Lexington Fall Intern — T. Connor Weiss

Hi,

My name is T. Connor Weiss and I am a research assistant at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Virginia. I am currently in my final semester at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and am majoring in Economics with a concentration in Data Science.

Prior to joining Lexington, I was primarily interested in a few fields of economics; specifically, labor market economics, behavioral economics and microeconomics. I had done economic research on student-loan debt and the millennial housing market, as well as labor market polarization. The former was accepted to present at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research 2018. I loved the rigor of academic research, but wanted to see another side of research; one where I could speak with professionals in their respective fields instead of setting up statistical models and analyzing numbers.

At Lexington, I assist in obtaining important contact information, help to set up and run events and attend events hosted by other think tanks and government agencies to gather information. Being at a think tank has allowed me to immerse myself in public policy topics that, otherwise, I may never have been exposed to. Some of my favorite events thus far have been attending the annual AUSA conference, a panel on cybersecurity hosted by the Department of Commerce and Raytheon, and an event on place-based economic policy at the Brookings Institution.

After completing this semester at Lexington, I plan on attending graduate school for Data Science or Economics. Initially, I was mainly interested in microeconomics and behavioral economics, but after working here at Lexington, I will be looking into other possible fields as well. I would love to eventually work with the private sector or government on policy regarding the regulation of artificial intelligence and machine learning, focusing on the ethics and economic implications that come with the integration of this technology into our every day lives.