Techonomy asked members of our community: What do you think is the most important tech-related issue the incoming administration should tackle?
“The most important tech-related issue is the visa process for talented individuals from other countries to stay and work at technology companies here. We’re doing the country a disservice by throwing out talented and extremely useful individuals.” –Anthony DiMare, Co-founder and CEO, Nautilus Labs
“Cybersecurity and appropriate access.” –Diana Farrell, CEO, JPMorgan Chase Institute
“Our antiquated immigration policies, especially for tech companies. We are losing some of the best talent in the world.” – Brett A. Hurt, CEO and Co-founder, Data.word
“Cyber security will be the most important technology issue that the next administration will have to deal with, along with the trade offs between cyber security requirements and the importance of maintaining an open Internet system.” Merit E Janow, Dean, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
“Encryption” – Dan’l Lewin, Corporate Vice President, Technology and Civic Engagement,
Microsoft
“The most important tech issue that the next administration should tackle is how to actually implement its programs! Peoples’ expectations for all services, including those provided by government, are increasingly set by consumer mobile and web applications, with near-instantaneous response time and close attention to user experience. The utter failure of government services to meet those expectations undermines faith in government, increases the cost of delivering its services, and ultimately, contributes to the failure of policy options that are often so fiercely debated.” –Tim O’Reilly, CEO, O’Reilly Media
“How do we educate angry people who are being left behind because of skills made obsolete by the unstoppable motion forward of technology?” –Julio Ottino, Dean, Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Northwestern University
“We need rational decision-making at the pace demanded by world events. Yet marred with political stalemate and asphyxiating decision processes, the US government’s ability to act on and adopt new technologies has slowed to a crawl.” –Peter Platzer, CEO Spire Global
“How will countries, societies and individuals create jobs, as machines become more intelligent? How will the next generation prepare?” –Yatish Rajawat, chief strategy officer, Local Circles, India
“We are entering the era of the Internet of Things, where malicious hacking could have devastating consequences. Hacking can be carried out anywhere and everywhere, potentially involving multiple networks in obscure locations. It defies conventional retaliation and protection strategies. As then-US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned in 2012, given its current systems the United States is vulnerable to a “cyber Pearl Harbor” that could derail trains, poison water supplies, and cripple power grids.” –Carlo Ratti, Founder, Carlo Ratti Associati (design consultancy) and Director, SENSEable City Lab MIT
“The U.S. economy is built on innovation and inventiveness and we must make it easier for highly educated and skilled workers to stay in the U.S. and apply those skills here.” –Gary E. Rieschel, Founding Managing Partner, Qiming Venture Partners, China
“The most important tech issue is ownership and regulation of data, particularly data exchanged digitally between industry participants. We need regulation that puts the ownership of that data squarely in the hands of the consumer that generates it, whether it is about their online behavior, their image, their financial history, or their health data.” –Lex Sokolin, Global Director – Fintech Strategy, Autonomous Research US LP
“How might technology disrupt unemployment? And where might technology create the next job market?” –John Suh, Executive Director, Hyundai Ventures, Hyundai Motor Group
“The most important issues relate to the link between jobs and technologies. Most technologies now will require high quality scientists, engineers, and technicians, especially in fields like biology, neurosciences, new materials, and information architecture. But they also will require many related workers with less education but who are good in interpersonal relationships. Students must go as far as possible in high-tech learning. Then we need to find new ways for “interaction jobs” to be decently compensated, not just with money but with social recognition. The education system must train many more for people-to-people interaction.” –Dominique Turcq, President, Boostzone Institute, France
“Reduce barriers to telehealth services. It’s important we ensure everyone has access to the life-saving benefits of technology-enabled care. We should also encourage the interoperability of healthcare information. And we must address cybersecurity threats in a balanced fashion. We need to protect privacy and security without being punitive and overly restrictive.” –Bernard J. Tyson, Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Permanent
“The most important tech-related issue for the new administration is to calibrate how much of a role technology needs to and must play in solving climate change.” –Gernot Wagner, Research Associate and Lecturer, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
