How Tech Becomes Law

Megan Mahle walks us through how she invests in American innovation from the lens of Department of Homeland Security. Through programs like the Small Business Innovation Research grant and the Silicon Valley Innovation Program, DHS enables startups to build new technologies that are useful both for security and commercial purposes. Check out the Homeland Security Startup Studio CONVERGE event at: https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/hsss-22-converge Guest bio: Megan Mahle is the Director of Industry Partnerships at DHS S&T. The role of the Industry Partnerships Division is to lead the formation and sustainment of internal and external partnerships across research and development (R&D) communities. These efforts will enable joint R&D and result in stronger connections with developer and user communities. Industry Partnerships is responsible for innovation mechanisms, such as Small Business Innovation Research, Silicon Valley Innovation Program, Prize Authority, and Broad Agency Announcements, and Post-R&D activities associated with technology transfer and commercialization. Ms. Mahle has been at S&T since February 2008 serving in several positions, including as the S&T Cyber Security Division (CSD) Business Operations Manager, CSD Program Manager for the Law Enforcement Support portfolio, including the anonymous networks and currencies, cybersecurity forensics and insider threat projects, and program support contractor for the Command, Control and Interoperability Division. Ms. Mahle holds a bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington College and a master’s degree from Catholic University. About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How can we ensure the future of this country is determined by those who'll have to live in it? We speak with Jahnavi Rao, founder of New Voters, which is a non-profit that has helped over 50,000 high school students register to vote across the nation. Jahnavi discusses her work in managing a nationwide, distributed team of volunteers who help students register and make a difference in their high school communities. Jahnavi notes how voting has begun to be politicized, although younger voters on both sides of the aisle are still excited to have their voice heard. Jahnavi talks about her personal experiences in helping students vote, offers advice on her own career, and also discusses the vaccine outreach New Voters conducted over the past year. Listen in to be inspired by the work that she and her team are doing to ensure that young voters feel heard and empowered in an ever-changing world. Guest bio: Following the 2016 election, Jahnavi founded New Voters as a club at her high school, where she registered over 85% of her class to vote and mobilized her peers while she herself was too young to vote. Since then, Jahnavi and the New Voters team have grown the school club into a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit, working with high school student-leaders across America to help them host highly-successful non-partisan voter registration drives at their schools. For the 2020 election, New Voters registered 50,000 high school students across 300 high school chapters. Outside of New Voters, Jahnavi served as the Founder and Director of High School Engagement at the Harvard Votes Challenge, Co-President of the Harvard South Asian Women's Collective, and is an active cast member of the Harvard College Opera Society. In her free time, you can find Jahnavi listening to Taylor swift and watching vine compilations. About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How do we build a regulator for digital platforms? In this episode, we talk to Tom Wheeler, former Chair of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), about how regulators can balance technological innovation with other public interests such as protecting truth in media, a competitive marketplace, consumer data privacy, and more. Listen to Tom discuss how as the Chair of the FCC, he was able to implement rules to enforce net neutrality, data privacy, cybersecurity, and affordable broadband access for schools across the U.S. Tom discusses in detail about his proposal for a new agile regulator of digital platforms in the U.S. that he worked on with colleagues at Harvard University in order to fight the big con from Big Tech of needing "permissionless innovation" in order for the U.S. to remain competitive. With this new digital platforms regulator, the U.S. can take a leadership position in the world by creating the rules for how technology should interact with Americans rather than ceding control to the E.U., the U.K, or China. One of the areas the regulator can drive innovation is in creating more open data systems where consumers can switch social networks in the future as easily as they can switch phone providers today. Finally, Tom reflects on his illustrious career to offer some advice to recent grads to follow their passions, whether that's to Capitol Hill, to a private tech company, to a regulatory agency, or to a graduate degree. Ultimately, what they just need to get started and what they do for the next 3 years or 5 years is only the beginning of the long arc of their career. Guest bio: Tom Wheeler served as the Chairman of the FCC from 2013 to 2017 under President Obama. For more than three decades, Wheeler has been involved with new telecommunications networks and services, experiencing the revolution in telecommunications as a policy expert, advocate, and businessman. As an entrepreneur, he started or helped start multiple companies offering cable, wireless, and video communications services. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and a Senior Fellow at HKS’ Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Related links: From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future. Tom Wheeler. https://www.brookings.edu/book/from-gutenberg-to-google/ About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

