In the middle of another industrial revolution, lawmakers and thought leaders are grappling with massive new problems, and often disagreeing about solutions.听
Should pharmaceutical companies be banned from delivering pop-up advertisements to doctors in the middle of a patient appointment? Should cities be banned from using facial recognition until the technology stops misidentifying people?
Panelists debate the future of technology at the Silicon Flatirons 2020 flagship conference. (Jordan Altergott/CU Boulder)
Questions like these came rapid fire during the University of Colorado Law School鈥檚 Silicon Flatirons flagship conference in the school鈥檚 Wittemyer Courtroom Sunday and Monday. Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O鈥橰ielly, Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Anne Toth, CEO of Privacyworks, and Lisl Brunner, AT&T鈥檚 director of global public policy, all spoke at the conference, among others.
鈥淥ne of the solutions is that there may not be a solution,鈥� Amie Stepanovich, executive director of Silicon Flatirons, said as she kicked off Monday鈥檚 portion of the technology and entrepreneurship law center鈥檚 flagship conference.
The event鈥檚 theme was 鈥淭echnology Optimism and Pessimism.鈥� Most of the keynotes and panelists expressed a mix of both.
Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O鈥橰ielly delivered a keynote highlighting the potential benefits of new technology, while also questioning the role his agency has in regulating it.
鈥淥nce limited to Star Wars and Star Trek, holograms and 3D communications are not far away,鈥漁鈥橰ielly said.
It remains unclear is how much oversight the FCC, originally created to referee radio companies, will ultimately end up with when it comes to these high-tech communications.听
鈥淚 recognize that unless Congress changes our authority, most of these debates will not be in the FCC bailiwick, and that鈥檚 OK,鈥� he said.
Panelist Chris Lewis, president and CEO of Public Knowledge, a company advising public agencies on technology, disagreed, saying the country still needs the FCC.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the awkward adolescence of online technology,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淭he hallmark of being an adult is personal accountability.鈥�
That accountability is something Lewis said should be present for large companies, too.听
While there may not be clear solutions, having these debates is worthwhile, the speakers said.
鈥淭here are very few opportunities like this. Some other institutions do some of this inside Washington, D.C., but not a lot outside,鈥� O鈥橰ielly said. 鈥淭his is incredibly valuable to pull different perspectives together to debate these issues.鈥�
Stepanovich said that鈥檚 the big idea of the conference.
鈥淧roductive engagement on important issues in tech, law, and entrepreneurship requires honest engagement and a comprehensive consideration of a wide diversity of positions and opinion,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ilicon Flatirons prioritizes convening folks from different backgrounds, political spheres, sectors, and experiences, and because of this, we have become a place to catalyze progress on some of the most pressing issues facing society today.鈥�
O鈥橰ielly agreed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly important. Silicon Flatirons has been a complete success from my perspective.鈥�
