Regions
United Kingdom
September 17, 2024
Comments to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on the AI Opportunities Action Plan
AI presents a wealth of opportunity for the UK, not only as an economy boosting mechanism, but also as a tool for improving the lives of UK citizens. AI adoption is key to the Action Plan, and the government should take actions that can simultaneously support AI sector growth and AI adoption.
September 11, 2024
AI Adoption Is Key to the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan
The UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan focuses on sector growth and adoption. The government should encourage lightweight models, invest in industry-academia partnerships, and establish sector centres to support AI uptake across industries.
August 23, 2024
Labour Should Prioritize Spreading Innovation To Succeed Where the Conservatives Fell Short
Labour aims to revive the UK’s economy by focusing on spreading innovation across all sectors, addressing the nation's productivity challenges through practical measures. By building on existing projects and ensuring the adoption of new technologies, particularly in both high-tech and low-tech sectors, Labour can deliver visible results and drive meaningful growth across the country.
August 12, 2024
How Experts in China and the United Kingdom View AI Risks and Collaboration
As AI continues to advance, the technology has created many opportunities and risks. Despite significant geopolitical differences, a series of interviews with AI experts in China and the United Kingdom reveals common AI safety priorities, shared understanding of the benefits and risks of open source AI, and agreement on the merits of closer collaboration—but also obstacles to closer partnerships.
August 8, 2024
Blaming Social Media for Political Violence in the UK Won’t Stop Future Riots
In response to the Southport stabbing and ensuing UK riots, many have blamed social media for spreading misinformation that incited violence. However, this focus on social media ignores deeper societal issues and deflects from the government's own shortcomings.
Canada
September 13, 2024
Comments to Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner Regarding Age Assurance and Privacy
Age assurances are not the only available option to protect children online. But if policymakers are set on mandating age assurance systems, regulation should be limited to high-risk circumstances, avoid inflexible requirements, and be designed to be technologically and commercially agnostic.
September 3, 2024
A Techno-Economic Agenda for Canada’s Next Federal Government
Innovation, productivity, and competitiveness must be top priorities for Canada’s next federal government, not sidenotes or vague aspirations to be addressed with little more than lip service.
July 26, 2024
Comments to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Regarding Legislated Procurement Targets for SMEs
Legislated procurement targets for SMEs should be a tool to stimulate technology R&D and commercialize Canadian innovations, and not a goal in and of itself. Focusing on firms that develop innovative solutions for government problems will create opportunities for Canadian firms to scale up and drive innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.
July 24, 2024
“Green” Is Not an Economic Growth Strategy
Spurring the transition to clean energy is now widely viewed not just as the key to fighting climate change but also as the silver bullet to restoring economic growth. But it's not. They are separate goals that require separate policies, as Robert Atkinson writes in Research Money.
July 18, 2024
The Digital Services Tax Will Not Be Good for Canada
Canada should drop its Digital Services Tax, which will harm Canadian businesses, startups, and consumers and surely lead to a retaliatory response by the U.S. government.
Africa
September 16, 2024
Fact of the Week: AI Rice Farming Technology in Nigeria Reduces Water Use by 30 Percent
A new irrigation technology incorporating AI sensors reduces water use by 30 percent and methane emissions by 47 percent compared to continuous irrigation methods.
June 11, 2024
Comments to Kenya’s Competition Authority Regarding the Draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2024
Proposed changes to Kenya’s competition regime will hinder, not help its digital economy. Rather than impose substantial changes based on the false premise that digital markets require special treatment, Kenya should use existing enforcement tools to police its growing digital markets.
August 19, 2019
Comments to the U.S. International Trade Commission Regarding the Digital Economy and Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa
ITIF’s submission focuses on the ITC’s interest in recent developments in the digital economy for key SSA markets, including national and regional regulatory and policy measures and market conditions that affect digital trade.
