Cathryn Ross is Strategy and Regulatory Affairs Director at Thames Water. She is responsible for shaping and embedding a strategy to ensure that Thames Water delivers for customers, communities and the environment. She is an experienced regulatory and competition economist and has worked across a number of different sectors advising on economic, regulatory and competition issues.

Cathryn Ross on the Regulatory Horizons Council and Re-Imagining Regulation

Michael Rosenbaum is founder and executive chairman of Catalyte, a recognized leader in onshore agile application services working with clients onsite or from development centers in Baltimore, Md. and Portland, Ore., and CEO of Arena.

Prior to starting Catalyte, Mike received an Irving R. Kaufman Fellowship to build the first version of what is now the company’s analytics engine for talent selection and team assembly. Prior to that, he was a John M. Olin Fellow at Harvard University where he researched, wrote and taught on economics and law. Michael is also the CEO of Pegged Software.

Michael is a frequent national speaker and contributor, sharing insights and advice on IT strategies and practices as they relate to application development, innovation, bi-modal sourcing, Agile, big data, onshoring and domestic sourcing. He has a JD from Harvard Law School, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA from Harvard College.

Mike Rosenbaum on Using AI to Avoid Hiring Biases and Find Overlooked Talent

Michael Smith joins Two Think Minimum to discuss his work on video streaming, how traditional studios adapted to technological changes, and draws parallels to the future of higher education. He argues that technological change will disrupt the standard model of higher ed, which has barely changed in centuries. He says the current system is financially and morally unsustainable and that technology provides an opportunity to create a more inclusive and accessible system, which is the premise of his upcoming book. Michael is a professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael Smith on Video Streaming and Its Lessons for Higher Education

Jay Bhattacharya joins Two Think Minimum for a look at the responses of public health and economic experts to Covid-19. He asserts the need for a retrospective to learn from it, discussing his own criticisms of the professional communities. Jay is a professor of health policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He directs Stanford Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. He co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter in response to the pandemic and lockdowns.

Jay Bhattacharya on Covid Policy Missteps

Guest Avi Goldfarb discusses AI as prediction technology likely to transform our systems over a long period of time. Goldfarb is the Rotman Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare and a Professor of Marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He's also Chief Data Scientist at the Creative Destruction Lab, a Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute and the Schwartzman Institute for Technology and Society, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Avi's research focuses on the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy. Additionally, he is co-author of a new book titled Power and Prediction, The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence, which will be coming out on November 15th.

Avi Goldfarb on AI and Predictive Analytics

Ryan Vaughan of Needham & Company delves into the world of mergers in the media, tech, and telecom industries, drawing insights from the recent attempted merger between Standard General and Tegna.

Ryan Vaughan on Mergers in Media, Tech, and Telecom

On the latest episode of TPI's podcast "Two Think Minimum," Xiaomeng Lu, a director at Eurasia Group, discussed the evolving dynamics of US-China relations related to technology policy with TPI's Scott Wallsten and Sarah Oh Lam. The discussion included implications of the CHIPS Act, strategic competition, semiconductor manufacturing, and the broader geopolitical landscape shaped by technology. The conversation highlighted how policy shifts and strategic decisions in both countries are shaping the future of global tech dominance and addressed the tension between domestic industrial policy and the globalized nature of the semiconductor industry.

Unpacking US-China Tech Policies with Xiaomeng Lu

Freedom of Speech in the Digital Age with Professor Jeff Kosseff

On the most recent episode of TPI's podcast "Two Think Minimum," Dr. Meicen Sun, assistant professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined TPI's Scott Wallsten to discuss her research on the effects of a country's decision to control international internet traffic. She finds that China's Great Firewall has helped increase profits of Chinese firms, but at the cost of reducing research quality as scientific collaboration and connections wither. This result presents a dilemma for autocrats if they try to balance short-term and long-term effects.

An Autocrat's Dilemma: Boosting Domestic Business Profits at the Expense of Research Quality

Joe Nocera Discusses the Covid Policy Big Fail

The journey to implementing spectrum auctions was not without its challenges. Evan Kwerel shed light on the initial resistance, particularly from the broadcasting industry and legislators. Concerns about market concentration and the potential costs of spectrum use were at the forefront of the debate. Despite these hurdles, the need for government revenue and the inefficiency of the existing system for cellular licenses were catalysts for change.

Paul Milgrom provided a fascinating comparison between the United States and other countries. He noted the fragmented nature of the industry abroad and the various tactics used to suppress auction prices. In contrast, the U.S. wireless companies were less resistant, which played a part in the smoother implementation of spectrum auctions stateside.

Airwaves of Innovation: Milgrom & Kwerel on the Past and Future of Spectrum Auctions

Podcast of the Technology Policy Institute of Washington, D.C. 

The Technology Policy Institute is a think tank that focuses on the economics of innovation, technological change, and related regulation in the United States and around the world. Our mission is to advance knowledge and inform policymakers by producing independent, rigorous research and by sponsoring educational programs and conferences on major issues affecting information technology and communications policy.

Airwaves of Innovation: Milgrom & Kwerel on the Past and Future of Spectrum Auctions

Two Think Minimum

Related tracks