Innovation Files: Where Tech Meets Public Policy
Explore the intersection of technology, innovation, and public policy with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and tech policy. Innovation Files serves up expert interviews, insights, and commentary on topics ranging from the broad economics of innovation to specific policy and regulatory questions about new technologies. Expect to hear some unconventional wisdom.
Episodes
98 episodes
The United States Needs a Robust Industrial Policy, With Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher
What is the correct economic strategy for a nation? Rob and Jackie sat down with Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher, authors of Industrial Policy for the United States, to discuss how industrial policy, done right, will develop the kind of ...
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Episode 98
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28:17
Leveraging Data to Improve Communities, With Rochelle Haynes
Data-informed and evidence-based decision making can drive optimum outcomes in local governments. Rob and Jackie sat down with Rochelle Haynes, managing director of What Works Cities, to discuss how technology and innovation are being used in c...
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Episode 97
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29:38
Europe Needs to Focus on Solving Its 30-Year Innovation Problem, With David Evans
Europe has been enormously unsuccessful in creating substantial digital businesses for over three decades. Rob and Jackie sat down with David Evans, chairman of Market Platform Dynamics, to discuss why it’s imperative that Europe ends this ‘dig...
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Episode 96
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26:05
General-Purpose Technologies and the Rise of Great Nations, With Jeffrey Ding
It’s easy to get excited about new breakthroughs, but the real power lies in diffusing technological advances throughout the entire economy. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jeffrey Ding, Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washingto...
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Episode 95
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27:23
Information Technology Is Increasingly Critical and Increasingly Demonized, With Daniel Castro
Over the last several years, public opinion on technology and the use of data has shifted from excitement to skepticism to fear. Rob and Jackie sat down with Daniel Castro, Vice President of ITIF and Director of the Center for Data Innovation, ...
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Episode 94
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21:06
Remaining Realistic and Optimistic About the Promise of the Future, With Jim Pethokoukis
The future will be much improved if society fights the fear of technology. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jim Pethokoukis, Senior Fellow and DeWitt Wallace Chair at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss how the sci-fi fantasy of the futur...
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Episode 93
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23:54
Embracing Innovation is the Ultimate Key to Tackling Climate Change, With Robin Gaster
Climate change is a global problem, with two polarized viewpoints making it difficult to find a solution. Rob and Jackie sat down with Robin Gaster, Director of Research at ITIF's Center for Clean Energy Innovation, to discuss how price/perform...
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Episode 92
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18:47
Navigating Deepfakes While Promoting Innovation, With Ryan Long
The past few years have seen a remarkable rise in the quality and quantity of deepfakes. Rob and Jackie discussed the rise of deepfakes with Ryan Long, Vice-Chairman of the California Lawyers Association, Licensing and Technology Transactions G...
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Episode 91
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25:18
Supply Chain Origins and Innovations, With Yossi Sheffi
The term ‘supply chain’ is relatively new, but the activities involved are not as new as we think. Rob and Jackie sat down with Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, to discuss the complex history of supply ...
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Episode 90
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24:38
The Interplay of Hype and Skepticism in Autonomous Vehicle Advancements, With Richard Mudge
Amidst the burgeoning advancements in autonomous vehicles (AVs), striking a balance between expectation and reality emerges as a challenge. Rob and Jackie sat down with Richard Mudge, president and founder of Compass Transportation and Technolo...
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Episode 89
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20:49
Quantum Computing’s Potential to Drive Business Results, With Murray Thom
While quantum computing technology is maturing more slowly than other innovations, its potential is vast. Rob and Jackie sat down with Murray Thom, vice president of product management at D-Wave, to discuss quantum computing applications alread...
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Episode 88
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30:21
Using Artificial Intelligence to Augment Workflow, With Nitin Mittal
Used to its full potential, artificial intelligence (AI) can assist employees, improve interactions with customers, and increase efficiency. Rob and Jackie sat down with Nitin Mittal, a principal with Deloitte Consulting, to discuss how AI is b...
