"The flood of money that gushes into politics today is a pollution of democracy." ~ Theodore White
Balancing AI Progress with Safety Guardrails
An Interview with Claude AI, March 4, 2026 Dirk: What specific guardrails can be put on AI use and development that will not hinder progress but will prevent harm to society? This is a great question that sits at the intersection of policy, technology, and ethics. There’s a growing body of thought on this, and … Continue reading "Balancing AI Progress with Safety Guardrails"
Project 1971
In 1971, Lewis Powell, soon to be Supreme Court Judge, wrote a memo with the subject Attack on American Free Enterprise System to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce laying out a strategy for American businesses to counter the growing criticism of capitalism and corporate influence. This became known, in limit circles, as the Powell Memorandum or … Continue reading "Project 1971"
Kleptocracy
Kleptocracy is a term used to describe a system of government or state in which leaders or officials exploit their power to steal resources from the country they govern, often for personal gain. The word comes from the Greek words klepto (meaning theft) and kratos (meaning power or rule). Some characteristic of kleptocracies: Corruption The … Continue reading "Kleptocracy"
We need a true public space online!
The Internet holds a lot of promise for connecting people around the world. The problem is that it has been taken over by corporations for their benefit, not necessarily ours. What is needed is a social platform that is owned by the people that use it, without algorithms pushing content that is negative and often … Continue reading "We need a true public space online!"
Improving Digital Literacy
Digital literacy refers to the ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information through digital technologies. Digital literacy is increasingly crucial for protecting democracy in our interconnected world. In the context of protecting democracy, it’s particularly focused on: Information evaluation: Identifying credible sources vs. unreliable ones. Understanding how search algorithms work and can be biased. Recognizing … Continue reading "Improving Digital Literacy"
Protecting Democracy
Experts predict a 19.2% four-year likelihood of democratic breakdown in the United States as of 2022.1 When democracy breaks down, it typically takes many years, often decades, to reverse the downward spiral. In the process, violence and corruption typically flourish, and talent and wealth flee to more stable countries, undermining national prosperity. It is not … Continue reading "Protecting Democracy"
Who gets to vote and who doesn’t
As our country approaches a presidential election in 2024, access to voting is changing at the state level. A 2022 investigation from The Center for Public Integrity found over half the states in the United States of America had made access to voting worse than it had been previously. Slightly less than half of the … Continue reading "Who gets to vote and who doesn’t"