Defending Digital

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.

Defending Digital Series, No. 18: The war in Ukraine and the return of persistent inflation have made it clear that energy is still much more important to peoples’ lives than digital data.

Defending Digital Series, No. 17: Last year’s defeat of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) has led to predictable handwringing about the future of the news business. Both history and recent events suggest that such fears will prove unwarranted.

Defending Digital Series, No. 16: The recent congressional hearing about TikTok was a missed opportunity to insist that U.S. and Chinese companies be treated equally in both nations.

Defending Digital Series, No. 15: While ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence have great potential, predictions of ever-increasing digital disruption thus far have proven to be false. Looking ahead, the most significant societal shifts won’t be driven by digital technology; they will stem from the demands of the physical world.

Defending Digital Series, No. 14: America’s declining societal trust will harm its innovation ecosystem, because the next phase of digital growth will require collective confidence in technologies that operate in the public sphere.

Defending Digital Series, No. 13: Although many of today’s accusations against Big Tech are unfair, the technology industry should do more to protect itself. Pushing back against its critics, better aligning itself with America’s national interests, becoming more politically neutral, and effectively addressing long-term societal challenges would surely help.