Akash Kapur

Author and Journalist at Freelance

Reluctant Tweeter. Successfully avoided for so many years. Don't expect much to happen around here.

Articles

A Q&A with Stefaan Verhulst, Co-Founder of The GovLab and The Data Tank

1 week ago | techpolicy.press | Akash Kapur

This piece is the second in a series in collaboration with New America. Although it is widely recognized that we live in a thoroughly datafied world, there is less understanding of just what this means and how we should respond. The public conversation is replete with somewhat facile metaphors about data being the new oil, or data as fuel for AI.
We Took a Magical Family Trip to Norway During the Winter-Here's How to Visit

1 month ago | msn.com | Akash Kapur

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We Took a Magical Family Trip to Norway During the Winter—Here's How to Visit

1 month ago | travelandleisure.com | Akash Kapur

Aurlandsfjord, an 11-mile-long fjord on Norway’s western coast. Photo: Øivind Haug I am a child of the tropics. I grew up in coastal South India, just above the equator, amid lush rice fields and a brilliant burning sun. I wore T-shirts, shorts, and sandals throughout the year; closed shoes were a clammy imposition. So what was I doing on a stormy, freezing hill in December, knee-deep in snow, bundled in four layers of protective clothing and thick boots?
We Took a Magical Family Trip to Norway During the Winter-Here's How to Visit

1 month ago | aol.com | Akash Kapur

I am a child of the tropics. I grew up in coastal South India, just above the equator, amid lush rice fields and a brilliant burning sun. I wore T-shirts, shorts, and sandals throughout the year; closed shoes were a clammy imposition. So what was I doing on a stormy, freezing hill in December, knee-deep in snow, bundled in four layers of protective clothing and thick boots?
How Technologies Divide Us

2 months ago | newamerica.org | Akash Kapur

Internet optimism was at its peak around the time author and Pulitzer Prize-finalist Nicholas Carr published his first book, The Shallows, in 2010, wary of the consequences these rapid changes were having on individuals and societies at large. 15 years later and Carr is exploring these themes further in his latest book, Superbloom. What exactly have we seen unfold since The Shallows, and what futures have the introduction of AI made available to us?
How Technologies Divide Us: A Q&A with Nicholas Carr

2 months ago | techpolicy.press | Akash Kapur

Akash Kapur / Feb 18, 2025This piece is the first in a series in collaboration with New America. In mid-2011, with the Arab world erupting in a series of revolutions and civil wars, President Barack Obama delivered a speech extolling the emancipatory potential of the Internet and social networks. In retrospect, that moment could be said to mark peak Internet optimism. A year earlier, the writer Nicholas Carr published a book in which he told a very different story.
What Does China’s DeepSeek Mean for the Future of AI Global Governance?

2 months ago | newamerica.org | Candace Rondeaux |Akash Kapur

As policymakers and tech luminaries descend on Paris for next week’s AI Action Summit, they are already finding their carefully crafted agenda upended by an unexpected gatecrash: DeepSeek. The Chinese firm claims to have developed a large language model rivaling the best American offerings, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, at a fraction of the usual cost.
From Digital Sovereignty to Digital Agency

Nov 18, 2024 | newamerica.org | Akash Kapur

At a GlanceIn recent years, governments have increasingly pursued variants of digital sovereignty to regulate and control the global digital ecosystem. The pursuit of AI sovereignty represents the latest iteration in this quest. Digital sovereignty may offer certain benefits, but it also poses undeniable risks, including the possibility of undermining the very goals of autonomy and self-reliance that nations are seeking.
The Global Governance Reform Agenda: Expert Weigh-ins on the Pact for the Future

Sep 18, 2024 | newamerica.org | Gordon LaForge |Martha Molfetas |Akash Kapur |Faisal Lalani

United Nations Member States are finalizing deliberations on the Pact for the Future, the centerpiece of the Summit of the Future (September 20–23). Alongside a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration for Future Generations, the Pact will aim to reshape global governance and ensure it is fit for purpose in an increasingly multipolar world. What are the global reforms needed to make this a transformative moment?
What Is Digital Solidarity, and Why Does the U.S. Want It?

Jul 31, 2024 | newamerica.org | Akash Kapur

Akash Kapur unpacks Secretary of State Antony Blinken's RSA conference keynote address that called for a global "digital solidarity" to serve as a "North Star" for U.S. digital diplomacy.