The title of this post kind of summarizes it all. For the last four years, the last administration, this blog was in hibernation. This was due to the lack of debate and public discussion about issues with technology. The debate was entirely consumed by xenophobic, racist, and nasty policy decisions. Technology didn't stop being developed and impacting our lives. This blog did review debates as part of the last election. In the last four years we have seen the growth of disinformation campaigns that flourished on Facebook and other social media. This was and continues to be fueled by the algorithms that the social media platforms use. Net neutrality rules implemented during the Obama administration were repealed. Other regulations were repealed that have impacts on multiple sectors of the economy.
This blog could have discussed the implications of policy decisions related to the COVID pandemic. Any discussion or debate that could have been furthered by this platform could have only perpetuated the failures of many to follow the guidance of public health officials. Also most of the discussion would have focused on the crazy idea snake oil solutions being spouted from Donald Trump's press conferences and tweets,. This blog is interested in serious discussions of technology and public policy in regards to technology. The current administration is a breath of fresh air compared to the last four years. There is a real interest in making policy and implementing laws from this administration. There is a real depth to the ideas that are being proposed and executed in the laws that are being proposed and passed by congress. This can be seen in the proposed infrastructure bill, which multiple times the previous administration discussed without any policy proposal being released or implemented. In the next few weeks the reader should expected several new blog posts discussing among other things infrastructure, COVID, and any other topics from policy being proposed or implemented by this administration.
