Jan 2, 2019, 12:39 AM ETInterview, Fireside Chat, Conference Presentation

a16z Podcast | Taking the Measure of Tech in Policy -- with Kamala Harris

a16zKamala Harris, Matt Spence

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Expects government effectiveness to improve by applying data metrics to analyze performance rather than relying on tradition, leveraging an "Open Justice" initiative to enable external analysis of public safety, education, and health outcomes.
Predicts that adopting technology and open data practices will yield profound results in public sectors, though current structures lack the necessary skills, culture, and bandwidth, with a need to overcome cultural barriers where transparency is viewed as vulnerability.
Anticipates that addressing intractable issues through a nonpartisan lens, focusing on shared concerns like health, employment, and retirement, will reduce partisanship and dysfunction in public policy.
Plans to sponsor and co-sponsor federal legislation to make cyber exploitation a crime, addressing legal gaps where existing laws are obsolete and lack precedents for platform responsibilities regarding image removal.
Indicates a policy approach utilizing a "carrot and stick" strategy, preferring industry cooperation on protocols but prepared to enforce compliance if agreements are not met or violations occur.
Predicts that the "Open Justice" data initiative will reveal significant disparities, specifically noting African Americans comprise nearly 25% of in-custody deaths despite representing only 6% of California's population.
Foresees that convening 50 tech companies, law enforcement, and victims has made progress in assigning industry responsibility to mitigate harm and deter cyber exploitation, with tech protocols expected to have global impact due to operational scale.
Predicts that cyber security policy must assign "equal weight" to detection and resilience phases alongside prevention to ensure critical infrastructure like public grids, hospitals, and financial systems can recover quickly.
Plans to collaborate with Republican colleagues, including Lindsey Graham, to organize visits by lawmakers from red states to California to engage with Dreamers and H-1B visa holders.
Expresses the view that comprehensive immigration reform is necessary and that California has an "outsized stake" due to having more immigrants than any other state, while noting such issues are often viewed as theoretical by leaders without direct exposure to immigrant communities.
Asserts that government must encourage innovation to improve accuracy, speed, and efficiency while simultaneously ensuring public safety, particularly in a new economic plateau where technology upends longstanding business models.
Notes that the majority of Americans worry about personal and family health, job security, bill payment, and dignified retirement, which are issues typically approached without partisan lenses in daily life.
States that prevention must be prioritized over reaction in addressing epidemics like crime, as emergency room and prison responses are described as occurring too late and at excessive cost.
Notes that significant tech policy issues are determined at the state and local levels by governors, attorney generals, and mayors rather than solely in Washington, though federal action is proposed for cyber exploitation.
Emphasizes that privacy is a core American value that the technology industry must understand and adopt through new protocols and procedures.
Predicts that without depth of analysis, data reveals systemic issues, while acknowledging that the Senate's tradition and seniority can sometimes hinder progress on nonpartisan issues.
Indicates that innovation should not be stifled by fear or a desire to regulate and shut down new technologies, which are essential for creating things that improve the human experience.
Suggests that industry partners appreciate the factors of prevention, detection, resilience, and accountability, creating opportunities for greater information sharing between the tech sector and governance bodies.
Acknowledges that 90% of consensual relationships ending without marriage is a contextual factor in cyber exploitation cases, clarifying that individuals should not be faulted for sharing private images within those relationships.
Recognizes that current legislative frameworks contain gaps regarding the prosecution of cyber exploitation and the specific responsibilities of hosts to remove non-consensually shared images.
States that the Senate environment is steeped in tradition, yet progress is possible through reciprocal outreach and collaboration across the aisle on issues like immigration and cyber security.
Notes that the United States faces threats from cyber security that require a deep understanding of technology and the creation of greater appreciation for how it functions within a global context.
Highlights that the motivation for innovation is the pursuit of improvements to make humanity more accurate, faster, and efficient, driven by the desire to create things that have not been created before to improve mankind.
Indicates that government sometimes responds to new technology with fear, leading to regulation and shutdowns, whereas the optimal approach involves balancing safety with the encouragement of innovation.
Stresses that dealing with crime and health epidemics in the "smartest, most effective and efficient way" requires a "prevention first" strategy rather than building systems around reacting to problems.
Mentions that the vast majority of Americans wake up with fears regarding personal circumstances, and that approaching these issues through a nonpartisan perspective would lead to a more effective government.
States that innovation is driven by the pursuit of things that can improve, not by boredom with the status quo, and that public servants should encourage this pursuit while ensuring safety.
Notes that some of the most intractable issues facing the country are best viewed without the lens of party affiliation, as partisanship often bogs down smart public policy.
Acknowledges that the Senate's tradition of seniority is steep, but new members can effect change through collaboration and by focusing on nonpartisan challenges.
Predicts that when leaders appreciate the common, nonpartisan issues that cause worry among the populace, the country will experience less dysfunction in public policy.
