Policy Brief

This two page guide informs citizens on how to advocate for a cause before the Detroit City Council. It explains the Council's structure; its schedule; how items get on the agenda and move forward through the decision-making process; and how public...

Tenant screening algorithms are a form of technology intended to provide quick and reliable background checks of potential tenants for landlords and management companies. In most landlord guides, the use of the tenant screening algorithms is deemed...

Employers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to make hiring decisions. These data driven tools, also referred to as predictive/algorithmic hiring or machine learning (ML), are used across the hiring pipeline to filter...

This document was created as a result of feedback from the Detroit Office of Digital Equity and Inclusion (DEI), investigating the potential implications of installing an open access fiber network in Detroit. Staff at the DEI requested support...

Municipalities across the U.S. have begun to play a bigger role in providing internet access by implementing their own fiber internet networks. Fiber internet networks offer customers and operators faster speeds, lower costs, and increased...

The risks to humans from climate change are wide-reaching, but felt unequally among members of society, including People with Disabilities (PWD). Despite this, PWD are often “invisible” to decision-makers and planners.  Current climate action plans...

In the United States, many jurisdictions are turning to pretrial risk assessment tools as an alternative to cash bail. More than 60 risk assessment tools are in use throughout the country today, at both the federal and state level and in multiple...

Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are a surveillance technology that can alert law enforcement about vehicle locations in real-time or provide information on past movements. In recent years, growing numbers of public and private entities have...

Decentralized wastewater treatment is the future of wastewater treatment. In developing countries without sophisticated wastewater infrastructure, it is the design of choice since it has lower capital costs, protects the local environment, and...

Acoustic gun detection systems (AGDS) are a law enforcement technology designed to detect gunshot sounds and notify police of the event and location in close to real time. ShotSpotter is the most well-known AGDS in the United States, sold by a...

Hopeful predictions estimate that by the end of 2021, only 10% of the world’s population will have received COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer, Moderna, and other vaccine manufacturers can only produce so many doses at a time. Most of the first recipients...

The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has left policy makers looking urgently to science for accurate information to inform mitigation efforts. Due to both the inherent uncertainty associated with studying an ongoing pandemic, as well as the...

Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is developing rapidly and is poised to change all aspects of transportation and mobility. AVs are already on the road, some without backup human drivers. Widespread adoption of AVs will change the demand for labor,...

Intellectual property (IP) is often unrecognized as a form of governance, but it shapes the development of technology in pivotal ways. Both the US and UK governments have recognized this in their discussions about the governance of geoengineering,...

Scientists and private companies are increasingly testing the viability of ocean iron fertilization (OIF) as a large-scale climate change mitigation technique, sparking enormous worldwide controversy. This memo argues that before OIF experimentation...