Technology & Innovation

Students laugh and share a joke outside their classroom at the Sudan University of Science and Technology in Khartoum, Sudan, May 14, 2015. In Sudan, which faces insurgences in the western region of Darfur and along its border with breakaway South Sudan, as well as double-digit inflation and high unemployment, life goes on for young people in the capital Khartoum. As well as studying, for those who can afford it, the urban young of Sudan play football and netball, swim and fish in the nearby River Nile, attend prayers at local mosques and enjoy concerts or family celebrations. Other entertainment includes watching U.K. football matches and films on TV, with Facebook being ever popular for chatting amongst friends. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin AbdallahPICTURE 11 OF 28 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY "YOUTH OF TODAY IN SUDAN". SEARCH "YOUNG NURELDIN" FOR ALL IMAGES - GF10000121814

The future of work in Africa: Opportunities and challenges of digital technologies

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Librarian Josh Soule turns on computers in preparation to teach senior citizens how to set up and use a Facebook account during a class at a branch of the New York Public Library in New York August 13, 2012. Seniors, some in their 90s, could soon be making new friends on Facebook thanks to New York libraries offering classes to help the elderly learn, or brush up their social network skills. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION) - GM2E88E0HHA01

Comments on “Employment and training for mature adults: The current system and moving forward” by Paul Osterman

Thursday, November 7, 2019

An Electroimpact automated fiber placement machine, which lays down carbon fiber strips onto the 777X spar, is seen during a media tour of the Boeing 777X at the Boeing Composite Wing Center in Everett, Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. Picture taken February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson - RC1220B68860

Comments on “How automation and other forms of IT affect the middle class: Assessing the estimates” by Jaimovich and Siu

Harry J. Holzer

Thursday, November 7, 2019

A doorway of the Federal Trade Commission building is seen in Washington on March 4, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES) - WM1E834139A01

Highlights: Commissioners discuss the future of the FTC’s role in privacy

Caitlin Chin and Marla Odell

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Visitors check their phones behind the screen advertising facial recognition software during Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) at the National Convention in Beijing, China April 27, 2018. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj - RC1838EC3EA0

For some employment algorithms, disability discrimination by default

Thursday, October 31, 2019

University of New England biomedical research lab manager Brittany Roy works in Ian Meng's laboratory in Biddeford

Is there a responsible way forward for gene editing?

Bhaargavi Ashok and Jack Karsten

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The logos of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are seen in a combination photo from Reuters files. REUTERS/File Photos - RC196FE450D0

To regulate digital platforms, focus on specific business sectors

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Democratic presidential candidates Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren pose before the start of the fourth U.S. Democratic presidential candidates 2020 election debate at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio U.S., October 15, 2019. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk - HP1EFAG00N578

Automation isn’t the only trend affecting workers, but that’s no reason to ignore the threat

Robert Maxim and Mark Muro

Monday, October 21, 2019

On October 1, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings will host Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen, authors of the new book “Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism,” to discuss these themes and present findings from their research on how democratic systems work — and how they fail. Following opening remarks by Brookings Vice President and Director Bruce Jones, Washington Columnist for The Boston Globe Indira Lakshmanan will moderate a conversation with the authors. Questions from the audience will follow the discussion.The rise of populism in the West and the rise of China in the East have stirred a debate about the role of democracy in the international system. The impact of globalization and digital capitalism is forcing worldwide attention to the starker divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” challenging how we think about the social contract. At a time when democracy is being tested internally and its role in the global order questioned, we must assess its current trajectory across regions and discuss the core challenges facing democracies in the West. Can civic participation and direct democracy be integrated into the system without empowering populism? How can governing systems in the West compete against China’s innovations and global ambitions? Can different systems of government co-exist in this age of globalization and integration, or are we facing a clash of systems?

Highlights: Experts discuss how to renovate democracy in a new technological and geopolitical era

Samantha Diaz and Emilie Kimball

Monday, October 21, 2019

A businessman waits to cross a street in Tokyo April 4, 2011. Japanese big manufacturers expect conditions to worsen significantly in the next three months, responses to a Bank of Japan survey collected after the March 11 earthquake showed on Monday. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao (JAPAN - Tags: EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS POLITICS) - GM1E7441E6E01

Putting corporate America’s new ‘stakeholder’ principles to work in regulatory policy

Friday, October 18, 2019