Author: TheConversation

By Anjana Susarla, Associate Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University Every aspect of life can be guided by artificial intelligence algorithms – from choosing what route to take for your morning commute, to deciding whom to take on a date, to complex legal and judicial matters such as predictive policing. Big tech companies like Google and Facebook use AI to obtain insights on their gargantuan trove of detailed customer data. This allows them monetize users’ collective preferences through practices such as micro-targeting, a strategy used by advertisers to narrowly target specific sets of users. In parallel, many people...

By Michele Gilman, Venable Professor of Law, University of Baltimore Congress may finally be on the verge of passing a comprehensive federal privacy law after almost a half-century of trying. Even the tech lobby is on board following years of resistance. The growing bipartisan support for privacy legislation seems to be responding to the public “techlash” against a drumbeat of data breaches and social media misinformation campaigns. It also appears aimed at preventing a patchwork of state laws after California passed its own privacy legislation in 2018. While the time is right to enact a new law, what you...

By Jimmie Lenz, Clinical Assistant Professor of Finance, University of South Carolina It used to be that everyone wanted to buy a home, seeking pleasure and security, as well as the potential for future wealth. But younger Americans are buying homes far less often than their elder generations did, and that puts a large sector of the U.S. economy at risk. Millennial home ownership levels are dramatically lower than the those of previous generations at a similar age. In 1985, 45.5% of 25- to 34-year-olds owned homes in the U.S. By 2015, this had fallen about 25%. Since the...

By Christine Van Winkle, Professor at University of Manitoba For many communities, summertime is festival season. Festivals allow us to escape our everyday lives. Whether it is time spent listening to music outside with our friends or trying out food trucks on date night, community events are a valued part of social life. As many people head to their favourite festival they will do so with their mobile phone safely tucked into their pocket. But what most people don’t consider is how this will impact their experience — for better or worse. We’ve come to accept mobile devices as...

By Michael Klein, Professor of International Economic Affairs, Fletcher School, Tufts University The latest jobs report showed a lackluster gain in jobs in May that was worse than economists had predicted. While the sudden slowdown in jobs growth after many months of strong numbers is worrying and signals a weakening economy, a more long-term concern is the persistently low labor force participation rate that has not recovered in the decade since the onset of the Great Recession. I have been studying labor market issues for over much of my 30 year career as an economist. Let me explain why...

By Susan R. Crandall, Director, Center for Social Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston Forty percent of all working-age Americans sometimes struggle to pay their monthly bills. There is no place in the country where a family supported by one minimum-wage worker with a full-time job can live and afford a 2-bedroom apartment at the average fair-market rent. Given the pressure to earn enough to make ends meet, you would think that low-paid workers would be clamoring for raises. But this is not always the case. Because so many American jobs don’t earn enough to pay for food, housing and...