Reimagining U.S. technology strategy and policy during the Biden-Harris administration: report
How the Biden-Harris administration could reimagine U.S. technology strategy and policy –and take action to implement it – is examined in a new report by the Blockchain Research Institute in collaboration with the Washington-based Chamber of Digital Commerce and other experts.
The Biden-Harris administration arrives at a unique time in history. The pandemic exposed problems at all levels of government, creating a “demand pull” for transformation. The advent of the second era of the digital age, with a "trivergence" of blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things is creating an “innovation push,” the report says.
The report advocates for government leaders to acknowledge the new digital realities and develop a comprehensive framework for ensuring justice, sustainability, citizen trust, social cohesion and good governance. To do this, federal leaders must get up to speed quickly on these technologies.
The report outlines five broad areas of change, each of which addresses major priorities for the new administration. Among the dozens of recommendations are the following.
1. Ensure security, privacy, autonomy, and citizen-owned identities.
2. Embrace the digital dollar and digital currency.
3. Retool government services and service delivery to meet world-class digital standards.
4. Engage citizens, hold elected officials accountable, and rebuild trust.
5. Reboot America's innovation economy to include a diversity of entrepreneurs.
According to the report, digital transformation is not just about modernizing technology and tools. It is about adopting appropriate digital technologies to change how we work, deliver public value, and build prosperity through the emerging digital economy.
It also advises fresh new thinking about the role of the new digital age in the economy, body politic, and society. The goal is to ensure the fulfillment of the new promise of technology and the minimization of the dark side, the dystopian futures.
Leaders are encouraged to take personal responsibility to learn about these threats and opportunities and foster a bi-partisan culture of innovation and a commitment to change.
Wikinomics’ Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams, along with Blockchain editor-in-chief Kirsten Sandberg, are the principal authors. Tony Scott, former Federal CIO of the United States in the Obama-Biden administration, wrote the report’s foreward.
The 120-page report can be downloaded here.
