Congress used to evaluate emerging technologies. Let’s do it again.
1 min read
Summary
The US Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was set up in 1972 to provide scientific advice to politicians, producing an average of 32 reports per year on subjects including genetics, waste disposal and remote sensing, but was defunded in 1995.
Its reports included an evaluation of the validity of polygraph tests, a 2006 study on the transmission of HIV by insects and a 1982 report on the potential of electronic funds transfers and emails to challenge the US Postal Service’s dominance.
It also offered advice on bioequivalence to help regulators determine whether generic drugs were comparable to their name-brand equivalents.
The OTA also assessed the Boston Elbow, a cybernetic limb, the environmental clean-up at Love Canal, and the Boston Elbow, a cybernetic limb, the viability of a water pipeline connecting Alaska to California and the health effects of the Kuwait oil fires.
The OTA also scrutinised automatic record checks for people buying guns, the compensation for injuries allegedly caused by vaccines and whether humanity should explore Mars.
Advocates want a new OTA to provide fact-based information to those making key decisions about emerging technologies such as AI and self-driving cars.