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Nowadays, it's hard to imagine tech being apolitical. There have been outcries about freedom of speech and censorship. These heavy criticisms are coming from Washington, the court of public opinion, and even within the organizations themselves. What amendments should be made to Section 230 - if any at all? How should product builders think about managing their commercial interests with public demands? What mechanisms can be instituted to hold tech platform executives accountable?
“Algorithms are the new oil.”
In 2017, the Economist published their article on data surpassing oil as the world's most valuable resource. However,
as technologist Geoff Lewis pointed out, algorithms - not data - are the new oil. They take points of information
from passive to active and, ultimately, actionable. Consequently, they are sources of national and geopolitical
tension. Think about TikTok's privacy controversy or the criticism of Facebook's newsfeed algorithm amplifying
disinformation. We’ve optimized for efficiency and effectiveness. How should we now evaluate algorithms for their
impact, not input?
What gives us a right to privacy online?
How can we help people take control of the level of privacy they want on the Internet? What is the next step to
transforming the long opt-in user agreements that no one reads to meaningful ways to inform the public about the
rights they're agreeing to?
Sustainability, particularly in an environmental context, is a favorite buzzword in corporate and policy circles. In some cases, it is just a front for marginal progress. The last two decades have brought about improvements in climate technologies and material shifts in attitudes towards our relationship with the environment. However, it is still inaccessible to most of the world’s population. Therefore, what supply chain innovations are needed to produce and distribute green tech in transportation, food, housing, and more, at scale? How can incentives between entrepreneurial, moonshot visions and financial returns be better aligned? Perhaps you are aware of any scientific research that can be commercialized?
The Biden Administration is planning a $3 to $4 trillion infrastructure bill. Many have argued that this is an opportunity for much needed improvements to America’s digital infrastructure, which the pandemic exposed as lacking. Differences in internet access, digital literacy, and software/hardware capabilities obstructed many people in working, learning, and connecting with others throughout the past year. What kinds of tools can we build to help underserved consumers of technology? How can we help improve tech literacy among the general population in order to have better informed digital users. Moreover, given that the internet has been a catalyst for decentralization, what will virtual-first K-12 and higher-ed learning look like?
Meet me in the metaverse.
How can we bring people who are spatially apart together virtually in an energizing way - think the opposite of a Zoom lecture? How can we
promote meaningful exchanges of ideas instead of echo chambers on the Internet?
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