Darrell M. West

1 week ago | brookings.edu | Darrell M. West

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers many promising applications. Algorithms and machine learning can help and target treatment in effective ways. AI also plays a role in tracking climate change by monitoring weather patterns. Wildlife experts have coupled AI with satellite imagery to monitor how endangered species are faring and where threats are appearing. But there is a dark side to AI as well, given its potential for nefarious purposes.

2 weeks ago | brookings.edu | Darrell M. West |Kathryn Dunn Tenpas

... ultimately, we can outvote wealthy people because they are a relatively small part of our society and a small part our electorate. But it takes a recognition about what is happening, about the wealthification, about the benefits that wealthy individuals have gotten out of our political system. Darrell West Over the past 50 years, the U.S. has seen a sharp rise in both income inequality and the political influence of ultra-rich Americans.

2 weeks ago | brookings.edu | Darrell M. West

In 1968, Professor Michael Lipsky wrote an influential article titled “Protest as a Political Resource,” in which he compared effective and ineffective movements. He argued that successful movements have clear strategic goals, use protest to broaden coalitions, seek to enlist more powerful individuals in their cause, and connect expressions of discontent to broader political and electoral mobilization.

1 month ago | brookings.edu | Darrell M. West

Elon Musk has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” rife with fraud, waste, and abuse. President Donald Trump argued in his State of the Union address that there are millions of people over the age of 100 who are fraudulently on the Social Security rolls, with some receiving government benefits. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are calling Social Security Administration workers inefficient and threatening to make major reductions in its workforce based on that argument.

Dec 10, 2024 | brookings.edu | Darrell M. West

American politics is facing a challenging period marked by polarized elections, intense candidate rhetoric, and increasingly extreme leadership. In this situation, it is important to move toward electoral reforms that encourage more moderate candidates and enable politicians to build majority coalitions that address important issues facing the country. In this paper, I examine ranked-choice voting (also known as instant runoffs) to see how it affects campaign discourse and election outcomes.