Who Would be The First Chief Technical Officer for The United States?
Posted 10/21/08 at 02:23:56 PM by Andy Salisbury
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Everyone knows that technology is an important part of the world that we live in (well, just about everyone), and that includes the Democratic nominee for President, Barack Obama.
Should Obama be elected President of the United States (please, don’t let the comments turn into partisan bickering!), he lists in his plan for the country the appointment of a Chief Technology Officer. The CTO would primarily be responsible for getting broadband Internet access into more American homes (shockingly, only 23 out of every 100 homes have such access, putting us in 15th place among nations on that particular statistic). They’d also be responsible for advancing green tech, thanks to a $50 billion venture capital fund.
As mundane as the job might sound, there are some pretty big names being thrown around for the position. The likes of Vint Cerf (Google), Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Ed Felten (Princeton) are all potentials. But who cares what that one thinks, who would you want sitting in the biggest tech seat in America?
Image Credit: I Can Has Cheezeburger
Yeah Yeah
Submitted by Velcrow on Thu, 10/23/2008 - 7:10am
Wow, you guys certainly give Al a lot of shit. Harsh. I don't necessarily agree with his global warming view either, but he would be a great proponent of alternative energy. That is the direction the country should be in now, not in 50 years. And I'm not just talking about gas for cars, I mean harnessing wind and solar power for housing and business. Not that I wouldn't mind an electric car.
And no, he didn't invent the Internet, but he was a strong proponent of that as well. Take a quick look on Wikipedia, you might actually be surprised. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore
But alas Al Gore is too busy
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 12:18pm
But alas Al Gore is too busy searching for his ManBearPig. Go get it Al.... BTW that Ozone hole is the same size it was in 1982 and Global Warming just happens to be happening on all the planets in our solar system. But Al still preaches we can stop it by not driving our SUV's..
I completely forgot about Al
Submitted by dedgar on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 10:58am
I completely forgot about Al Gore. He could indeed be the one we need. After all, he invented the internet. So he really knows everything about it.
Submitted by Velcrow on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 9:50am
I'm going with Al Gore. He knows the politics and is visionary. And as far as I know he has no particular bias for any one company.
Submitted by rayatwork05 on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 3:53am
Theres a reason 76% of people dont have the internets. It's because the government fails to assist there needs, and rather provide wants.
Although there is inherantly an advantage in having your country united through a general means of communication wether it be radio, eletronic, digital.
Mostly irrelevant. Even if
Submitted by horzo on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 2:43pm
Mostly irrelevant. Even if the President wants it and Congress like the idea, the US Gov't is essentially broke. We have a lot of problems to solve before we can start thinking about "broadband in every home."
Will Smith
Submitted by avanish11 on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 1:31pm
I nominate Will Smith to be the CTO. Who's with me?
Submitted by dedgar on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 1:26pm
Butters for CTO !!!
Or how 'bout hackman2007 ???
one4u2c maybe ???????
Submitted by j.plath on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 1:17pm
i don't think that getting the internet to everyone should be a priority. but in the counrty that developed the internet, our broadband/telecom infrastructure ranks 15th in the world. whether the govt can step in and help with that when the isps are more interested in adding bandwith caps than upgrading their networks, i don't know.
but i see the conversation focusing on the internet when technology has such a broad reach. developing green tech, as was mentioned, is a worthwhile investment. but i see the point where this officer would only be effective if they were to guide technology and help develop it, so long as they don't mandate it.
Just
Submitted by maniacm0nk3y on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 12:12pm
Don't put a corporate entity in place. No bias is necesarry. We don't want "Microsoft ISP" to be anywhere, as any of those other companies either. I don't mind it that much if we get everyone online.
Go for experience
Submitted by icebird on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:57am
China has a lot of experience managing technology on a national scale. Maybe they could provide someone for the post?
"...managing technology on
Submitted by sirphunkee on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 12:14pm
"...managing technology on a national scale" hahahahahahaha! well put!
Yes, the Chinese understand well the old adage, "any government that is big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it all away"
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:48am
ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME I WANT TO DO IT!
Submitted by Rltyg on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:38am
Come on, all of the sudden he decides to retire from Microsoft. I could see them throwing all these big names in there just to hide the true target. Love him or hate him, you just can't overlook what he has done for the Information technology sector.
Submitted by jacob.sorensen on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:37am
How about Gordon? That way he could sit in D.C. ranting all the time.
totally agree
Submitted by fake gordon mah ung on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 8:03pm
Only Gordon has the temperment and political acumen required for such a position.
Submitted by Dwood15 on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:32am
Great. More things for our government to spend on.
Internet however nice is still only a priviledge and not a necessity.
I disagree with this 100%
Submitted by xs0u1x on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 11:36am
oh god please not ballmer. i could see the riots now......
put somebody in there thats not gonna stuff M$ products and services down our throats.......america would bsod and launch icbm's
000000000xh7
"nuclear system experienced hardware failure.......plant lips firmly on ass and kiss goodbye"
hahah i could run with this all day. thanks for the material mpc!
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