May 6, 2019
Fact of the Week: Ethiopian Youth Given $300 Start-up Grants at Random had 36 Percent Higher Wages After One Year, But No Effect After Five Years
When attempting to evaluate the effect that a policy intervention can have on development or innovation, researchers and policymakers routinely look to short-term impacts, both out of urgency and because of the difficulty in maintaining contact with participants over several years.
October 22, 2018
Fact of the Week: Adoption of Mobile Money in Kenya Lifted 194,000 Households Out of Extreme Poverty
Over the last decade, mobile money services have brought banking to populations that have lacked formal financial services by allowing users to manage money on their mobile phones. First launched in Kenya in 2007, 96 percent of Kenyan households now use mobile money and can withdraw funds in physical currency from 110,000 agents across the country.
Asia-Pacific
September 20, 2024
Advancing US-Japan Economic Security Partnership and Countering Chinese Economic Coercion
The United States and Japan must make a concerted effort to mutually advance their economic security and counter Chinese economic coercion, while bringing other allied nations aboard the enterprise to the greatest extent possible.
September 3, 2024
Comments to Japan’s Fair Trade Commission Regarding the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion Act
The SSCP’s broad per se prohibitions and limited cybersecurity exemption are likely to chill the very innovative behavior that is key to allowing Japan’s smartphone markets to thrive, and risk targeting a leading firm of one of its closest allies.
August 29, 2024
Comments for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Regarding Digital Platform Services
The ACCC should consider digital models beyond the EU's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act, such as those of the United States, Singapore, and Taiwan, which do not involve heavy-handed digital regulations that can stifle the very innovation Australia seeks to foster.
August 20, 2024
Opportunities for APEC To Build Trust in the Digital Economy
Global trade relies heavily on trust, and the Internet amplifies trust challenges due to distance, anonymity, and the vast scale of interactions. To address these challenges, APEC economies should focus on developing socio-technical solutions, like digital IDs and content provenance tools, to improve trust in the digital environment and ensure the safety and security of the digital economy.
August 15, 2024
Comments to the Ministry of Information and Communications Regarding Vietnam’s Draft Law on Digital Technology Industry
The draft DTI Law presents a promising framework for advancing Vietnam's digital technology sector. While it offers valuable steps forward in areas such as data accessibility, AI regulation, and industry support, there are several aspects that could benefit from refinement.
China
September 24, 2024
Testimony to the US House Oversight Committee: Defending America From the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Warfare, Part III
The best way for U.S. policymakers to think about China, at least in the realm of technology and industry, is that we are engaged in a form of war: China is seeking to defeat the United States on the techno-economic battlefield.
September 23, 2024
We Need an Allied Effort to Establish New Global Manufacturing Hubs to Compete With China
China accounted for 35 percent of global manufacturing as of 2023. The United States and Western allies should launch a global competition to establish competing manufacturing hubs in countries that commit to reforming restrictive regulations, reducing corruption, boosting skill development, and ensuring adequate financial incentives and infrastructure.
September 23, 2024
Why Is the EU So Reticent About Challenging Beijing?
The European Union needs to pay a short-term price for long-term gain by standing alongside the United States in taking tough action to hold China accountable for its IP theft, dumping, and over-subsidizing.
September 20, 2024
Advancing US-Japan Economic Security Partnership and Countering Chinese Economic Coercion
The United States and Japan must make a concerted effort to mutually advance their economic security and counter Chinese economic coercion, while bringing other allied nations aboard the enterprise to the greatest extent possible.
September 16, 2024
China Is Rapidly Becoming a Leading Innovator in Advanced Industries
There may be no more important question for the West’s competitive position in advanced industries than whether China is becoming a rival innovator. While the evidence suggests it hasn’t yet taken the overall lead, it has pulled ahead in certain areas, and in many others Chinese firms will likely equal or surpass Western firms within a decade or so.
Europe
September 26, 2024
Comments Before the European Commission Regarding the Digital Services Act
While increasing children’s online safety and privacy are important goals, it is important not to infringe on others’ rights, or children’s own rights, in the process.