Jarred Johnson and Ethan Finlan join us from Transit Matters, a Boston-based equitable transit advocacy group to help us envision a transit-forward Boston. Jarred and Ethan frame the conversation by discussing how necessary building sustainable infrastructure is in the US, as well as pointing to its rising importance in tackling climate change and moving us from our auto centric networks. They further discuss their views for the future of regional rail, expanding and streamlining access to the far-flung suburbs of Boston. Finally, they walk through their career paths into transit advocacy. Guest bio: Jarred has been the ED of TM for nearly 3 years. In that time TransitMatters has launched a number of highly regarded reports, and led successful campaigns on Regional Rail, racial equity, and more. Jarred also sits on the board of Abundant Housing Massachusetts. He comes to this position following service as Project Manager for the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation where he managed a variety of complex affordable housing real estate projects and supported organizing efforts for better service on the Fairmount Line. Before that, Jarred helped to start the “Love Your Block” mini-grant project and helped write the City of Boston’s first Volunteer Plan as a part of the Civic Engagement Office. He also has a wealth of grassroots organizing experience working on various presidential, state, and Cherokee tribal races. Jarred joined TransitMatters as a volunteer member in the summer of 2015 and has served on the Board since the fall of that year. Ethan Finlan leads the Regional Rail program at Transit Matters. At Transit Matters, he leads the campaign to bring Boston’s Commuter Rail network into the 21st century through planning and advocacy. He regularly contributes to Market Urbanism Report, and has contributed to Boston Rail Fan and the DC Policy Center. About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How can we fix the harms created by social media? In this episode, we talk to Trisha Prabhu from ReThink about addressing cyberbullying and other harms on social media. Listen to Trisha discuss how as a teenager she came to building an anti-cyberbullying app to tackle the problems that she saw firsthand in her community and with her peers and how working on this problem over almost a decade has shaped her perspective on what the future of content moderation can look like. As a scholar, Trisha has dived deep into how the U.S. has confronted the need to balance free speech with other public interests to successfully regulate other media technologies in the past, and she discusses how these historical case studies as well as upcoming regulations in the U.K. and the E.U. show a path forward on creating effective regulations for social media. Finally, as a young woman of color tech founder from Harvard, Trisha talks about what her career journey has been like thus far, what advice she would give to students wanting to pursue a career in public interest tech, and how the tech industry itself can become more welcoming to young people from more diverse backgrounds. Guest bio: Trisha Prabhu is the 21-year-old Founder & CEO of ReThink, a patented app tackling cyberbullying. She is also an undergraduate student at Harvard University; next year, she will begin postgraduate study at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Trisha's driving vision is to build an Internet that is an empowering, kind space for young people everywhere. Related links: ReThink. https://rethinkwords.com/ About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

