for more responsible technology
Goodbye, 2020! You won't be missed. And as vaccines start to be administered worldwide, we can be reasonably hopeful the crisis will end in 2021. The other good news is that pressure on big tech to be more responsible is not easing up at all, au contraire. Whence these reasons why, this year, technology may … Continue reading How tech *might* get better than ever in 2021
I've updated this post from its original version, written last August. Since then, countries like the UK have slipped back into lockdown, and even rebellious Sweden is preparing to limit its citizens' movements, such is the extent of the dreaded second wave. Still, the only real change is that working from home has lost some … Continue reading 8 ways the crisis has made tech better
Depending on where we live, we're now up between two and three weeks into Covid-19-caused confinement, meaning most of us with 'non-essential' jobs are stuck inside, working from home. Which brings its lot of non-digital challenges (home schooling, anyone?) But above all, we're more dependent on technology than ever. All interactions with colleagues are limited … Continue reading How to stay sane online (especially now) – tips from Shine Offline’s Laura Willis
Much is said - including here - about tech’s negative impact on society. But what if, whilst GAFAM’s greenwashing continues, thousands of smaller enterprises - and even some of the biggest ones - were working to literally make the world better, with tech? This was our takeaway from changeNOW, the third edition of an ecology-focused … Continue reading How tech, big and small, may be saving the planet after all
Besides his 'day job' as London-based Editor-at-large for TechCrunch, it is above all Mike Butcher's side gigs that have made him one of today's most prominent tech-for-good actors. As well as founding Techfugees in 2015 — this major organisation now uses startup skills to help millions of refugees worldwide, as we covered last year — … Continue reading Social media algorithms’ “complete moral vacuity”, Techfugees, politics & more – interview with tech-for-good pioneer Mike Butcher
You know how companies tend to say one thing and do the other? When it comes to the environment, this is known as greenwashing; essentially, pretending to be green for good press, then doing the opposite. Like Amazon's leader Jeff Bezos saying initiatives like its wind farms (above) would enable the company to be carbon … Continue reading Big tech is harming the environment; how to stop it
From skull horns to deepfake nudes or a whole new range of accidents that never could have happened before, technology is now increasingly causing physical, as well as psychological problems. How bad is it? And what can we do about it? Darwin would be proud: skull hornsAs far-fetched as it may sound, scientific studies now … Continue reading What is tech doing to our bodies?
Earlier this month, the latest 'responsible tech' bombshell dropped: Chris Hughes (left above), who co-founded Facebook back in the day with Mark Zuckerberg, affirmed in a New York Times op-ed "It's Time to Break Up Facebook". Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, claims Hughes, "Zuck" and Sheryl Sandberg have done nothing to reign in Facebook's huge … Continue reading Ex-execs dissing Facebook: all the rage. But who’s bringing about true change?
If there's one thing that SXSW, the massive gathering that takes over Austin, Texas every March remains today, it's a tech trends barometer. Twitter, Foursquare and Periscope were all launched there, after all. This year, however, as this excellent post from France Télévisions' Kati Bremme (in French) was first to confirm to me, the big … Continue reading Why Time’s up for irresponsible tech
1. Screens now divide rich from poor "Human contact is now a luxury good," asserts this thought-proving New York Times piece. "The wealthy can afford to opt out of having their data and their attention sold as a product," writes Nellie Bowles. "The poor and middle class don’t have the same kind of resources to … Continue reading 4 more reasons to reduce your screen time… after reading this
