Building a 21st Century Congress: A Playbook for Modern Technology Assessment

The next generation of technologies will be transformative. How those technologies – from artificial intelligence to synthetic biology tools – are developed, distributed, and managed will affect how societies reap their benefits and mitigate their costs.

To protect the lives and livelihoods of all Americans, the 117th Congress and the Biden Administration must prepare to take a deeper look at the social impacts of emerging technologies, Mike Miesen and Laura Manley write in a new report, “Building a 21st Century Congress: A Playbook for Modern Technology Assessment.” This deeper look, they write, must come from the discipline of technology assessment.

Technology assessment is a powerful tool for surfacing the implications of critical or emerging technologies. The authors recommend that Congress and the Executive Office of the President (EOP) incorporate four “pillars” of effective technology assessment into their processes. Those pillars are strong governance; responsiveness to consumer needs; input from experts; and a presentation of policy options, not answers.

For governance, the report recommends a permanent standing body capable of providing long-term guidance with short-term external advisory groups. Regarding consumer needs, technology assessments should “scratch real itches,” responding to needs of the end user or people directly impacted by the technology, Miesen and Manley write. Inputs on technology assessments should come from a broad range of expert sources, within and outside the government. Importantly, a technology assessment should present a range of options, not a single recommendation.

“Technology assessment is a process, not an outcome; a set of tools, not a solution,” Miesen and Manley write.

“With the start of a new Congress and a new presidential administration, now is the right time to refocus on technology assessment principles and recommit to the thorough analysis of critical and emerging technologies that is vital for crafting sound legislation, appropriating federal research and development dollars, and more.”