Let’s bring the government into the 21st Century. We chat with Jake Kramer, managing partner at FedTech, who tells us more about their work in the dual use technology space. With FedTech, Jake works with the Department of Defense, Department of Education, NASA, NIST, and more to incubate, invest in, and inspire new deep-tech startups who will turn around and sell their tools to the federal government, strengthening technical capabilities across the board. Jake highlights the effort the federal government is putting into innovation, the pace at which development is increasing, and new trends in the space. Finally, Jake highlights his path from serving in the Army to working in entrepreneurship, finance, and innovation. Guest bio: Jake Kramer is a managing partner at FedTech, a venture firm at the intersection of entrepreneurship, breakthrough technologies, and mission-driven organizations. Concurrently, Jake serves as a Venture Partner with NextGen Venture Partners, a network driven venture capital firm in Washington, D.C. Before this role, Jake was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in New York City. Jake began his career as a Captain in the US Army, earning the Bronze Star Medal for his actions leading a unit in the Middle East during a 12-month deployment. Jake received his MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and his BBA in Computer Information Systems from Hofstra University. About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How do we take action with data and ensure it’s used for good? Sarah Williams, Professor at MIT, joins us to discuss her work using data to evoke change. Sarah discusses her various projects, such as the Digital Matatus and Million Dollar Blocks, and how she both came across in designing them and also in constraining them to ensure they have the intended impact. She also discusses her framework to make smarter and more careful decisions with data, highlighting each principle with examples. Finally, Sarah talks about her path to combining data with design, maps with policy, and the twists and turns her career took to get her where she is. Guest bio: Sarah Williams is an Associate Professor of Technology and Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she is also Director of the Civic Data Design Lab and the Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. She combines her training in computation and design to create communication strategies that expose urban policy issues to broad audiences and create civic change. She calls the process Data Action, which is also the name of her recent book published by MIT Press. Williams is co-founder and developer of Envelope, a web-based software product that visualizes and allows users to modify zoning in New York City.  Before coming to MIT, Williams was Co-Director of the Spatial Information Design Lab at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How can we kickstart civic tech careers for young professionals? Ariana Soto, Deputy Director of Coding It Forward, joins us to discuss her work in creating new opportunities for students to learn more about applying their technical skills to government roles. Ariana discusses how Coding It Forward has supported over 300 students in helping bring federal, state, and local government agencies to the 21st century. In highlighting the lack of technical opportunities in the government, Ariana notes how students can create new paths from the private sector to the public sector and vice-versa, while also noting partners who have supported bringing recent grads new opportunities. Ariana highlights the skills that can help in government roles, and then finally discusses her serendipitous path to where she is herself. Guest bio: Ariana is the Deputy Director at Coding it Forward and has been with the organization since 2018. She leads Coding it Forward's partnerships and new program launches — including the Civic Innovation Corps. Ariana graduated from Harvard College in 2020 with a B.A. in Government and Computer Science and a certificate in Technology Science. Ariana has experience in local government working with data teams in New York City and her hometown of Los Angeles, CA. About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How can we use tech to make better buildings and cities in the future? In this episode, we talk to Raja Ghawi from Suffolk Tech about his work investing in technology companies innovating on making construction cheaper, safer, and more environmentally friendly. For example, Raja talks about how software can catch small construction mistakes before they snowball into bigger ones and how robots can make drywall more cheaply, faster, and safer than ever. Listen to Raja discuss the career opportunities in the construction industry for both tradespeople and technologists, the role that government policy can play in pushing for more energy-efficient buildings, and how to finance the transition away from the status quo. Raja also talks about his own journey into the construction tech industry from growing up in Syria to attending Harvard to working in management consulting to working at Suffolk Construction. Listen to Raja talk about how to address the lack of diversity in venture capital and in the construction industry and finally, why he believes algorithms can help design more collaborative and social spaces and cities in the future.  Guest bio: Raja Ghawi is the Investment Director of Suffolk Tech, a VC investing in new technologies and business models innovating the way we build and the spaces where we live, work, and play. Prior to Suffolk Tech, Raja was a consulting with McKinsey focused on growth and M&A, advising clients in multi-billion dollar software, Fintech, and industrial acquisitions. He studied bioengineering at Harvard College. Related links: Suffolk Tech. https://www.suffolk-tech.com/ About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

What is the future of mobility? In this episode, we speak with Prachi Vakharia from the MBTA and co-founder of Womanium. Prachi discusses her meandering path towards transportation tech and innovation as well as her work in guiding electrification and autonomous vehicle development. Prachi tells us more about how policy has to lay the groundwork for investment in the electric vehicle space, and raises hot takes on the current state of self-driving vehicles. Prachi also notes major limitations around innovation and competition here in the US. Prachi also outlines her vision of the future of urbanism and how it aligns with the 15 minute city model. Finally, Prachi highlights her incredible work at Womanium, an organization she co-founded to inspire young women to jump into STEM fields and apply what they've learned to drive innovation, relating to her own experience as a pioneering woman in STEM. Guest bio: Prachi Vakharia works on autonomous vehicles safety standards, digital and shared mobility projects, and electric mobility services and infrastructure. Today she leads the implementation of AI/ML technologies at the MBTA, and also builds safety protocols for SafeAI, an automation firm. Previously, she led product and innovation at AES, a Fortune 100 energy firm, in the E-Mobility division and also developed EV standards for Workplaces and Fleets at Forth. Prior to that, Prachi worked with the World Bank on urban transport projects in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Beyond work, Prachi serves on the Board of mobility startups and leads committees at TRB and SAE. She also co-founded Womanium an organization that advances young women in the STEM domain.