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Episode 87
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30:21
We Need to Remain Proactive About Supporting Digital Free Trade, With Nigel Cory
Forced local data storage requirements are at the heart of both digital protectionism and digital authoritarianism. Rob and Jackie sat down with Nigel Cory, associate director covering trade policy at ITIF, to discuss how data localization redu...
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Episode 85
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30:21
Cultivating Innovation Ecosystems, With Jessica Corrigan
To flourish, innovation hubs need the right combination of talent, tech, funding, and market access. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jessica Corrigan, the director of M&T's Tech Academy, to discuss how smaller regions can become powerful innov...
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Episode 85
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30:21
The Importance of Reducing Anticompetitive Market Distortions, With Alden Abbott and Shanker Singham
There is a troubling chasm between trade policy and competition policy. Rob and Jackie sat down with Alden Abbott, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, and Shanker Singham, one of the world's leading international trade and competitio...
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Episode 84
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30:21
How China Continues to Shirk Its Trade Obligations, With Dennis Shea
China has had a dismissive attitude about its obligations as a member of World Trade Organization (WTO) ever since it joined the organization. Rob and Jackie sat down with Dennis Shea, executive director of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for ...
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Episode 83
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30:21
Getting Export Controls Right, With Kevin Wolf
Export controls exist at the perilous intersection of economic policy and national security. What could go wrong? Rob and Jackie sat down with Kevin Wolf, a partner at Akin Gump, to discuss how to strike the right balance between keeping certai...
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Episode 82
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29:58
‘Regulation by Outrage’ Is a Detriment to Emerging Technologies, With Patrick Grady
Policy regarding new technologies can be reactionary, confused, and focused on the wrong things. Rob and Jackie sat down with Patrick Grady, former policy analyst at ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation, to discuss what the European Union’s policy...
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Episode 81
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20:52
Counterfeiting is a Crime Against Innovation, With Kebharu Smith
Counterfeiting—one of the oldest, simplest crimes—has only continued to evolve as technology has grown more complex. Rob and Jackie sat down with Kebharu Smith, director of Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit and Associate General Coun...
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Episode 80
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20:55
The Complicated Evolution of Information, With Jim Cortada
Over the past 150 years, humanity has generated an unprecedented amount and variety of information, surpassing the cumulative knowledge of previous eras. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jim Cortada, a senior research fellow at the Charles Ba...
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Episode 79
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27:40
Why Societal Trust Is Imperative For Innovation, With David Moschella
Looking ahead to the technological challenges and opportunities of the next decade, social trust will be more important than ever for the tech industry. Rob and Jackie sat down with David Moschella, a nonresident senior fellow at ITIF and the a...
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Episode 78
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21:41
Deciphering the World of Data, With George Sciadas
A data-driven world raises the stakes for numeric literacy. Rob and Jackie sit down with George Sciadas, the former director of the Statistics Canada Center for Special Business Projects and author of the new book Number Savvy, to disc...
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Episode 77
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26:32
Containing China While Rebuilding the United States, With Jonathan Ward
America can’t just pick up speed to beat China economically; it needs to slow down China, because there’s no use in accelerating when your adversary is along for the ride. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jonathan Ward, author of China’s Vision...
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Episode 76
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24:14
The Future of Smart Cities in a Data-Driven Society, With Jonathan Reichental
To improve quality of life for as many people as possible, the places to start are cities. Rob and Jackie sat down with multiple award-winning technology and business leader Jonathan Reichental to discuss why the United States is falling behind...
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Episode 75
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29:44
Should Section 230 Cover Algorithms? What’s at Stake in Gonzalez v. Google, With Ashley Johnson
Google doesn’t create terrorist propaganda videos, doesn’t allow them on YouTube, and takes them down as fast as it can when extremist groups post them anyway. But a question now before the Supreme Court is whether Section 230 of the Communicat...
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Episode 74
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25:54