John Villasenor

It is easy to argue that social media companies and other hosts and providers of online content should quickly identify and eliminate misinformation and disinformation. The reality, however, is more complex, as rapid identification of misinformation and disinformation can be challenging in situations where knowledge is quickly changing. This talk will argue that proposals for self-regulatory and formal regulatory frameworks to address misinformation and disinformation need be designed in a manner that better recognizes the role of uncertainty.

John Villasenor is on the faculty at UCLA, where he is a professor of electrical engineering, public policy, law, and management as well as the faculty co-director of the Institute for Technology, Law and Policy. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Villasenor’s work considers the broader impacts of key technology trends, including the growth of artificial intelligence, advances in digital communications, and the increasing complexity of today’s networks and systems. He writes frequently on these topics and on their implications with respect to cybersecurity, privacy, law, and business.

He has published in the Atlantic, Billboard, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Fast Company, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Scientific American, Slate, the Washington Post, and in many academic journals. He has also provided congressional testimony on multiple occasions on topics including drones, privacy, and intellectual property law.

Before joining the faculty at UCLA, Villasenor was with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he developed methods of imaging the earth from space. He holds a BS from the University of Virginia and an MS and PhD from Stanford University.