{"id":37991,"date":"2025-06-02T17:25:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T17:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/?p=37991"},"modified":"2025-06-09T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T18:09:00","slug":"2025-emerging-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicknowledge.org\/2025-emerging-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Emerging Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Public Knowledge hosts Emerging Tech to bring together public interest advocates, policymakers, and companies on the cutting edge of technology. The event helps inform policymakers about the promise, potential pitfalls, and policy implications of fast-moving tech dominating headlines and impacting our society in new ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite industry experts from across the country to join us for an all-day discussion as well as a reception and tech showcase, where guests can experience the latest technologies first-hand and get to know the people driving the next iteration of the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2025, we convened a targeted, in-depth gathering aimed at fostering deeper engagement, collaboration, and policy conversations between policy advocates and emerging technology audiences. This year, we explored the policy implications and opportunities within frontier technologies, emphasizing the decentralized web, generative AI, and XR innovations.

Public Knowledge Interim CEO Meredith Whipple offered opening remarks to highlight the impact emerging technologies can have on society. She then introduced Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Nicholas Garcia, who began the conversation by providing an overview of themes for the day, how the activities would be structured, and what guests could hope to achieve by participating in this unique, shared experience. After leading table introductions, the event then turned to the first discussions of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ross Schulman, Software Engineer at SpruceID; Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union; and Nick Pickles, Chief Policy Officer at Tools for Humanity give lightning talks on Decentralized Digital Identity at Emerging Tech.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speakers from SpruceID, American Civil Liberties Union, and Tools for Humanity joined Public Knowledge moderator and Senior Policy Counsel Nicholas Garcia in a series of lightning talks on Decentralized Digital Identity<\/strong>. A Q&A followed the lightning talk to give participants a chance to engage the speakers directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ivan Sigal, Interim Director at Free Our Feeds and Ren\u00e9e DiResta, Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown, participate in a fireside chat on Decentralized Social Media at Emerging Tech.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speakers from Free Our Feeds and Georgetown University then led the workshop in a fireside chat on Decentralized Social Media: Success Stories and Future Potential<\/strong>. The fireside chat kicked off a networking lunch with activities designed to help guests better connect with each other and the themes of the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lacey Strahm, Head of Policy at OpenMined; Anna Lenhart, Policy Fellow at Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics (GWU); Josh Levine, Research Fellow at Foundation for American Innovation; and Lorelei Kelly, Founder of Georgetown Democracy, Education + Service give lightning talks on Artificial Intelligence.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speakers from OpenMined, Georgetown\u2019s Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics, the Foundation for American Innovation, and Georgetown University joined Public Knowledge moderator and Senior Policy Counsel Nicholas Garcia in a series of lightning talks on Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>. A Q&A followed the lightning talk to give participants a chance to engage the speakers directly. Public Knowledge then led a table discussion on the themes and questions raised during the lighting talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Following the lightning talks, Helen Toner, Director of Strategy and Foundational Research Grants at Georgetown\u2019s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, keynoted the event by addressing the Unresolved Debates About the Future of AI<\/strong>. A Q&A and table discussion followed her commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jack Henderson, Chief Operating Officer at RadicalxChange Foundation; Sam Hammond, Chief Economist at the Foundation for American Innovation; Judith Donath, Faculty Associate at Berkman-Klein Center (Harvard University); and Larry Williams, Jr., the President of UnionBase give lightning talks on AI.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speakers from RadicalxChange Foundation, the Foundation for American Innovation, the Foundation for American Innovation, the Berkman-Klein Center at Harvard University, and UnionBase joined Public Knowledge moderator and Senior Policy Counsel Nicholas Garcia in a second series of lightning talks on Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>. A Q&A followed the lightning talk to give participants a chance to engage the speakers directly. Public Knowledge then led a table discussion on the themes and questions raised during the lighting talks. Finally, the event culminated in an activity where guests drafted headlines from the future based on what they had discovered or found the most captivating from the day\u2019s conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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