November 7, 2024 — The election of a Trump-Vance administration comes at a critical time for our democracy, one in which the unfettered growth of data-driven technologies and AI is harming already marginalized communities. Today, algorithmic systems make unfair, discriminatory, opaque, and harmful decisions about people’s access to housing, employment, credit, public benefits and services, education, and personal safety. Because it’s difficult for people to contest these harms, the ongoing use of these systems — by the government, employers, landlords, and other entities — is worsening the imbalance of power in society. The policies that the Trump-Vance campaign has promised to advance would compound this already massive inequality. 

Government plays a critical role in shaping technology policy, placing safeguards on emerging technologies to ensure that their benefits are distributed broadly and their harms mitigated. This is what produces enduring innovation that serves the public interest. It would be a grave mistake to undo the progress made by the federal government — for example, the AI governance protocols established by the Office of Management and Budget — in seeking partisan victories. 

For Data & Society, this moment underscores our commitment to ensuring that technology is governed in the public interest — and the deep urgency of this work. As we have for the past decade, we will carry it out in close partnership with scholars, sociotechnical researchers, workers, advocates, and local and state officials.