Technology
Who Is Responsible When AI Breaks the Law?
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Miriam Vogel, president and CEO of EqualAI, survey how AI both fits in and breaks existing legal frameworks. They argue that leaders need to be ready for the opportunities created by the novel technology and for potential legal pitfalls.

Are the Startups Coming for Your Business?
Internet entrepreneur Kevin Ryan discusses the profound effect that new ventures are having on some of the world’s largest companies.
Corruption Decreases Technology Adoption in Emerging Markets
Technology adoption is lower in emerging markets with corrupt business environments, and higher in those with good transparency and enforcement, according to a new study forthcoming in Marketing Science.
Are ‘Patent Thickets’ Smothering Innovation?
One analysis estimated that a smartphone is covered by 250,000 patents. As technology grows increasingly complex, companies must navigate a web of intellectual property protections. Are innovation and competition suffering from the race to create enormous patent portfolios? Professor Stefan Wagner of the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT), a member of the Global Network for Advanced Management, talked with Yale Insights about the consequences of “patent thickets.”
How Has the Pentagon Shaped Innovation?
Defense spending has been a key driver of technology and innovation in the United States since the beginning of the Cold War, according to Yale SOM professor Paul Bracken. The Pentagon was a prime funder for the early growth of Silicon Valley and more recently quietly created another technology hub, focusing on defense, in northern Virginia.
Who Owns that Picture?
Digital technology has vastly expanded the supply and the market for stock image providers like Getty Images, but it has also complicated the task of controlling their intellectual property. Jonathan Klein, Getty’s cofounder and CEO, talks about its business model and the “existential threat” posed by online image search.
What Makes a Good Online Review?
When Zagat launched its first survey of New York City dining, aggregating restaurant reviews by ordinary people was a novel idea. Today, the user-generated review has moved online and is a major influence on commerce. But models for collecting and presenting opinions continue to evolve.
What Can Big Data Do for Doctors?
Electronic medical records and big data have huge promise for improving medicine, but creating a system that works for physicians is a daunting task. By starting with a single specialty—dermatology—Modernizing Medicine has created an electronic application that allows doctors to rapidly enter clinical information, and to draw on the data gathered from thousands of others doing the same. Co-founder Dr. Michael Sherling ’02 discussed the endeavor and how it fits into broader efforts to mesh incentives, incorporate technology, and execute effective change.
What’s the Right Algorithm for Quantitative Investing?
Computer-based trading dominates markets, with a majority of trading activity in major markets happening without any human intervention. Robert Litterman, a pioneer of the quantitative investing approach, spoke with Yale Insights about how ruthless competition keeps the field changing and why he believes human judgment remains an essential component of any strategy.
Who Will Win the Race for Mobile Ad Dollars?
Will the rising tide of mobile ad spending lift all media-company boats? Or will only the shrewd and the quick be able to capitalize on the trend toward more media consumption on mobile? Facebook’s Carolyn Everson describes how the company has made itself mobile-first.
What’s the Potential of Disruptive Green Technology?
Green tech investors want to put their money behind firms with the potential to disrupt their industries and bring both positive environmental impacts and financial success. But what’s disruptive is by its nature unprecedented and unpredictable. How do investors assess the potential of a green technology company?