TechTank

On this episode of TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small.Together, they discuss the administration’s ongoing work to close the urban-rural digital divide, how IIJAfunding has helped the USDA expand programs such as the ReConnect program, and how the USDA hasbeen working to meet different communities’ hyperlocal needs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spectrum policy has been essential in determining how to encourage communications technologydevelopment, while ensuring equitable access. On TechTank, Nicol Turner Lee, Andrew Von Ah, ShaneTews and Kathleen Burke discuss pressing topics in spectrum policy and interrogate if the lack ofavailable spectrum will be a dealbreaker in closing the digital divide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On TechTank, Samantha Lai and Darrell West discusses his most recent book, “Power Politics: Trump and the Assault on American Democracy.” Together, they contend with how the weaponization of information threatens American democracy, and what could be done to protect it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On TechTank, guest host Samantha Lai is joined by Lydia X.Z. Brown, Alex Engler and Henry Claypool todiscuss how people with disabilities are affected by existing technologies. They investigate issues withprivacy, AI bias, surveillance technology and more, and consider what is needed to rectify these wrongs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not a single week of 2022 has passed without multiple mass shootings. 343 people have been killedand 1,391 injured through July 4th of this year. On TechTank, host Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Carol Graham andDarrell West examine the role social media has played in past mass shootings and look into how thepublic has reacted online to prospects of gun legislation and rising political polarization in the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency orders and pandemic-era flexibilities for telehealth are quickly expiring, thus ending the many conveniences of telehealth that people benefited from. On TechTank, Samantha Lai is joined by Nicol Turner Lee and Niam Yaraghi to discuss their forthcoming research paper on the future of telehealth, “The roadmap to telehealth efficacy: care, health, and digital equities.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On TechTank, host Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Cameron Kerry and Jennifer King to discuss the current bipartisan and bicameral draft of the American Data Privacy and Protection Act and whether the U.S. can soon expect national legislation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year’s Pride Month comes at a difficult time for LGBTQ+ rights. Over the past year, there have been over 300 anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in at least 28 states, including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that aims to limit LGBTQ+ discussion in schools, and a bill in Ohio that would ban transgender women from participating in high school and college athletics that includes a “verification process” of checking the genitals of those accused of being transgender. On TechTank, Samantha Lai, guest host and research assistant at the Center for Technology Innovation, is joined by David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, and Chris Wood, executive director and co-founder of LGBT Tech, to discuss how technology concerns surrounding privacy, content moderation, facial recognition, and more shape the online experiences of the LGBTQ+ community.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the concept of the Metaverse, but questions surrounding issues of privacy, security, virtual content moderation, the sale of virtual goods, and data ownership remain. On TechTank, host Darrell West is joined by Tom Wheeler and Katherine Cross to discuss the Metaverse and what issues it raises for consumers and businesses.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this technological age, workforce demands for computer science skills have evolved and keep evolving. On TechTank, Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is joined by Michael Hansen, Nicolas Zerbino and Kimberly Scott to discuss what it means to equitably expand access to computer science education for K-12 students. They also look at a recently-released report authored by Hansen and Zerbino, “Exploring the state of computer science education amid rapid policy expansion”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.