The purpose of this report is to shed light on just how widely diffused the country’s innovation-driven, high-tech economy really is, so members of Congress and other policymakers can find common cause in advancing an agenda that builds up the shared foundations of national strength in a globally integrated marketplace.
The data presented here are from a large scale, nationally-representative survey of African American youth (ages 11 to 17) and their parents, supplemented and informed by a series of ten focus groups with African American parents and youth across the country (for more information on the demographics of the survey and focus group samples, please see the Methodology).
The 2016 report is a 100-page tome packed with specific, technical recommendations that the contributors believe will be important for Congress to fund and support as robotics starts to take center stage across U.S. industries.
“The early learning community has been wisely cautious about using technology with our youngest children,” said Libby Doggett, deputy assistant secretary for Policy and Early Learning at the Department of Education. “But technology, when used appropriately with caring adults, can help children learn in new ways–and lessen the growing inequity in our country.”
The influence of computing is felt daily and experienced on a personal, societal, and global level. Computer science, the discipline that makes the use of computers possible, has driven innovation in every industry and field of study, from anthropology to zoology. Computer science is also powering approaches to many of our world’s toughest challenges; some examples include decreasing automobile deaths, distributing medical vaccines, and providing platforms for rural villagers to participate in larger economies, among others.
The findings in this report present positive growth in the area of CS with more principals reporting in Year 2 than in Year 1 that their school offers a CS class with programming or coding. Additionally, the study shows that key concepts, including computational thinking (CT), are being incorporated into classes.
These events brought together members of Congress, governors, other federal, state, tribal, and local officials, academic leaders, private sector energy leaders, DOE officials, and other stakeholders from economic development organizations and nongovernmental organizations to examine clean energy technology innovation from a regional perspective.
This report examines the importance of patents as a measure of invention to economic growth and explores why some areas are more inventive than others. Why should we expect there to be a relationship between patenting and urban economic development? As economist Paul Romer has written, the defining nature of ideas, in contrast to other economic goods, is that they are non-rival: their use by any one individual does not preclude others from using them.
Given the ubiquity of the computing field in society, the diversity gap in computer science (CS) education today means the field might not be generating the technological innovations that align with the needs of society’s demographics. Women and certain racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in learning CS and obtaining CS degrees, and this cycle perpetuates in CS careers. Many — including tech companies and educational institutions — have taken steps to make CS more appealing and accessible to these groups, yet the diversity gap endures.
The examples in this report cover 14 sectors of the economy and society, yet they only scratch the surface of the many ways that AI is driving innovation, generating substantial social and economic value, and transforming everyday life around the globe. As with any new technology, there will inevitably be detractors who fear change and how it might impact them. While policymakers should respond to legitimate concerns, they should not allow alarmists to delay progress.
