Broadening Participation in Technology Policy

Those who work in politics and policy are often unprepared to address the issues that current technology developments have created. A glaring example is the congressional hearings with Facebook where Congress Members asked embarrassingly fundamental questions and were not able to get to the heart of the issue. Many congress people do not have technology advisor on staff to assist in addressing technical issues. Not only does Congress not have technology experts on staff, but the few who are involved are not from underrepresented minority communities. This makes it even more difficult to adequately address issues that more directly impact communities of color including predictive policing, voter suppression, and facial recognition.