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Lawmakers and experts voiced concerns Nov 30 about America’s future as a leader in artificial intelligence technology. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) cautioned during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee hearing that the US could lose its spot as a leader in developing AI technology. “Today, the United States is the preeminent leader in developing artificial intelligence. But that could soon change,” warned Sen Cruz. “Ceding leadership in developing artificial intelligence to China, Russia and other foreign governments will not only place the United States at a technological disadvantage, but it could also have implications for national security,” he said in opening remarks. Experts on a panel expressed similar sentiments. “I do think it’s important that we grow our AI workforce quickly,” said Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants to squeeze out super PACs by abolishing limits on fundraising dollars to individual candidates. Joining with Rep Mark Meadows (R-NC), Sen Cruz is filing legislation that the pair argues will increase transparency and treat all campaign donations like free speech.

"Restrictions to political contributions are always presented under the guise of preventing corruption and holding politicians accountable, when in fact they accomplish exactly the opposite: protecting incumbent politicians," Sen Cruz said. "Establishing unlimited contributions paired with immediate disclosure is the best way to promote transparency, eliminate the viability of SuperPACs going forward, and ensure that free speech is protected in the electoral process." The new bill would allow donors to give unlimited sums to candidates but require that donations of more than $200 be disclosed within one day's time.

More than a dozen tech groups extended an olive branch to President-elect Donald Trump, penning a joint letter to the President-elect congratulating him on his win and offering recommendations for working with the tech sector. “We stand ready to help your Administration tap into 21st century innovation to achieve prosperity for the nation,” read the letter from a coalition of 17 tech trade groups. The letter was signed by leaders from trade associations including the Information Technology Industry Council and Internet Association, which represent companies such as Google, Facebook and Intel.

“We recognize a critical early step in achieving your goals of moving the country forward in a productive way will be identifying the right people for critical positions,” the trade association leaders wrote. “We would welcome the opportunity to meet with your leadership team to discuss our policy and personnel ideas in greater depth.” Their recommendations included support for investing technology infrastructure and tax and regulatory reform to spur job growth.

A coalition of major tech companies — including Google, Amazon and Apple — is calling on President-elect Donald Trump to appoint a Treasury undersecretary for technology. Financial Innovation Now (FIN), which also includes PayPal and Intuit, is asking the Trump Administration to appoint regulators and promote policies that will bolster the use of financial technology (FinTech) as it gains popularity and prominence. FinTech includes a wide array of smartphone apps and websites that aim to offer quicker, safer and more accessible financial services.

FIN executive director Brian Peters emphasized Trump’s business experience in a letter outlining the coalition’s desire for “a national vision and coordinated strategy” to grow FinTech jobs and use FinTech to drive competition between financial services providers. FIN asked Trump to appoint regulators, including a special Treasury undersecretary for technology, that “value technology and who will seek to promote innovation as a means to foster competition in financial services.”

For all Donald Trump's attacks on the media, a TV career seems to help the chances of anyone hoping to get a job in his Administration. In recent days, President-elect Trump has appointed KT McFarland, a Fox News contributor, as his deputy national security advisor, and met with Sheriff David Clarke, a more controversial figure who frequently appears on the same network. The TV prowess of Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, has been widely reported to boost her standing with her boss. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump’s national security advisor, retired Gen Mike Flynn, is a frequent presence on Fox, as are several politicians apparently under consideration for positions, including former UN ambassador John Bolton and former Arkansas Gov and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

The focus on TV commentators is beginning to attract attention of its own. The Washington Post noted the trend and suggested that Trump was in the business of “stocking the federal government with … people that he’s seen on TV and likes.” It could be as simple as that. But it could also be that Trump — who has taken the use of social media to an art form, albeit a deeply controversial one — has a keener eye than most for the importance of effective TV communication.

[Commentary] What goals are appropriate to government and what decisions should be left to the private sector? This bedrock question underlies most disputes in modern American politics, even when the issue is framed in scientific, economic or moral terms. However, one role that almost everyone agrees belongs to government is the planning and funding of large-scale infrastructure. Broadband and wireless networks, in addition to the power grid, must be resistant and resilient to cyberattack.

[David M. Lodge is the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of Cornell University's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and a professor in Cornell's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.]

President-elect Donald Trump is tapping another critic of network neutrality to help with the transition at the Federal Communications Commission. The Trump transition team announced that Roslyn Layton will join the FCC landing team. Layton will work alongside Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison.

Layton, like her two colleagues, has served as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank. The three are all critics of the agency's controversial net neutrality rules. “The FCC's recent actions and the White House's intervention is inconsistent with a stable, evidence-based regulatory approach,” Layton wrote about net neutrality in a 2015 op-ed cowritten with Jamison. Layton went on to say that the FCC should focus on other matters. “The situation distracts the FCC from its mission-critical responsibilities, such as the upcoming incentive auction to get more spectrum in the marketplace and meet consumers’ increasing demand for wireless technologies.”

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission under President-elect Donald Trump is likely to take a hard look at network neutrality and the reclassification of broadband as a Title II common carrier service. Repealing a regulation so recently blessed by the Court of Appeals may, however, be a lengthy and difficult process. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) privacy regulations pursuant to the Title II reclassification may be more readily overturned because no court has yet ruled on them. But that would still take some time.

In the interim, the new FCC should adopt a more rational enforcement policy. One early candidate should be the treatment of "pay-for-privacy" or "financial incentive" plans. These are broadband service plans that offer discounts to subscribers who permit their ISP to collect and use their data. The new FCC privacy regulations suggest an enforcement policy that will actively discourage these plans, notwithstanding FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's claim that, "The bottom line is that it's your data. How it's used and shared should be your choice." Left unsaid was that he prefers some choices to others.

[Thomas M. Lenard is senior fellow and president emeritus of the Technology Policy Institute.]

The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that saves copies of old web pages, is creating a backup of its database in Canada, in response to the election of Donald Trump. “On November 9th in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change,” the organization wrote. “It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change.”

The Internet Archive is responsible for services like the Wayback Machine, a tool that allows users to access cached versions of websites long after they are pulled from the Internet, and Open Library, which offers free access to millions of e-books. The move will cost millions, according to the Internet Archive, which is soliciting donations. In their post, the Internet Archive justified its decision to backup its data in Canada, claiming that Trump could threaten an open Internet. “For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a Web that may face greater restrictions.”

[Commentary] Talk to people on the anti-“Mainstream media” side of the culture war, Donald Trump supporters or not, and they will tell you that The New York Times or The Washington Post are no more reliable than Breitbart or the conspiracy-theory site Infowars.

Comparing the mainstream media in the United States to the state-controlled Russian media that routinely traffic in outright hoaxes and blatant propaganda is factually wrong and unfair. But the media must do a better job and invite a greater diversity of viewpoints. Otherwise, its ability to counter fake news will continue to erode, with dangerous consequences for us all.

[Cathy Young is a contributing editor for Reason magazine and a columnist for Newsday.]