Media / Policy Engagement

I believe academic knowledge has the greatest impact when it functions as a bridge translating structural analysis into terms that regulators, journalists, and the broader public can act on.

My public writing and policy engagement grow directly from my scholarly work, bringing the same analytical framework to bear in venues where it can inform decisions being made now. These engagements, in turn, sharpen my research — regulatory feedback and policy conversations surface questions that academic analysis alone does not reach.

Writing & Commentary

Subsidize, Build, Export, Repeat - The American ProspectAmerica is selling the AI stack it built with public money, with the same companies and the same national security framing. Nobody is asking whether the demand is real.

Your 401(k) Is Propping Up the AI Bubble - ProMarketAmericans’ retirement savings are disproportionately tied to the dozen Big Tech firms that now dominate the S&P. This makes any intervention into regulating Big Tech that risks devaluing them politically difficult, writes Hera Hyeonseo Lee.

How a 2016 Accounting Rule Fueled Big Tech’s Investments in AI Startups - ProMarketAn accounting rule introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in 2016 was designed to address a flaw in the previous regime that contributed to the 2008 Financial Crisis. However, this same rule is enabling the circuit of investments that flows from Big Tech companies to artificial intelligence startups, whose increased valuation from these investments increases the value of the Big Tech companies, which they can then reinvest in the AI startups. The risk is an AI bubble that, if it pops, will also blow up Americans’ savings, writes Hera Hyeonseo Lee.

What Regulators Should Do About The AI Industry's Hidden Financial Loop Antitrust enforcers should be asking how a self-referential financial circuit is manufacturing the demand that justifies investments, Hera Hyeonseo Lee writes.

Binghamton sociologist explores the structural forces behind brain rot - Binghamton NewsBy prioritizing engagement, digital platforms are making it more difficult to focus, read and even engage in democracy

Policy Engagement

Agenda Request Regarding Disaggregated Disclosure of Unrealized Gains from Commercially Entangled Equity Investments under ASC 321 | Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), June 2026

Submitted an agenda request urging the Board to amend ASC 321-10-50 to require disaggregated disclosure of remeasurement gains on equity holdings where the investee is also a material commercial counterparty of the reporting entity, drawing on original research into the financial architecture of cloud provider–AI developer partnerships.
Proposed accompanying note and narrative disclosures quantifying entanglement-driven gains and the associated cloud credit arrangements, framed as a disclosure-only change consistent with the Board's income statement disaggregation work under ASU 2024-03.

Petition for Rulemaking Regarding Disaggregated Disclosure of Cloud Revenue and Unrealized Gains from Commercially Entangled Entities in the AI Infrastructure Sector | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), June 2026

Petitioned the Commission to amend Regulation S-K to require disaggregated disclosure of cloud computing revenue from commercially entangled entities, and proposed interpretive guidance requiring separate below-the-line presentation of mark-to-market gains where the investee is also a material commercial counterparty.
Recommended that the Commission refer to the Financial Stability Oversight Council whether the interaction among cloud credit investments, mark-to-market accounting, and passive index fund flows constitutes an emerging systemic risk to household retirement savings.

Public Comment Regarding Draft Guidelines on Transparency Obligations under Article 50 AI Act | European Commission, AI Office, May 2026

Provided stakeholder input on the regulatory treatment of algorithmic recommender systems under the AI Act's transparency framework, arguing that the current scope exclusion for recommender systems creates compliance uncertainty for stakeholders subject to both the AI Act and DSA, and proposing that transparency obligations encompass disclosure of AI systems' optimization objectives.

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/consultations/consultation-draft-guidelines-transparency-obligations-under-ai-act

Public Comment Regarding Making Improvements to the Premerger Notification and Report Form | U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) & Federal Trade Commission (FTC), May 2026

Provided expert analysis on how acqui-hire transactions and cloud credit investments in the AI sector evade HSR premerger reporting requirements, drawing on original research into the financial architecture of cloud provider–AI developer partnerships. FTC-2026-0298-0004
Recommended targeted modifications to the HSR form, including bright-line filing thresholds for structured talent acquisitions and disclosure requirements for in-kind infrastructure investments, with attention to proportionality and administrative burden.

Public Comment on Competitor Collaboration Guidance |U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) & Federal Trade Commission (FTC), April 2026

Provided expert analysis on non-traditional transaction structures (cloud credit investments, reverse acqui-hires) for the Agencies' joint inquiry on Docket No. ATR-2026-0001.
Recommended updates to the Antitrust Guidelines to capture competitive effects of AI infrastructure financial architectures.
Read the full comment on Regulations.gov → https://www.regulations.gov/comment/ATR-2026-0001-0015

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