David Moschella

David Moschella appeared on The China Desk with Steve Yates to discuss the historically unique challenge China poses to the United States and the West as the world’s largest market, the world’s largest supplier, America’s fiercest competitor, and a geopolitical and military rival—themes that pervade Moschella and Rob Atkinson’s book Technology Fears and Scapegoats.

The roots of the word scapegoat go back to biblical times, when the sins of the people were ritually bestowed upon an actual goat, which was then sent away to remove these sins from the community. It’s an apt analogy for the way advanced technologies are now blamed for seemingly every societal ill. But just as goats weren’t responsible for the sins of the ancients, neither is technology to blame for ours.

Rob Atkinson and David Moschella appeared on the Explain to Shane podcast with AEI’s Shane Tews to discuss their book Technology Fears and Scapegoats.

David Moschella appeared on Everyday AI to discuss misinformation about artificial intelligence and how to set the record straight, push fear-mongering aside, and ethically put AI to good use—topics addressed in the new book Moschella co-authored with Rob Atkinson, Technology Fears and Scapegoats.

Rob Atkinson and David Moschella appeared on The Bill Walton Show to discuss their new book, Technology Fears and Scapegoats.

Technologies and tech companies are accused of creating a myriad of societal problems. Technology Fears and Scapegoats exposes them as mostly myths, falsehoods, and exaggerations. It issues a clarion call to restore the West’s faith in technological progress.

Supporters of the recent antitrust cases against Google and Amazon like to stress America’s long history of successful technology industry interventions. But who says that the iconic cases of the past were necessary and successful?

America’s imports from China look large because China is so large. But proportionally, they’re less than those from the other Asian tigers. America’s large trade deficit stems primarily from its lack of high-value manufacturing exports, not just to China but to the world.

Defending Digital Series, No. 22: That digital technologies are a “threat to democracy” is now conventional wisdom, even though nontechnology factors have done much more to undermine America’s electoral confidence than anything digital. Unfortunately, today’s exaggerated electoral accusations have given additional life and power to the full range of dubious Big Tech critiques.

Defending Digital Series, No. 21: Predictions that globalization and the Internet would lead to the overwhelming dominance of the English language are proving much more wrong than right. Changes in economics, geopolitics, and culture—plus major improvements in machine translation—are making even less widely used languages more resilient than many predicted.

Defending Digital Series, No. 20: Tech firms’ efforts to enforce official claims of what is true or false often reduce trust more than increase it. But they can help restore societal trust by using their platforms, moderators, and algorithms to facilitate discussions about the controversial issues of the day. Fortunately, there is some early evidence that this change is now under way.

Defending Digital Series, No. 19: Recent high-profile statements warning of the supposed existential risk of artificial intelligence are unconvincing. Many AI fears are speculative, and many others seem manageable. Unless serious problems suddenly emerge, AI innovation should proceed and be allowed to proliferate.

ITIF hosted a discussion of these issues, including how U.S. businesses are likely to be affected and what the U.S. government should do in response. An expert panel will discuss a recent ITIF report arguing the United States and its allies should focus on rebalancing global supply chains, bolstering competitiveness, adjusting to China’s market size, and solidifying the West’s appeal.

ITIF hosted a video webinar to discuss the implications of the pandemic on society, industry, and individuals and what organizations and governments need to do to cope.

While the technology industry was once seen as being committed to building a better and smarter world, shifting public perceptions towards the tech industry have caused it to go on the defensive when it comes to issues ranging from data privacy to income equity, workplace diversity, and antitrust enforcement. Has the technology industry become worthy of the same scrutiny as the oil, banking, or airline industry? Join ITIF for an in-depth discussion of these critical issues, including an assessment of the validity of commonly voiced concerns and what the industry needs to do to avoid becoming the next Big Oil.

ITIF will host a panel discussion on why disruptive IT transformations are occurring and how they impact consumers businesses and IT policy.