States that technology companies have a global impact, and their agreement on protocols and business ways of doing so will influence international standards.
Notes that the current legal system has gaps in prosecuting cyber exploitation, specifically regarding the lack of laws on book for handling image removal requests.
Mentions that a temporary restraining order can be utilized if a domestic violence victim provides a police report that legitimizes their complaint.
Indicates that the Senate intelligence, budget, environment, and public works committees are presenting challenging issues that require new approaches.
States that the motivation for innovation is to create things that improve the human experience, a principle learned from growing up around scientists.
Notes that privacy is a value enshrined in the Constitution and taken seriously by the country, requiring the technology industry to understand and adopt necessary protocols.
States that there are significant gaps in the system regarding cyber exploitation laws, which are often obsolete and lack historical precedent for modern technological scenarios.
Indicates that the industry appreciates the need for prevention, detection, resilience, and accountability, suggesting room for information sharing between tech companies and governance bodies.
Notes that convening 50 tech companies, police officers, and victims made huge progress in establishing how the industry can adapt to take responsibility for mitigating harm and dissuading activity.
States that the "Open Justice" open data initiative will enable journalists and academics to use their skills to help government analyze its own effectiveness.
Predicts that the Senate will be much more effective if it approaches intractable issues from a nonpartisan perspective rather than a partisan lens.
Mentions that "Open Justice" data revealed significant disparities, specifically that African Americans are almost 25% of in-custody deaths while comprising 6% of California's population.
Notes that the vast majority of Americans worry about personal health, jobs, bills, and retirement, which are issues not typically viewed through a partisan lens.
States that government has a tendency to hold onto data because transparency is seen as vulnerability, implying a need to overcome this cultural barrier.
Indicates that she never thought about critical issues through the lens of party affiliation when people worry about their personal circumstances.
Notes that 90% of consensual relationships do not end in marriage, framing the context of cyber exploitation cases.
States that no one should fault a person for sharing private images in consensual relationships, provided the content is later shared without consent.
Mentions that Lindsey Graham indicated a willingness to pull together a group of Republicans from red states to visit California and meet with Dreamers and H-1B visa holders.
States that she will probably be much more effective if the Senate approaches intractable issues from a perspective that recognizes they are not only bipartisan but nonpartisan.
Notes that some of the most intractable issues challenging the country are best viewed without the lens of party affiliation.
States that she wants to cause a pause and not be reflective in fear when government encounters new and unknown technology, emphasizing the need to encourage innovation.
States that she wants to ensure people are safe while also encouraging innovation, acknowledging the dual need to keep people safe in a new world.
Indicates that innovation is about the pursuit of things that can improve, specifically things that can make humanity more accurate, faster, and more efficient.
States that her motivation was to create things that have not been created that will improve mankind and improve the human experience.
Notes that the motivation of the scientists she grew up around was to create things that have not been created that will improve mankind.
States that it is not because people are bored with things as they have been when engaging in innovation.
Expects that government sometimes responds with fear to new technology, wanting to regulate and shut it down.
States that there is a need to encourage innovation as a public servant.
Notes that we must do everything possible to make sure people are safe in the exciting new world.
States that it is not efficient to build a system around reacting to a problem, and equal priority must be given to preventing the problem from occurring.
Says that we must deal with an epidemic, whether health or crime, in the smartest, most effective, and efficient way.
States that "prevention first" is the smartest, most effective, and efficient way to deal with epidemics like crime.
Notes that dealing with crime in the emergency room or prison is often far too late and much too expensive.
States that she approaches it with her background by being excited about innovation and wanting to do everything she can to encourage it.
States that she started her work at the Alameda County DA's office and rose up to prosecuting homicides.
Notes that she started out with low-level offenses before moving up the hierarchy.
States that she grew up surrounded by adults who spent full time marching and shouting about justice.
Says she grew up as the daughter of a scientist and her mother would take her to the lab on weekends and after work.
Mentions that her first job was cleaning pipettes and that she was awful and got fired.
States that her mother arrived at Berkeley as a 19-year-old from India and graduated college wanting to study science.
Notes that her grandfather told her she could go ahead with that pursuit and that is where her mother met her father during the civil rights movement.
States that her parents met as graduate students at UC Berkeley when they were active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
States that she is, with bravado, a proud daughter of California.
States that technology has upended longstanding business models and that we are on a whole new plateau in terms of our evolution and economies.
Notes that it is a whole new plateau in terms of evolution and economies.
States that innovation is about the pursuit of things that can improve.
States that we can be more accurate, faster, and more efficient.
Notes that most important tech policymakers are governors, attorney generals, and mayors.
States that some of the most important tech policy issues are actually not made in Washington at all.
States that some of the most important tech policy issues are actually made at the state and local level.
States that it is very prevalent in the Constitution of the United States as a priority that privacy is a value.
