Publications: Daniel Castro

Following the European Commission notifying Meta of its preliminary finding that the social network’s advertising model violates European law, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) Vice President Daniel Castro issued the following statement.

Over the last several years, public opinion on technology and the use of data has shifted from excitement to skepticism to fear.

The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy published a New York Times op-ed arguing that social media poses such a threat to children’s mental health that these platforms should come with a warning label like cigarettes and alcohol. However, his argument is flawed on multiple levels: There is no scientific consensus that social media is causing mental health issues among youth; social media use among youth does not present a similar level of risk as tobacco and alcohol use; and the alleged risks of social media come from interaction with specific types of content, not from the platforms themselves.

The next administration needs to place innovation, productivity, and competitiveness at the core of its economic policy. To that end, this report offers a comprehensive techno-economic agenda with 82 actionable policy recommendations.

President Biden’s 2023 executive order on artificial intelligence (AI) directed the State Department to work with other agencies and stakeholders to develop guidance for identifying and managing human rights risks associated with AI. As the State Department prepares this guidance, it should emphasize that in many cases, the risk of inaction—the missed opportunities to use AI to improve human rights—presents the most significant threat, and it should prioritize deploying AI to support and enhance human rights.

Daniel Castro appeared on the AI50 podcast with Hanh Brown to discuss data governance, privacy policies, and the transformative power of data-driven innovation.

In a nationally representative survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults, Public First and the Center for Data Innovation track public attitudes and perceptions of artificial intelligence.

Some concerns are legitimate, but others are not. Some require immediate regulatory responses, but many do not. And a few require regulations addressing AI specifically, but most do not.

Given that the Microsoft-Mistral AI partnership does not create a relevant merger situation, does not harm competition, and has a pro-competitive impact on the market, the CMA should not intervene.

Given that the Amazon-Anthropic partnership does not create a relevant merger situation, does not harm competition, and has a pro-competitive impact on the market, the CMA should not intervene.