This Wired expose about a few tumultuous years at Google is really something. Mostly known for their ability to handle disagreements internally (with a few well-known exceptions), Google’s culture seems to really have taken a turn, with employees actively speaking out about what the company values—including how the company is enabling an out of control U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Read MoreSomething to keep your eye on: this week, tech community leaders with a stake in digital equity launched Build Tech We Trust, a collective effort to hold themselves accountable to fighting hate.
Here’s hoping this will gain some traction within the industry. Many of the signers have already been outspoken critics of its direction over the last few years, including Anil Dash and Ellen Pao.
Read MoreElizabeth Warren made headlines last week by outlining several proposals to break up Big Tech, including tighter regulation of acquisitions and mergers, and prohibiting companies from offering a marketplace for commerce and competing in that marketplace—or often choking off competition. (Watch Hasan Minhaj’s excellent outline of how Amazon does this, if you haven’t already.)
The policy proposals seems to have been met with excitement by consumers (including me) who think Big Tech is getting too powerful, and hasn’t done enough to self-regulate. But some of the specifics have been met with criticism.
Read MoreEarlier this week I spoke at a class at Loyola University on Ethics & Communication—a topic highly relevant to our time. I was specifically asked to give my opinion on “Ethics in a Digital World.”
Here’s what I listed as the five biggest issues that concern me right now.
Read MoreThere’s a mythology that persists around data, and its ability to act as a salve to heal all organizational woes. “If only we could do more with our data!” “If only we could apply it to XYZ problem!” “If only, if only …” It’s a misguided treasure hunt, the real gold always just around the corner.
Read MoreOne the first day of the new year, I wrote a Facebook missive on how I plan to "go high" a la Michelle Obama in 2019, and aim to be constructive in my participation in public discourse. Not passive—and certainly not afraid to show righteous anger—but also steering clear of the meme-ification of political dialogue that was typical of 2018 social media.
As with most New Year’s resolutions, easier said than done.
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