September 25, 2024
Draghi’s Competitiveness Report Shows Why the EU Needs a Pro-Innovation Approach Towards AI
The EU should adopt a more flexible, innovation-driven approach to AI regulation to boost global competitiveness, according to the European Competitiveness Report by Mario Draghi.
September 24, 2024
Europe Should Tap Switzerland to Unlock LLM Innovation in the Continent
As the United States commands the field with English-language large language models (LLMs) and China climbs the ranks to secure the lead in models for Chinese-language tasks, Europe is barely in the game when it comes to mastering models for its own languages.
September 23, 2024
Why Is the EU So Reticent About Challenging Beijing?
The European Union needs to pay a short-term price for long-term gain by standing alongside the United States in taking tough action to hold China accountable for its IP theft, dumping, and over-subsidizing.
September 17, 2024
Submission to the Multi-stakeholder Consultation ‘Future-Proof AI Act: Trustworthy General-Purpose AI’
The AIA came into law on 12th July 2024, triggering several actions by the AIO to ensure streamlined compliance with the new rules. The Center for Data Innovation puts forward six key recommendations to support AI innovation and adoption within the new framework.
Global
September 23, 2024
We Need an Allied Effort to Establish New Global Manufacturing Hubs to Compete With China
China accounted for 35 percent of global manufacturing as of 2023. The United States and Western allies should launch a global competition to establish competing manufacturing hubs in countries that commit to reforming restrictive regulations, reducing corruption, boosting skill development, and ensuring adequate financial incentives and infrastructure.
August 28, 2024
Alzheimer’s Disease Next Game Changer: TauRx Pharmaceutical’s Novel Tau Aggregation Inhibitor
TauRx is revolutionizing Alzheimer's treatment with a novel drug that targets toxic brain proteins, offering fresh hope in the fight against this devastating disease.
August 16, 2024
Innovative Cure For All: How CurASeal’s Plant-Based Technology Advances Bleeding Control and Wound Healing
InCurA is revolutionizing MENA's medical landscape with AI-optimized, locally produced hemostatic solutions like CurASeal, bridging the gap between innovation and accessibility while reducing reliance on global imports.
August 12, 2024
Fact of the Week: Global R&D Investment by Biopharmaceutical Companies Was $276 Billion in 2021
A recent article found that all previous reports of the biopharmaceutical industry have grossly underestimated total research and development expenditures.
August 12, 2024
US Development Financing Needs to Stop Rewarding Nations Whose Policies Harm US Companies and Workers
The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which was created to serve counterweight to China’s Belt-and-Road initiative, rewards countries whose intellectual property and data policies harm American commercial interests and jobs. That needs to stop.
Latin America
July 15, 2024
Comments to Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority Regarding Processing of Personal Data of Children and Adolescents
A combination of privacy-protective age verification systems utilizing digital forms of identification and AI, parental controls that are readily available and easy to use, and greater transparency from digital platforms would increase children’s safety and privacy, encourage innovation in improved safety and privacy controls, and better inform policymakers and parents on next steps to protect children.
June 7, 2024
Mexico, Maize, and Food Sovereignty
Mexico's newly elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, can reverse President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's anti-innovation policies toward genetically modified maize, and improve the lives of small farmers across Mexico.
May 15, 2024
Assessing University-Industry Research Attention in Latin America and the Caribbean
The current scope of University-Industry (U-I) collaboration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) opens opportunities for research to progress in innovative directions.
May 13, 2024
Comments to Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) Regarding Digital Markets and Competition
Regulation in the digital sector should only be necessary to remedy market failure that cannot be addressed by the current legal framework, which simply is not true.
May 2, 2024
Comments to Brazil’s Finance Ministry Regarding Digital Markets Regulation
As Brazil crafts its own Digital Markets Act in the mold of the EU’s, it should be aware of the potential shortcomings and unsubstantiated advantages associated with such wide-ranging economic regulation within the digital market landscape.