To Have and Have Not: Growing Asymmetries in Communications Technology
The communications technology landscape is increasingly unstable. The global race to harness agentic artificial intelligence, general AI, and quantum computing is emerging as the technology story of the decade (and, perhaps of the 21st century). At the same time, rapid innovation in radio spectrum and space-based communications is expanding connectivity’s frontier both on Earth and beyond. Together, these shifts promise to transform industries as – or more – profoundly as the internet revolution of a generation ago.
The benefits and harms of today’s technological changes, notably, are unevenly distributed. Emerging technology capabilities and a lagging regulatory framework create new divides. As AI advances, there are fault lines between regions, nations, and firms, as well as between those with access to computing power, data, and energy, and those without. There will be haves. And there will be have-nots.
These asymmetries raise urgent questions about access to advanced AI, big data, spectrum resources, and the privacy and security protections that accompany them. Scholarship and policy in recent decades have focused on the “digital divide.” But as the United States approaches universal broadband access, technology’s tectonic plates are shifting again. This new set of divides are global, structural, deeply complex, and only beginning to be addressed.
Silicon Flatirons’ 2026 Flagship Conference, entitled To Have and Have Not: Growing Asymmetries in Communications Technology, considers emerging gaps in technology access – and the impact of the collective regulatory landscape of local, state, federal, and international governance. The conference brings together scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the regulation of advanced technologies.
Through a combination of expert panels, our annual debate, and keynote addresses, the February 1–2, 2026 Flagship Conference will evaluate how dynamic technology advance and lagging policy are creating a landscape of emerging winners, likely losers, and ever-growing asymmetry.
Sessions
Day One Check In and Breakfast
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall
Attendees are welcome to check-in and enjoy a continental breakfast buffet before the day’s programming gets underway.
Welcoming Remarks
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom & Livestream
Executive Director, Silicon Flatirons
Keynote
Charles Widger Endowed University Professor in Law, Business and Economics, Villanova University
AI Market Forces – A New Gap in Tech Access?
Discussion will explore prevailing competitive dynamics in communications technology and the emerging large language model (LLM) oligopoly, as well as the role of industrial policy on the market. For instance, will LLMs remain “open” for companies to build upon? Are we nearing the end of the Internet era of “innovation without permission”?
Assistant Professor of Law and Computer Science, Northeastern University School of Law
Director of Artificial Intelligence & Technology Policy, Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator
Joseph and Madeline Sheehy Chair in Antitrust Law and Trade Regulation; Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
Imasogie Professor in Law & Technology, Communication, and Computer & Information Science, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
President, GLIA Foundation
Break
Recognizing Student Leaders
Keynote: The Age of Extraction
Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology, Columbia Law School
Lunch Break
@ Wolf Law Building, Schaden Commons
A catered lunch will be provided onsite.
The Administrative State and Tech Access
Discussion will explore how the current administrative state – in light of recent Supreme Court rulings, executive action, and uncertain independent agency and federal-state dynamics – impacts technology policy and access. Consider implications on the Universal Service Fund, the Federal Trade Commission, the Humphrey’s Executor precedent, and the Major Questions Doctrine.
(moderator)
Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Senior Fellow in Technology Policy, Cato Institute
Senior Fellow and Academic Director, U.Penn Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
President & CEO, Public Knowledge
Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley – School of Law
AI Boom or Bust
A fireside chat on lessons from the Telecom Bubble with:
Attorney General, State of Colorado
Chairman and CEO (retired), tw telecom
Co-founder and Partner, Foundry
Break
Using AI Tools in Significant Decisions
Whom does technology serve — and whom does it forsake? Discussion will explore the use of AI systems to make significant decisions about ordinary people, such as in housing, employment, education, and health. What does “AI bias” mean, where does it come from, and how does it impact the outcome of decisions made using AI systems? This panel will discuss processes aimed at improving the use of AI in decision-making, including audits, impact assessments, explanations, and the highly contested right to challenge AI decisions.
