It's Time To Connect the Rest of America
High-speed broadband is a vital part of our nation’s infrastructure, but more than 17 million rural Americans don’t have access, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Microsoft’s own data shows that about 157.3 million Americans don’t access the internet at broadband speeds. You can help close the digital divide and connect more Americans to educational, employment, and business opportunities to keep our economy growing.
Executive Briefings
Voices for Innovation’s Executive Briefings provide weekly updates on technology policy and news, including highlights from Capitol Hill, breaking tech news, clips of relevant articles from traditional and new media, and a roundup of thought leader quotes and tweets.
Read the LatestLatest News
VFI Leader Spotlight: Amanda Lee Shares Advice from Capitol Hill
Amanda Lee, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Microsoft partner Pax8, joined Voices for Innovation’s Advisory Task Force in January. Amanda plays a critical role in helping to drive Pax8’s rapid growth ...
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This past week, a Senate Commerce Committee hearing featured @Microsoft corporate vice president and deputy general counsel @JulieSBrill http://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/04/a-federal-privacy-law-is-starting-to-crystallize-senators-remain-divided-over-details.html
Read more about last week's announcement about water restoration and reclamation: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/09/21/microsoft-will-replenish-more-water-than-it-consumes-by-2030/
Did you miss the first week of #UN75?
Catch up on conversations about climate action, global peace, the impact of COVID-19 and more. Speakers include Microsoft's @BradSmi, Trevor Noah and @IanBremmer. ⬇️ #gzeroWithMicrosoft
ICYMI, this week's webinar featuring @Microsoft Defending Democracy program leaders is available now to watch on our website http://www.voicesforinnovation.org/webinar/get-inside-the-2020-elections/
Tune in now to hear @BradSmi during #UNGA on "Crisis Response & Recovery: Reimagining while Rebuilding": https://un-affairs.event.microsoft.com/Home/Index
Tomorrow morning!
Did you catch our Q&A with @AmandaLeePR of @pax8? Hear how Amanda's experience on Capitol Hill influences her technology policy advocacy, and more! https://www.voicesforinnovation.org/vfi-leader-spotlight-amanda-lee-shares-advice-capitol-hill/
Tomorrow morning!
Microsoft has been a proud longtime partner of the United Nations. Today, we’re announcing a renewed commitment to collective action and to the belief that technology has a critical role to play in addressing global challenges.
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/09/17/microsoft-un-affairs-team-unga/
Climate change isn't a problem for future generations – it's a problem right now, and we're witnessing its impacts all over the world. As a global company, we have a responsibility to make it our biggest priority – thanks to our own @lucasjoppa for always leading the way. https://twitter.com/gmbutts/status/1306231359128641537
Starting NOW: @Microsoft Chief Environmental Officer @lucasjoppa joins @JMPyper and @gmbutts!
Our first fall webinar is next Wednesday, 9/23. RSVP to hear from leaders of @Microsoft's Defending Democracy program: https://www.voicesforinnovation.org/upcomingwebinar/get-inside-the-2020-elections/
An exciting new @Office feature recently debuted, enabling audio transcription in Microsoft 365 - making it easier for students, reporters and professionals to document lecture notes, interviews and more. https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/25/21400623/microsoft-transcribe-in-word-transcription-audio-microsoft-365
Should #AI have legal #IP rights? A computer scientist is suing the @uspto after two patent applications listing an AI as the inventor were denied. Read the full story @VICE: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/5dz44b/this-guy-is-suing-the-patent-office-for-deciding-ai-cant-invent-things
In a recent talk, @Microsoft’s president @BradSmi discussed cybersecurity threats that may impact the 2020 presidential election. See more from @axios https://www.axios.com/klobuchar-microsoft-smith-russia-voter-interference-elections-2020-5c88c108-f782-4dd5-b4f7-419852d4ad9e.html
Government awards of more than $1 billion will fund 12 new artificial intelligence and quantum information science institutes. Learn more in @ENERGY’s latest release: https://www.energy.gov/articles/white-house-office-technology-policy-national-science-foundation-and-department-energy
Have you registered for @GlobalWIC's #CloudInnovateHERxDigital pitch challenge?
Sharan is an alum of our VFI Advisory Task Force leadership! Give this podcast episode a listen this weekend.
Voices for Innovation on Capitol Hill
Voices for Innovation members came to Washington, DC to meet with their members of Congress and the House Small Business Committee and advocate for 21st century technology policies.
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Our Issues
Technology Brings Internet to Underserved Communities Though the United States is a global technology leader, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 2019 broadband report indicates that more than 21 million Americans lack access to high-speed internet, including nearly 17 million people in rural communities. (...)
The United States leads the world in technology innovation, but this leadership is jeopardized by insufficient support for computer science education in our nation’s K-12 schools. We cannot maintain an innovation-driven economy and prepare students for future success in the digital economy if (...)
About
Voices for Innovation (VFI) is a Microsoft-supported community of technology professionals and everyday Americans committed to advancing discussions about the most important technology policies. As citizen advocates, we champion public policies that foster innovation, support business growth, and enable technology to address societal challenges.