States that privacy is a value that we take seriously as a country.
Notes that protocols, procedures, and perspectives need to be taught and learned by the industry.
States that the industry must understand that privacy is a value that we take seriously as a country.
States that we need to deal with cyber exploitation because we just need to deal with it.
Notes that there are a lot of gaps in the system regarding cyber exploitation, specifically in the laws because they are quite obsolete.
States that laws on technology writ large, many of them, are quite obsolete.
Notes that there is not a historical precedent for a lot of what technology has created.
States that there were not any laws on the book about how you would prosecute that case.
States that there were no laws on the books about how the host has a responsibility to take the image down when requested.
Notes that she convened about 50 tech companies to discuss cyber exploitation.
States that they made huge progress in convening tech companies, police officers, and victims regarding cyber exploitation.
States that a temporary restraining order is used if a domestic violence victim provides a police report that legitimizes the complaint.
Notes that one fellow said they cannot be in the business of just taking down an image because somebody requests it.
States that she sponsored and co-sponsored legislation to make cyber exploitation a crime, a federal crime.
States that she is the freshman in the Senate while Lindsey Graham is not.
Notes that the Senate is very steeped in tradition, including seniority.
States that she feels very strongly that some of the most intractable issues that challenge the country are nonpartisan.
Notes that the vast majority of Americans wake up worrying about keeping a job and paying bills by the end of the month.
States that they must pass comprehensive immigration reform and deal with H-1B visas.
Notes that immigration and comprehensive immigration reform are purely theoretical for a lot of people because the people involved are not their neighbors.
States that she strongly believes they must not vilify this community.
Notes that there are a lot of them who do not have the population that they have in California.
States that California has an outsized stake in the outcome of this conversation.
Notes that California has more immigrants, documented and undocumented, than any state in the country.
States that Lindsey Graham came up to her about a couple of months ago and just looked at her.
Notes that Lindsey Graham told her she needed to buy him dinner.
States that she and Lindsey Graham have been talking about what they can do in a bipartisan way to deal with immigration.
Notes that he has indicated a willingness to pull together a group of Republicans from red states to visit California.
States that she would like to host them in California to meet with our dreamers.
Notes that she wants to help them understand in a real way who these populations are and what they are contributing.
States that one of the biggest threats to any individual and in terms of national security is cyber security.
Notes that to combat the threat, one must understand it.
States that there is a lot of work that still has to be done in creating greater understanding and appreciation of how technology works.
Notes that technology is now not like talking about one group of companies in one neighborhood, city, state, or country.
States that when technology companies actually agree to certain protocols and ways of doing business, it has global impact.
Notes that as we know, technology is now not like talking about one group of companies.
States that it is an interesting experience in the Senate and that it has been a good experience and a learning experience.
Notes that it is an environment that is different because it is upended a lot of folks in terms of their expectations.
States that she is on the budget committee, environment and public works, homeland security, and the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Notes that all of them are presenting a lot of information about challenging issues.
States that it has been a good experience and a learning experience.
Notes that some of the most intractable issues that challenge the country are not only bipartisan but nonpartisan.
States that if they approach it from that perspective, she thinks they will be much more effective.
Notes that when people wake up at three o'clock in the morning, they are thinking about that issue never through the lens of party affiliation.
States that when they have that thought, it usually relates to one of just a very few things.
Notes that personal health, the health of children or parents, are the things people worry about.
States that can we get a job, keep a job, pay bills by the end of the month, and retire with dignity.
Notes that the vast majority of Americans, these are the issues that wake them up at three o'clock in the morning.
States that if leaders are able to really more fully appreciate that, there would be less dysfunction.
Notes that partisanship bogs down what could otherwise be smart public policy.
States that she has definitely been reaching out and it has been reciprocal with her colleagues across the aisle.
Notes that Lindsey Graham is a big deal in the Senate.
States that the United States Senate is very steeped in tradition, including seniority.
Notes that he came up to her about a couple of months ago.
States that he came up and just looked at her and said she needs to buy him dinner.
Notes that it was just one of those days.
States that he said to her, so she doesn't have to pay, and that he is a smart man.
Notes that he and she have been talking about what they can do in a bipartisan way to deal with immigration.
States that one of the underlying points they have discussed is that this has been a big issue for her.
Notes that California has an outsized stake in the outcome of this conversation.
States that they have more immigrants, documented and undocumented, than any state in the country.
States that she strongly believes they must not vilify this community.
Notes that what has occurred to her in conversations with colleagues from around the country is that there are a lot of them who just do not have the population that they have in California.
States that the topic of immigration and comprehensive immigration reform is purely theoretical for a lot of them and ideological.
Notes that the people they are talking about are not their neighbors, co-workers, or in school with their children.
States that he has indicated a willingness to pull together a group of Republicans from red states.
Notes that she would like to host them in California to meet with our dreamers.