
TechTank
TechTank is a biweekly podcast from The Brookings Institution exploring the most consequential technology issues of our time. From artificial intelligence and racial bias in algorithms, to Big Tech, the future of work, and the digital divide, TechTank takes abstract ideas and makes them accessible. Moderators Dr. Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West speak with leading technology experts and policymakers to share new data, ideas, and policy solutions to address the challenges of our new digital world. Sign up to receive the TechTank newsletter for more research and analysis from the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Jul 3, 2023 • 46min
How to Address Issues of Racial Equity and Justice
On this episode of the TechTank podcast, co-host Darrell M. West engages in an enlighteningconversation with Dr. Camille Busette, the interim Vice President of Governance Studies at theBrookings Institution, and Dr. Andre Perry, a senior fellow in the Metro program and Director ofthe Valuing Black Assets Initiative. As project co-leads, these esteemed researchers will sharetheir plans for the new Center and why they believe it will help us address issues of racial equityand justice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 19, 2023 • 43min
Social media and teens: How do they think it impacts them?
In this week’s episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Nicol Turner Lee will be joined by Monica Anderson, director of internet and technology research at the Pew Research Center, Camisha Covington Parker, Dean at Northern Virginia Community College, and Girl Scout leader for Chloe Lee and Camdyn Parker, both high school students, who will share what policymakers and parents should consider when addressing the increasing use and impacts of social media on teens. Together, the guests will delve into a thought-provoking conversation around what policymakers, parents, and communities can do to ensure protections around teens and social media use, and the blind spots of current debates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 5, 2023 • 34min
How AI Disrupts Elections and Influences Voter Choices
With the 2024 elections around the corner, political tensions are running high, and there isconsiderable concern about how generative AI will affect campaigns and election turnout. Thisweek, on the TechTank Podcast, co-host Darrell West will engage in a conversation on thesecrucial matters with Sarah M.L. Bender, an accomplished JD candidate from the University ofMichigan and the author of the article titled "Algorithmic Elections" in the Michigan LawReview. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 22, 2023 • 35min
From The TechTank Archives: Twitter, Trump, and Online Speech
From November 28, 2022: In this episode of the podcast, co-host Darrell West speaks to Nicol Turner Lee, senior fellow in Governance Studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings and Tom Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and the author of a forthcoming Brookings book, “Techlash” about Twitter's future, and the consequences of recent tumultuous changes at the company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 8, 2023 • 51min
Bank failures and the tech sector: For better or for worse?
In the last year, bank failures have dominated the news cycle. On this episode of the TechTank podcast,co-host Nicol Turner Lee will discuss why the technology sector has been particularly sensitive to recentbank failures, and what the future of banking looks like in the digital age. Joining the TechTank podcastto help discuss the future of banking is Aaron Klein, who is the Miriam K. Carliner Chair in EconomicStudies and Senior Fellow at the Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 24, 2023 • 46min
Will the U.S. attain a competitive global spectrum strategy?
Consumer demand for wireless services continue to increase in the U.S., prioritizing the need for more licensed and unlicensed spectrum as more services migrate to mobile platforms. On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Nicol Turner Lee sits down with Scott Blake Harris, Senior Spectrum Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary, National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) about the forthcoming National Spectrum Strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 10, 2023 • 33min
Will Generative AI Kill Jobs?
There has been considerable interest in recent months in generative AI that can answer questions, develop videos, write code, and perform many other tasks. On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host, Darrell West, is joined by a distinguished expert, John Villasenor, professor of engineering, law, public policy, and management at UCLA and co-director of its Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy to discuss if generative AI will take jobs. Will it be possible for organizations to use these new tools to automate job tasks and reduce dependence on human labor? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 27, 2023 • 37min
How Wikipedia Works
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host, Darrell West, dives into howWikipedia handles content moderation, disinformation, and bias. The site is a trusted source ofinformation for many people, but little is known about how it makes decisions and handlescontroversies surrounding its material. Guests are Isabelle Langrock, a PhD candidate at theAnnenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, who is writing adissertation on Open Knowledge Production and Digital Access; and Kent Campbell, aStrategist at Reputation X, a firm that researches Wikipedia references, talk pages, and historicalediting patterns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 13, 2023 • 27min
How social media is changing politics
In this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, guest host Mishaela Robison, research assistant in Brookings Center for Technology Innovation, talks with Annie Wu Henry, former social media producer and strategist for U.S. Senator John Fetterman’s campaign. Described as Fetterman’s “TikTok Whisperer” by the New York Times, Henry discusses how social media and technology are changing the way voters, and society more generally engage with politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 27, 2023 • 53min
How Memes Are Impacting Democracy
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, guest host Mishaela Robison will sit down with Dr. JoanDonovan, Research Director of Harvard Kennedy’s Shorenstein Center and Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist,who leads the Shorenstein Center News Leaders Program, to discuss their book, Meme Wars: The UntoldStory of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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