws that define their authority. The most recent Supreme Court appointee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, opposes Chevron. The doctrine is central to those concerned with what they view as the […]

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The Promises and Politics of Blockchain Technologies: Research Roundup July 2018

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*The Research Roundup is a semi-regular list of outside research we have found interesting and think is worth sharing. The views and conclusions of the papers’ authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone affiliated with TPI.* While we are partial to the work on blockchain by TPI’s own Sarah Oh and Scott Wallsten, “Is Blockchain Hype, Revolutionary, or Both?” and commend it to everyone, it is but part of a fascinating, growing literature. In this month’s Research Roundup we survey some of the newest and most interesting work on […]

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“Laura Martin on Netflix, Content Creation, and Creative Talent” (Two Think Minimum Podcast)

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Two Think Minimum Podcast Transcript Episode 011: “Laura Martin on Netflix, Content Creation, and Creative Talent” Recorded on: July 17, 2018 Scott:  On today’s Two Think Minimum, we sat down with Wall Street analyst, and TPI board member, Laura Martin, to talk about the changing media landscape. As it turned out, we had only about 15 minutes, which we used talking about Netflix. Still, given that Netflix had announced its earnings only the day previously, the conversation was interesting and illuminating. So enjoy this relatively short episode of Two Think […]

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Applying Machine Learning Tools on Web Vacancies for Labour Market and Skill Analysis – Economic and Policy Implications of AI, Blog Post #5

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The following is a summary of Applying Machine Learning Tools on Web Vacancies for Labour Market and Skill Analysis by Emilio Colombo, Fabio Mercorio, and Mario Mezzanzanica. This paper was presented at the Technology Policy Institute Conference on The Economics and Policy Implications of Artificial Intelligence, February 22, 2018.   Advances in artificial intelligence have brought concerns about what people are generally calling “the future of work.” That is, some worry that even if AI and automation increase efficiency and productivity, they may also change labor markets more quickly than people […]

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Europe Strikes Again

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Antitrust enforcement is supposed to protect competition in order to benefit consumers.  By that criterion, the European Commission’s decision against Google’s Android operating system fails miserably.  By proscribing pro-competitive business practices, the Commission’s decision will harm consumers. The Commission claims its decision does not question Android’s open source model, but in reality it relies crucially on Google being the only company to offer a popular open source operating system. The Commission rejects the iPhone as a competitor because Apple’s operating system is proprietary. This strained logic implies the Commission would […]

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