The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Innovation and Technological Change in the DIgital Age

We live in a time where it is said that digitization is the great leveller of opportunity for all but in fact, this is not the truth at all.  Instead we find that the future us being shaped where technology could contribute to transforming social norms, indeed the voiceless remain so and online harassment has become an ever growing problem with little or no pushback on the harassers or the platforms where such behaviour is proliferated.  We also find that there is a perpetuation of algorithmic biases based on race and gender. 

 

Jo Stewart-Rattray, recently returned from the United Nations has brought with her a deeper learning and understanding of how we can all work together to overcome some of these biases and to give an online voice to the voiceless and to create safe spaces for individuals to interact together.  This is an interesting topic with some interesting light bulb moments filled with startling stats.  Jo herself, as a committed technologist and security specialist found some of the learnings she came away, confronting.