Technology Policy

Course Description

This is a one-semester Ph.D. seminar on technology policy. Technology can and has fundamentally transform people, societies, economies, and environments. Careful regulation and management of technology can encourage changes that improve social welfare and minimize unintended consequences. However, identifying, implementing, and evaluating these regulations requires a combination of technology and policy expertise, as well as the ability engage with decision makers in both the public and private sector. In this course, we will both explore the tools used to conduct policy analysis and apply those tools to a wide variety of technology-related policy problems. The first half of the course will delve into the mechanisms used to analyze policy problems and identify potential solutions, with special attention paid to those mechanisms that frequently appear in the technology policy context. Wherever possible, these mechanisms will be illustrated with examples from technology policy. The second half of the course will be comprised of a series of case studies, using the tools learned in the first half of the course to comprehensively analyze a series of technology policy questions. These case studies will include examples related to surveillance and privacy, cyber warfare, algorithmic fairness, bioethics, and space policy.

Code

POL 614

Credits

3

Subject

Govt & Pub Policy, Sch of