Daniel Castro

Requiring government approval before releasing advanced AI models would slow innovation, politicize AI development, and weaken U.S. competitiveness. Instead, policymakers should focus on collaborative safety efforts and strengthening cybersecurity.

France’s sweeping effort to replace foreign technology providers with European alternatives prioritizes digital sovereignty and domestic protectionism over productivity, despite no public evidence the transition will improve government performance or reduce costs.

The U.S. government needs to do what many nations around the world are already doing by leaning into rail technologies such as positive track control and automated track inspection, not resisting them on behalf of special interests.

While the U.S. has focused on securing AI systems themselves, it must urgently shift toward using AI defensively—through coordinated government, industry, and infrastructure efforts—to counter the growing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks on existing systems.

To protect individuals while preserving the open information ecosystem that supports innovation, policymakers should focus on outputs rather than training inputs, encourage transparency norms for autonomous AI agents, and create a safe harbor for responsible use of publicly available data.

Center for Data Innovation Director Daniel Castro sent a letter to Maryland Senate Finance Committee Chair Pamela G. Beidle, Vice Chair Antonio L. Hayes, and members of the committee in opposition to Senate Bill 889.

In Tech Policy Press, Daniel Castro argues that a dispute between the U.S. Department of Defense and Anthropic over military AI use underscores the need for Congress—not executive pressure or private contracts—to set clear statutory guardrails for deploying AI in national defense.

As Daniel Castro writes in Government Technology, a new Information Technology and Innovation Foundation analysis finds a sharp “digital marriage divide,” with only 10 states offering largely end-to-end online processes while many still rely on paper forms and in-person visits. Castro argues the barriers are legal and administrative—not technological—and calls for reforms such as permitting electronic signatures to modernize marriage services

European calls for “payment sovereignty” misdiagnose the problem: Visa and Mastercard lead through competition, not coercion, and a state-backed alternative would entrench protectionism instead of enabling regulatory reforms that would let European firms scale and compete globally.

States have moved many public services online, but the legal steps to get married remain largely paper-based. Modernizing marriage licensing, recording, and certificates would reduce costs, save time, and make the major life event easier for American families.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Daniel Castro argues that Europe’s push for “digital sovereignty,” exemplified by France replacing Zoom and Teams with a domestic platform, risks fragmenting the transatlantic digital ecosystem and weakening security and efficiency, and that true resilience comes from interoperable systems, shared rules, and cooperation among allied countries.

Governments are entering a critical phase in the adoption of AI. It is already contributing to everyday public sector work, and the question is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to do so both effectively and responsibly. The Public Sector AI Adoption Index 2026 focuses on the human side of AI adoption, examining how it is experienced by public servants every day.

The sixth annual AR/VR Policy Conference presented by Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the XR Association will take place on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Daniel Castro speaks about the impact of AI on global trade at an event hosted by the Washington College of Law at American University.

Daniel Castro speaks about building global consensus on AI at a workshop hosted by Peking University.

The fifth annual AR/VR Policy Conference presented by ITIF and the XR Association took place on Tuesday, September 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. Watch the conference livestream.

Watch now for an expert discussion surrounding the implications of location verification requirements for AI chips.

Daniel Castro speaks about AI, energy use, and public policy at the Climate-Energy Summit Seoul 2025 (CESS 2025) hosted by Climate Change Center in Seoul, South Korea.

Daniel Castro speaks about how the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) can use automation and innovation to improve safety at a webinar hosted by the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure.

Daniel Castro speaks on artificial intelligence and its influence on economies and societies at the GLOBSEC Forum 2025 in Prague.

Daniel Castro speaks on a panel at the "AI for Prosperity: Innovation and Economic Growth in the Americas" conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Watch now for a timely discussion by ITIF's Center for Data Innovation and Public First surrounding new polling data exploring how U.S. public sentiment toward AI is evolving. The conversation unpacks where Americans see promise or peril, how their views have shifted over the past year, and what these perspectives mean for lawmakers, business leaders, and the future of AI policy.

Daniel Castro delivers a keynote speech on global cooperation around monitoring AI incidents at the ZGC Forum in Beijing, China.

Daniel Castro hosts a workshop on AI policy with thought leaders at the Atlas Network Latin America Liberty Forum in Rio de Janeiro.