New America

In the United States, the approach to governing artificial intelligence (AI) is still in its early stages. As policymakers, developers, and civil society work together to navigate an uncertain digital future, encouraging greater openness in the AI model ecosystem will be critical to upholding democratic values, serving the public interest, and promoting innovation.

The internet plays an essential, everyday role in the lives of Americans. Internet access—both fixed and mobile—is a critical resource that allows individuals and families to participate in work and education opportunities, receive telehealth services, access public benefits and services, communicate with loved ones, and more.  Yet affordability remains one of the primary barriers to reliable broadband access.

In July, the U.S. Department of Education proposed regulations that would require colleges to provide more detailed data on students in online education programs.

In 2023, more than 60 bills were introduced at the state and federal level requiring greater parental consent, age restrictions, or safety-by-design measures. Half as many bills have already been introduced in the first few months of 2024. Most of these laws target youth access to online adult content and sales that are age-gated in real life. Yet some states are going further to apply age verification requirements to social media, responding to growing concerns about children’s experiences online.

Lilian Coral, an experienced public interest and technology leader, has joined New America as Senior Director of the Open Technology Institute (OTI) and Head of New America’s Technology and Democracy Programs. Coral will oversee New America’s work on a broad range of issues at the intersection of technology and democracy at a time when digital equity, privacy concerns, online free expression, and other key tech policy issues are at the forefront of US public debate. Coral served most recently as Director of National Strategy and Tech Innovation at the John S. & James L.