Michael McLaughlin
Michael McLaughlin was a research analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. He researched and wrote about a variety of issues related to information technology and Internet policy, including digital platforms, e-government, and artificial intelligence. Michael graduated from Wake Forest University, where he majored in Communication with Minors in Politics and International Affairs and Journalism. He received his Master’s in Communication at Stanford University, specializing in Data Journalism.
Recent Publications
Who Is Winning the AI Race: China, the EU, or the United States? — 2021 Update
The United States still holds a substantial overall lead in AI, but China has continued to reduce the gap in some important areas and the EU continues to fall behind.
Assessing Colombian Government Websites
Citizens and businesses rely on government websites to access important information and services. Unfortunately, many Colombian government websites fail to meet basic website standards for security, speed, mobile friendliness, and accessibility.
Country-of-Origin Approach to Drones Won’t Address National Security Concerns
As China emerges as a global economic and technological leader, what threats do its products pose to U.S. national security?
Reforming FedRAMP: A Guide to Improving the Federal Procurement and Risk Management of Cloud Services
FedRAMP—the government program that sets standards for assessing, authorizing, and monitoring the security of cloud systems—can significantly improve. Absent reform, it will hamper agencies’ adoption of cloud services.
Freedom Is Not Free License: Freedom House’s Flawed Measurement of “Internet Freedom”
The advocacy group’s annual report on Internet and digital media freedom is more polemic than dispassionate analysis. The State Department should stop funding it unless it focuses on true violations of Internet freedom, such as political persecution.
How to Balance Internet Freedom and Security in the United States
Lawmakers have taken several positive steps in recent years to balance the benefits of data collection with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties. That should continue.
Most State Unemployment Websites Fail Mobile and Accessibility Tests
ITIF tested the page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and accessibility of all 50 state unemployment websites using publicly available tools. The results show that many of these sites are not just ill-suited to handle significant rises in traffic, but also poorly designed.
Testimony Before the California Assembly on the Future of Facial Recognition Technology
In a joint Assembly hearing, ITIF testified on the benefits of facial recognition technology, existing protection from abuses, what the state can do to improve oversight and accountability, and why it should not impose a ban.
The Critics Were Wrong: NIST Data Shows the Best Facial Recognition Algorithms Are Neither Racist Nor Sexist
A close look at data from a new NIST report reveals that the best facial recognition algorithms in the world are highly accurate and have vanishingly small differences in their rates of false-positive or false-negative readings across demographic groups.
The Case for a Mostly Open Internet
Policymakers should seek to maximize the benefits of Internet openness while maintaining carefully designed guardrails that reduce the Internet’s most clearly harmful uses.
Weakening Encryption Would Put Vulnerable Populations at Risk
While law enforcement needs tools to protect the public, requiring companies to provide access to encrypted consumer data would have the unintended consequence of putting vulnerable populations at risk without solving law enforcement’s most significant challenges in using digital evidence.
Recent Events and Presentations
What Is the Future of Transporting Goods Autonomously in the United States?
ITIF hosted a video webinar to discuss the opportunities and challenges of expanding autonomous goods transportation and delivery in the United States.
How the United States Can Maintain Its Lead in the Global AI Race
ITIF's Center for Data Innovation hosted a keynote address by Michael Kratsios, Chief Technology Officer of the United States, and a panel discussion on the state of the global AI race and how policymakers can continue to support U.S. leadership in AI.