What is the future of money? In this episode, we talk to Tim Massad, former Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission about how to regulate stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CDBCs), and other cryptocurrencies. Tim discusses how his experience with helping the U.S. government implement its bail-out of large banks during the 2008 Great Financial Crisis has influenced his perspective on the benefits and risks of stablecoins. Tim also talks about how he is in favor of promoting more competition in the financial sector including from new crypto firms in order to speed up payments in the U.S. while still protecting consumer interests. Finally, Tim encourages young lawyers to seek out opportunities to work on hard problems at the cutting edge of finance, technology, regulations, and more in their careers in order to do meaningful work to make life better for the average American.  Guest bio: Tim Massad served as Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2014 to 2017. Under his leadership, the agency implemented many critical reforms to markets including declaring cryptocurrencies to be commodities subject to the agency’s jurisdiction. Previously, Professor Massad oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the principal U.S. government response to the 2008 financial crisis in his capacity as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Prior to his government service, Tim Massad was a partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Tim Massad is currently a Research Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law School. Related links: Regulating stablecoins isn’t just about avoiding systemic risk. Timothy Massad. The Brookings Institution. October 5, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/research/regulating-stablecoins-isnt-just-about-avoiding-systemic-risk/ Report on Stablecoins. President's Working Group on Financial Markets, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. November 1, 2021. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/StableCoinReport_Nov1_508.pdf Engineering is the Key to the Debate Over Whether to Create a CBDC. Timothy Massad. Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. October 17, 2021. https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/news-events/massad10172021 Can a Cryptocurrency Break the Buck? Timothy Massad. Bloomberg. May 31, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-31/stablecoins-like-tether-should-face-regulators-scrutiny?sref=hU7uPhn8 Coinbase's Small Fine is a Big Warning to IPO Investors. Timothy Massad. Bloomberg. April 8, 2021. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-04-08/coinbase-s-small-fine-is-a-big-warning-to-ipo-investors?sref=hU7uPhn8 Facebook’s Libra 2.0. Timothy Massad. The Brookings Institution. June 22, 2020. https://www.brookings.edu/research/facebooks-libra-2-0/ It’s time to strengthen the regulation of crypto-assets. Timothy Massad. The Brookings Institution. March 18, 2019. https://www.brookings.edu/research/its-time-to-strengthen-the-regulation-of-crypto-assets/

What happens when thousands of middle schoolers and high schoolers show their apps to Congress? In this episode, we talk to Joe Alessi of the Congressional App Challenge about how more than 40,000 middle schoolers and high schoolers from around the US have participated in one of the largest hackathons in the US every year and even influenced how Members of Congress think about the role of technology in their home districts. Listen to Joe talk about how the Congressional App Challenge got started in 2015 and has since seen participation in more than 75% of Congressional Districts on a bipartisan basis. Joe also discusses what kinds of apps students are working on, how many students are overcoming the challenges of limited computer science resources as well as the additional burdens of the pandemic, and how participating in the Congressional App Challenge has enabled many students, who may be too young to vote, to express their concerns through technology to Members of Congress. Now that many alums of the Congressional App Challenge are in college and even starting their careers, Joe talks about how there is an ever-growing community of past participants who can support each other and pay it forward by guiding the next generation of young students looking to make a positive impact with technology.  Guest bio: Joe Alessi is the Director of the Congressional App Challenge, a congressional initiative dedicated to the cultivation of future computer science talent through a series of annual coding contests hosted by Members of Congress. The contest challenges middle and high school students from across the United States to use their knowledge and creativity to design apps that are unique to their own skills and interests. Joe is a career non-profit management professional, having worked to transform the educational initiatives of NGOs, trade associations, and charitable foundations. Under his leadership, beginning in January 2019, the Congressional App Challenge has reached record heights, increasing congressional participation by nearly 50% while doubling student engagement. Related links: Congressional App Challenge. https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/  About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How does a Presidential campaign target voters with ads online? In this episode, we talk to Megan Clasen of the Biden 2020 campaign about the role of digital political ads when campaigning in the US today. Listen to Megan discuss how the Biden 2020 campaign was able to target specific persuasion messages to the relevant voters and how digital political ads have evolved from her first campaign, Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign, to working on JB Pritzker's campaign for the Governor of Illinois in 2018 to working for Kamala Harris and then Joe Biden's campaigns for President in 2020. Megan also discusses what it feels like to be on the frontlines of fighting misinformation on social media as well as her experience as a female entrepreneur by starting Gambit Strategies, a social media advertising consulting firm, this past year.  Guest bio: Megan Clasen recently started her own firm, Gambit Strategies, after working in digital advertising for over 10 years, from the largest brand advertisers in the country to multiple presidential campaigns, and all the way up and down the ballot. Most recently, she was a senior paid media advisor to Joe Biden’s campaign, leading their digital advertising work and executing the largest digital ads program ever run by a Democratic campaign. Prior to that, she led JB Pritzker’s digital efforts in his successful campaign for governor in Illinois, which Politico called “The Best Campaign Money Can Buy” and recognized as the “Best Online Advertising Campaign” at the 2019 Reed Awards. Related links: Gambit Strategies. https://www.gambitstrategies.com/ About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

