Bridging technology and the public interest
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY MELISSA DE WITTE
"When Stanford professor Jeremy Weinstein was serving as a national security official in the Obama administration, he was struck by how difficult it was for the nation’s foreign policy decision-makers and technologists to communicate with one another.
There was no shared language, no common understanding of technology, and little history of working through how to balance the competing interests at stake on issues as diverse as encryption, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyberwarfare. When Weinstein returned to Stanford in 2015, he was committed to training a next generation of leaders who are equally at ease thinking about technology and policy, he said.
One way Weinstein hopes to advance this goal is through the newly launched Public Interest Technology University Network, a partnership convened by the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation and public policy think tank New America with Stanford and 20 other colleges and universities committed to developing a new generation of civic-minded technologists and bridging the gap between technology and public service.
Weinstein, who is spearheading Stanford’s involvement in the project, recently talked about the initiative.
Weinstein is a professor of political science and the Fisher Family Director of Stanford Global Studies. He is also a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. In addition, he is faculty co-director of the Immigration Policy Lab and the Data for Development Initiative."