(moderator)
Professor, University of Colorado Law School
First Assistant Attorney General, Technology & Privacy Protection, Colorado Attorney General’s Office
Shareholder; Co-Chair, Privacy and Data Security Practice Group, Littler Mendelson
Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
State Representative, Colorado General Assembly
Resolved: AI is More Open than the Internet
The annual debate returns!
(moderator)
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School
Reception
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall
After day one of the conference concludes, attendees and speakers are invited to Boettcher Hall for hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, and conversation.
Day Two Check In and Breakfast
@ Wolf Law Building, Foyer and Boettcher Hall
Attendees are welcome to check-in and enjoy a continental breakfast buffet before the day’s programming gets underway.
Welcome
@ Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom & Livestream
Broadband – Priority Service, Alternative Technology, and the Path Toward Universal Access
Discussion will explore if, how, and to what extent the current status of various state and federal broadband deployment programs may challenge the policy goal of “Internet for All.” The panel will consider such factors as National Broadband Map omissions, mounting Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) defaults, and implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Act programs.
(moderator)
Senior Research Associate, University of Colorado Boulder
SVP Public Policy, AT&T
Director, Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute, New York Law School
Senior Fellow, Georgetown University
Break
Band Access – License to Build?
Discussion will explore how recent auction authority and federal policy may create a new round of winners and losers, particularly with regard to shared spectrum applications such as Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS).
(moderator)
Former Special Advisor for Spectrum, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Vice President of Technology Policy, Charter Communications
Director, Wireless Future Program, Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation
VP Engineering and Technology Policy, T-Mobile
Professor, University of Notre Dame
VP Satellite Policy, SpaceX
Lunch Break
Boxed lunches will be provided on site.
Spectrum Security and Resilience Summit
The radio spectrum has become a contested domain, with growing interference and spoofing threatening critical civilian systems and revealing serious gaps in governance, capability, and protection. The afternoon sessions of day two of the conference will aim to bring together key stakeholders to define practical reforms that strengthen national resilience while upholding democratic values, civil liberties, and a competitive marketplace.
Keynote: Spectrum Autonomy, Trust, and Interference Resilience
Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission
Lessons from the Airwaves
This discussion provides historical grounding for the broader conversation. It traces the evolution of peacetime spectrum security from early military and broadcast incidents through today’s dense, interconnected spectrum environment. By revisiting how earlier generations confronted attacks and unintentional interference, the panel sets the stage for understanding why spectrum security and resilience remain recurring challenges at the intersection of technology and policy.
(moderator)
Senior Fellow, Silicon Flatirons
National Security Director, Smart Communications
Chief Office of Engineering and Technology (retired), Federal Communication Commission
Member, Lerman Senter PLLC
Professor, Columbia University
Keynote: Scene-Setting Talk
The Emerging Spectrum Security Landscape
This panel examines strategies to prevent and rapidly mitigate electromagnetic attacks and unintentional interference in the US in peacetime, with a focus on rapidly growing sectors and new threats. Panelists will describe how jamming, spoofing, and unintentional interference now manifest in operational environments, identify where today’s vulnerabilities and governance gaps most urgently demand attention, and discuss current and envisioned approaches to the challenges.
(moderator)
Former Special Advisor for Spectrum, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Additional speakers to be announced.
Break
Resilience by Design
This panel discusses the resilience attributes of current systems, the ways in which national stakeholders promote increased resilience, and how risk-informed decision making, adaptive governance, and new technologies can strengthen interference resilience and public trust in essential systems.
(moderator)
Director Emeritus & Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons
Joseph T. Negler Professor | Hatfield Endowed Professor in Space Policy & Law, University of Colorado Boulder
Additional speakers to be announced.
Open Discussion, Synthesis, and Closing Reflections
Research Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
Additional speakers to be announced.