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New technologies—from Internet advances to artificial intelligence to synthetic biology and many more—are transforming the global economy and connecting us in ways unimaginable only a few years ago. Emerging technologies are offering unmatched opportunities to alleviate poverty, raise economic growth, treat disease, and improve lives all over the world. But these technologies are also fueling new geopolitical competition between the United States and China and they are posing unprecedented governance challenges to domestic political institutions. Policymakers today are grappling with a host of difficult questions. Among them: How can American technology innovation thrive in an increasingly competitive world with a rising China? Who protects American citizens and companies in cyberspace? What does privacy mean in an age of ubiquitous information and data analytics that can assess far more about our preferences and activities than we ever thought possible? How can American freedom of speech be maintained and how can American democracy thrive when disinformation can spread at network speed and scale? What is the role of government and what are the responsibilities of corporations? What technologies and what enabling policies are essential for ensuring American prosperity, security, and freedom over the next decades?
The purpose of the Technology, Economics, and Governance Working Group at the Hoover Institution is to address these and other questions that lie at the nexus of technology, economics, and governance. We seek to understand the drivers and dynamics of technological innovation in the 21st century, assess the opportunities and risks that breakthrough technologies are creating, and develop governance approaches that maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks for the nation and the world. Facts and objective analysis are the keys to our approach. The Working Group will conduct original research to better understand the current state of innovation as well as its causes and likely effects. This policy-relevant research will inform workshops with both private sector and public sector leaders and the development of policy recommendations for decision-makers at all levels of government.
