A BETTER TECH Dialogues
We are currently working on making recordings available for dialogues. Follow us on Twitter, where we will announce updates about this sometime around October 30, 2021.
Paving the Way: Entry-Level Careers in Public Interest Tech Opportunities| Dialogue with Ariana Soto (Coding it Forward), Joey Headley, Flora Wang, Eric Richards
This dialogue was for any entry-level or aspiring entry-level technologists interested in learning more about opportunities for technologists in the public interest tech space. Ariana Soto, who leads Coding it Forward’s Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps programs, sat down with three alumni of the programs to discuss their journeys in the space.
Mainstreaming the embodied knowledge and lived experiences of BIPOC PIT Practitioners | Dialogue with Maria Yuan, Tayo Fabusuyi & Dwayne Barnes (University of Michigan)
Presenters spoke about their experiences as PIT entrepreneurs in this ecosystem, and discuss what a future of PIT that is built and co-created with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) PIT practitioners will look like. Attendees were also be introduced to the PIT Knowledge Network and opportunities to get involved in the project.
The Open and Decentralized Web | Sal Kimmich (Sonatype), Drake Talley (Attentive), Derek Slater (Google), Lila Bailey (Internet Archive).
These panelists will be in dialogue about a free, open, and user-friendly internet and what something like intellectual property may look on an internet that is this open. While accessibility and openness is key in an infrastructure so far reaching, what are the ethical and moral implications of these freedoms?
Decolonizing AI: Perspectives from the Global South | Dr. Ahmed Ansari (NYU), Dr. Noopur Atal Raval (AI Now Institute),Dr. Syed Mustafa Ali (Open University), Dr. Maya Indira Ganesh
This panel presented the perspectives of four scholars representing the Global South (more specifically, South Asia) working at the intersection of technology studies and critical cultural studies.
Cross-Sector Collaborations in PIT | Maria Luque (Mission-Oriented LTD), Johanna Okerlund (University of Michigan), Shlomi Hod (Boston University)
In this dialogue, we brought together practitioners and scholars to discuss those working in the PIT field with non-STEM backgrounds, technologists' social perspective on tech, as well as responsible AI, law, and society, and how each of these contribute in their own way to the public interest.
Unpacking the Racial Digital Divide | Alisa Valentin (FCC), Dominique Harrison (Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies), and Daiquiri Ryan (National Hispanic Media Coalition)
Recent data show Black and Latinx communities are disproportionately less likely to have a home broadband connection and a desktop/laptop computer. These disparities impact the ability of communities of color to access opportunities in education, employment, and civic engagement. This panel discussion explored the federal policy pitfalls and opportunities in closing the digital divide across communities of color.
What We Can Learn From the Race Between Disruption and Democracy? | Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami (Stanford)
Armed with an understanding of how both technologists and policy makers think and exercise their power, the Stanford professors — a philosopher working at the intersection of tech and ethics, a political scientist who served in the Obama administration, and the director of the undergraduate Computer Science program at Stanford who was an early Google engineer — explored the relationship between rapid innovation and lagging regulation.
Assessing Digital Political Gendered Violence in Latin America | Luz Elena González (PIT Policy Lab), Saiph Savage PhD (Northeastern), Cristina Martínez Pinto (PIT Policy Lab), Yasmin Curzi, Barbara Liborio
Gendered online harassment has been extensively studied. However, there are currently limited quantitative investigations on this area. Presenters shared experiences on researching Political Gendered Violence Online, and the areas of opportunity that PIT practitioners can work on to build better digital channels for women in politics.
Technology and the Administrative Burden | Emily Tavoulareas, Don Moynihan, Dan Hon (Georgetown University, Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation)
Too often, engaging with government is confusing, complex, and frustrating. People, often in great time of need, are faced with extraordinary obstacles to getting the services they need, with the effect of reinforcing inequality. This casual conversation explored how technology makes it harder for people to access critical public services, often precisely at the time(s) they need them most.
Sourcing Novel Data Science Questions from the Public | Alissa Talley-Pixley, Kelly Kowatch (University of Michigan)
The panelists discussed their work at the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI), where the curriculum is rich with client-based educational experiences that allow students to engage with external organizations. This work has come with a number of challenges and the panelists discuss outcomes and approaches.
Technologists in Government Working for the Public Good | Stephanie Rodriguez and Grace Dewson (USofTech), Betsy Cooper (Aspen Institute), Michelle Skor (Bitwise Industries), Rachel Dodell (Coding It Forward)
USofTech is a collective effort to bring a diverse group of 10,000 technologists into the public sector across state, local, and federal government. In this dialogue, members of USofTech--Tech Talent Project, Aspen Tech Policy Hub, Bitwise Industries, and Coding it Forward-- discuss how they make this happen.
What Skills are Needed to Work in Tech and Data Ethics? | Natalia Domagala (UK Cabinet Office), Maria Axente (PWC), Dr. Dave Tarrant (The Open Data Institute), Olivia Gambelin (Ethical Intelligence Associates)
In this session, responsible technology professionals from different sectors shared what skills they have found the most useful when working in technology and data ethics, and discuss strategies for building lasting capacity in this field.