What role does data and tech play in the future of news? In this episode, we talk to Robin Berjon of The New York Times about why it's important for news and media companies to have a strong data privacy system in place to gain the trust of their users. Listen to Robin discuss how the EU's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has pushed the notice and consent model to the limit, why technologists and policymakers have to work together to preserve data privacy and fight misinformation, and why news organizations need to work together to create a more financially sustainable content aggregation platform that benefits both the journalists writing the news and the online platforms sharing the news. Finally, listen to Robin discuss how he's spent his career working on "dumpster fire" hard problems to solve and why that's his advice for young professionals looking for problems to work on today. Guest bio: Robin Berjon is Vice President of Data Governance at The New York Times, where he works on improving privacy and on making sure that the Web can support a thriving media ecosystem. He has worked extensively on technology and Internet governance. Related links: [Proposal] Content Aggregation Technology. Robin Berjon. October 12, 2020. https://discourse.wicg.io/t/proposal-content-aggregation-technology/4941 About the podcast: How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

How can tech address inequality? In this episode, we talk to Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee of the Brookings Institution about algorithmic discrimination and broadband access. Listen to Nicol talk about why she thinks addressing algorithmic discrimination is so important, why algorithms reflect and reinforce existing structural inequalities in society, and how computer scientists and social scientists can work together to find better solutions. Nicol also talks about her upcoming book, Digitally Invisible: How the internet is creating the new underclass, where she went to 7 communities around the US to see and understand the lives of those who live on the wrong side of the digital divide. Listen to Nicol talk about seeing students carrying phones with them in Arizona in case their parents get deported and also seeing students on the stoop of their school in Alabama in order to get internet access. The pandemic has brought new challenges but also opportunities on closing the digital divide, especially with new federal infrastructure funding for broadband access. Finally, listen to Nicol reflect on her own journey as a Black female sociologist working on tech policy in Washington, DC, and hear her advice for young professionals starting their journeys today.  Guest bio: Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation, and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of TechTank. Dr. Turner Lee researches public policy designed to enable equitable access to technology across the U.S. and to harness its power to create change in communities across the world. She has a forthcoming book on the U.S. digital divide titled Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass (forthcoming 2022, Brookings Press). Related links: Algorithmic bias detection and mitigation: Best practices and policies to reduce consumer harms. Nicol Turner-Lee, Paul Resnick, and Genie Barton. Brookings Institution. May 22, 2019. https://www.brookings.edu/research/algorithmic-bias-detection-and-mitigation-best-practices-and-policies-to-reduce-consumer-harms/ About the podcast:  How Tech Becomes Law is a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. Each episode uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us online at howtechbecomeslaw.org and on social media channels @techbecomeslaw.

This is How Tech Becomes Law, a weekly public interest tech podcast about technology, public policy, and career advice. We are your co-hosts, Jinyan Zang and Dhruv Gupta. How Tech Becomes Law uncovers insights from leaders in government, business, journalism, and academia to highlight how technology can be built in the public interest. Interviewees discuss how technology can move society forward, what role they play in shaping this, and how students and young professionals can impact the path forward. We are supported by the Public Interest Tech Lab. Listen to us on your podcast platform of choice. You can find us on social media channels @techbecomeslaw and online at howtechbecomeslaw.org.