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How to Assess the Future's Technologies - by Santi Ruiz

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"What you really need, Congressman, is a house inspector"

For 20 years, Congress had a dedicated “Office of Technology Assessment,” or OTA, meant to provide Congress with an unbiased assessment of science and technology. The OTA was touted as a key tool to keep the American government ahead of the curve on the most important issues of the future. But in 1995, after Republicans swept into power, the OTA was shuttered. Its critics claimed it was a partisan entity, unfocused, and frequently too slow to help Congress. Today, some observers want it back, to inform Congress on issues like generative AI, gene editing, and quantum computing. How valuable…

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