Who Will Win and What Does Winning Mean? Following up on the promise made in his State of the Union address, on February 11 President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence. There was no money provided in the Order for what is being called the American Artificial Intelligence Initiative (Initiative) and each agency was directed to “prioritize investments” in AI research and development. Therefore, … [Read more...]
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Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
Automation, Artificial Intelligence and the American Dream
This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it. Those were the words of HAL 9000 (HAL) in the classic science-fiction movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (2001)). HAL was a programmed computer that controlled the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft, and interacted with the crew on the spaceship in an almost human way, doing things such as talking with them and playing chess. When 2001 was released a little over one half a century ago, what Hal was able … [Read more...]
Will We Have Another?
The 144th Belmont Stakes was run on Saturday, June 9, but without I'll Have Another, the Triple Crown contender, who was withdrawn from the race because of tendinitis. That raised the question in our mind, "Will we have another?" No, not a racing Triple Crown winner. We are confident that another champion horse will come along to claim that title -- even though there hasn't been one for more than 30 years since Affirmed won in 1978. Our question relates to a different type of race: that among … [Read more...]
Big Data and Deep Learning: Big Deals or Big Delusions?
Big Data and Deep Learning are two major trends that will impact and influence the future direction and potential of innovation in the United States. From the deluge of information on both trends over the past year, it would appear that they may be key drivers for the future growth of the American economy. We're not that sanguine. In our opinion, both of these trends have substantial promise. But, they also have limitations that must be overcome to deliver on that promise. Let's examine … [Read more...]
Let’s Make America the Creation Nation Again
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The management consulting firm Arthur D. Little disproved this old adage in 1921 when its chemists created silk from pork byproducts. Those were the good old days of United State's innovation and, as economist Tyler Cowen points out, in the period from 1947 to 1973 because of American creativity and productivity, the inflation adjusted median income here almost doubled. From 1973 to 2004, it rose only 22 percent and has actually declined over … [Read more...]
Renew America: It’s the Econometrics, Stupid!
Although they disagree on much, there is one thing on which President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, seem to agree. That is it is time to renew America and the American Dream. President Obama made his view explicit on his Afghanistan visit when he proclaimed, "Let us... reclaim the American dream that is at the heart of our story." The president called for unleashing innovation and creating new jobs as part of his formula for reclaiming the … [Read more...]