Barack Obama is going to appoint the nation's first CTO. What are the top priorities?
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15 votes
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15 votes
Beamed energy propulsion
We need to open up space access, the current technology and bureaucracy are getting us nowhere, beamed energy propulsion has the ability to change everything. for a modest sum government wise we can definitively find out if this technology works or not, consider that prf Myrabo in 2000 reached 25... more
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15 votes
Fund AI research, both weak and strong
Whether it's the economy, energy, education, health care or national security, one of the common aspects of each of these challenges is that they require decision making in the face of uncertainty. This is one of the things that AI can excel at.
AI got a bad rap early on after promises that a &q...; more
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15 votes
Bring web2.0 to the government
The government's IT is not up to speed at all. We need a CTO who can make things happen in an enterprise. We need someone who has succeeded in big enterprises before.
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15 votes
Listen to the EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit advocacy and legal organization based in the United States with the stated purpose of being dedicated to preserving the right to freedom of speech, such as protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, i... more
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15 votes
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15 votes
paint the whitehouse black
looks cool
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15 votes
Mandate that broadband speeds be faster
Broadband speeds in the US are half the speed of other countries. As a country we need to be competitive in technology and be the leader in all aspects of Information Technology. Government also need to regulate and cap prices of broadband across the board to make it faster speed affordable
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15 votes
Prioritize data privacy
Just about every other industrialized country has a national agency with the job of protecting personal data privacy. While that model might not work in the U.S., the CTO should prioritize working (along with the FTC) to investigate privacy risks, set standards, and educate the public and policy... more
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15 votes
Attract top global talent through enlarged H1-B visa program
US is the global leader in high tech innovation. However, our top position is under threat as our industries are increasingly unable to hire qualified scientists and engineers.
The H1B program has helped the US attract top technical minds from around the world to fuel our technology sector for ... more
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14 votes
compete for / hire engineering grads the way goog / msft do!
The government should be looking for the best and brightest..not the ones that are left over...they should spend whatever it takes and operate like a startup! Reward these people with a salary plus equity so they'll be incentivized to create new developments instead of stagnate in their governme... more
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14 votes
Medical marijuana users are't criminals, stop prosecuting!
Honestly, I could care less if I ever got to smoke marijuana in my life, but I do care that thousands of people each year are being arrested after using the worlds safest and most natural drug for their illnesses including: cancer (chemotherapy), AIDS, nausea, fever, glaucoma, Crohn's, migraines... more
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14 votes
Reestablish a U.S. Office of Technology Assessment
Congress shortsightedly abolished the former U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1995. In the meantime many European nations have strengthened their institutional capacity to anticipate and guide technological innovation and to understand science-and-technology intensive policy issues.... more
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14 votes
Provide free WiFi at all Airports and public places
WiFi connectivity has become a lifeline for many businessmen and other users, specially when they are on-the-go. At a very trivial costs, all airports should be able to provide free WiFi to the public.
Many airports contract with 3rd party providers, but these providers sell 10-24 hour long toke... more
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14 votes
direct all agencies to implement virtualization technology
The CTO should ensure that all executive agency CIO/CTOs consolidate hardware in their server and desktop environments, to the extent possible, and use virtualization software.
Under this plan, hardware costs could be lowered significantly and systems administration maintenance would be minimize... more
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14 votes
Force cable TV providers to use ala carte channel pricing
Cable TV providers are famous for charging consumers for channels we don't need or want. Ala carte pricing would allow people to choose what they do and don't want, and only pay for what they use.
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14 votes
Require Laws to be Readable by the General Public
Laws are currently written in such a way that they are inaccessible to the general public.
Without being able to make informed decisions, by understanding the laws which our legislators are voting for we are forced to take their word on the issue. This promotes a government based on charisma ra... more
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14 votes
Do not support gun control.
In a country as large as America, gun control will only empower criminals and make law-abiding citizens more easily preyed upon. It's like Penn Jillette said - if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.
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14 votes
A "law to english" translator to let citizens grok gov't.
Government creates and is itself governed by a syntax called "law". Only specially trained "lawyers" are able to grok this language. Citizens, to be effective, must understand their government and must thus grok law. A simple law to english translator would do a lot to facilit... more
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14 votes
Restructure the legal penalties for convicted drug offenders
Review and reassess the current policies regarding the failed "War on Drugs". Develop a comprehensive, federal guideline for sentencing that incoroprates rehabilitation, follow-up treatment and community service in place of prison time for convicted drug offenders.
