No country has the capacity to assess the impact on society, politics or the economy of all of the individual technologies flooding global markets or of the many creative apps based on them. This course introduces key concepts, current challenges, and practical insights of an escalating crisis in technology policy. There are six main elements to the global tech crisis as it deepens in 2026:
 

1. The struggle between laissez-faire internationalism led by the US and more robust democratic regulation in Europe in support of technology sovereignty (e.g. France vs. Musk, backed up by Spain and Italy)

2. Major gaps  in social impact assessment for most new technologies, especially AI-based

3. Bureaucratic and diplomatic gatekeepers for regulation who are overwhelmed by the pace and direction of change

4. New pressures for protection of citizen rights against unrelenting online harms perpetrated by malign actors through the acquiescence of big tech companies

5. Severe disruptions to platforms and international connectivity caused by unregulated uses of AI

6. Aggravation of online hate-speech and promotion of violence in support of radical political change.

The emergence in 2025 of the US government as the most prolific and most capable purveyor of online hate speech in support of radical political change aggravates all of these six elements. The breach between the United States and key allies caused by aggressive geopolitical decision-making and unpredictable economic policies is also being aggravated by this deepening technology crisis.