Obama, technology and the future - Part Two

Hopefully you all read the first post on President-Elect Obama, technology and the future (if not, it is here) in which I started addressing what Obama’s election means for the world of tech. Having looked at how Obama will work for an open Internet, I will now delve into Obama’s plans for a connected democracy and infrastructure.

The first thing that Obama has promised to do is to create a more transparent government, a policy that has probably been prompted by the manner in which the Bush administration has been very secretive. He will attempt to do this by “creating a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America’s citizens” through the use of technology. Presumably, this will be done by extensive use of the Internet, as well as other technology such as mobile phones, as shown in the selection of Joe Biden as his second man.

Secondly, he will attempt to bring government into the 21st century by using technology to reform the way in which the government works. One of the most obvious example of this is the appointment of the US’s first CTO, or Chief Technology Officer. The CTO (who has yet to be named) will be in charge of ensuring that the government stays in line with 21st Century technology as well as working with chief technology and chief information officers. Another of the CTO’s priorities will be to increase broadband penetration, something Obama has criticized the Bush administration for.

That last point is part of the final major point in which he will work to deploy a revised infrastructure will will keep the US in the modern age. In the same way every American has phone connections, Obama hopes to instigate a program to install broadband connections to all Americans regardless of economic or social status.

In all these policies are (so far) incredibly beneficial to Americans, will help to restart the economy, and boost the technology orientated sector. Look out for part three for more policies and an insight into the future.

Source [barackobama.com]