TheBridge profile: Robert Atkinson
Name: Robert Atkinson
Current city: Washington, DC
Current job: President/Founder, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Past job: Vice President, Progressive Policy Institute
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? I drink tea, so Teaism in Penn Quarter, DC
Q. Describe how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. After learning how to rebuild the transmission of my Datson 1200 when I graduated college I decided I wanted to try to be a car mechanic, which I did for 2 years. What I learned was that only persistence, hard work and determination could enable me to learn on the job after "jumping into the deep end" of having to learn how to fix cars. Today, when I face any challenge in leading ITIF, that lesson stays with me.
Q. Job advice in three words? Think for yourself.
Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between innovation and regulation? As the leader of the world's top-ranked science and technology policy think tank (as rated by the Global Go-To Think Tank Index) our daily job is bridging this gap. We do that by producing reports and other text that policymakers can easily access while also meeting with and building trusted relationships with policymakers.
Q. Why are you part of TheBridge community? I think it's important this community exists because if we are to maximize tech innovation in the U.S., policymakers and tech professionals need to better understand each other and work more closely together.
Q. What can innovators learn from policymakers? Innovators can learn that tech policy is not the only thing on the plate of policymakers. The fact that they may not know what reinforcement learning in AI is dost not make them stupid or uninterested in tech issues. They may in fact actually "get it." Also, we live in a democracy which means that policymakers have to respond to the needs of a wide range of constituents, some of which, I know this sound strange to say, may not eat, sleep and breathe tech.
Q. What can policymakers learn from innovators? Policymakers can learn that innovation is hard, not just technical innovation, but more importantly business model innovation and being able to successfully engage in "creative destruction," and that this innovation, while perhaps uncomfortable now, is critical to ensuring human progress.
Q. Favorite book/podcast/long-form article you recommend? Joseph Schumpeter's "Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy." If you want to understand the political economy of innovation, start with the foundational text from the master. Favorite podcast is easy, ITIF’s new “Innovation Files” podcast exploring the intersection of technology, innovation, and public policy.
Q. Every day is probably different, but can you describe a "day in the life" of your job? I get up and go up to my office on my second floor, open my laptop and write and have video meetings all day. If normal work life ever returns, my day is biking 12 miles to work along the Capital Crescent trail. Once at work in downtown DC, spending a couple of hours reviewing email and hopefully getting to my own writing. Then usually meetings with my team, meetings on Capitol Hill or administration officials, a discussion or two with a reporter and often some kind of public presentation. Then back on the bike for a ride home.
Q. Most underrated virtue in an employee? Being a fast, clear and competent writer.
Q. If you had to live in another city, which would it be? If I had to live in another city, it wouldn't be a city; it would be a small town, near a national forest.
Q. How often do you work from home? I work from home every day. But before the current crisis I worked from home every Friday, which I set aside for writing.
Q. Which Member of Congress/local lawmaker is most tech savvy? Believe it or not, there are many Members of Congress that are tech savvy, too many to list any one of them.
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