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September 30, 2025

Congress lost partner in tech policy to its detriment

Fast Company

The Office of Technology Assessment is a long-shuttered body that gave Congress a reliable way to understand the science and technologies reshaping the world. And that has never been replaced.

An article in Fast Company looks at the loss of OTA and how tech policy has evolved over the past 30 years. TPL Co-Director Ryan Calo shares thoughts about the value OTA brought to government.

“It was an impartial repository of interdisciplinary experts who would proactively assist Congress in understanding emerging technology,” he said, “and to do so at a time early enough in its life cycle that it had not become full of special interests that had not grown around it, like barnacles.”

OTA fell victim to partisanship and lawmakers are now managing tech policy through individual networks and conversations.

Read the full article here: https://www.fastcompany.com/91378299/office-of-technology-assessment-closed-thirty-years-ago?mvgt=YXjs26zrpEeX