questions on the future of tech
Questions on computing technology we must ask ourselves or think about, or else we are doomed to make the same mistakes.
- The internet (more or less) allows people to create decentralized archives, knowledge bases, records, etc. Among BIPOC communities, the question of who gets to own and tell “the story” is critical to ask. How do we facilitate trust and safety to ensure we are maintaining truthful and accurate information? How do we implement verification measures? How do we engage with malicious actors who may want to weaponize or inject false information? How do we fight erasure?
- How do we include more courses around ethics and responsibility in computing/computer science/computer engineering curricula? How do we qualify those courses and instructors? How do we ensure they include BIPOC issues in computing? How do we ensure they challenge and expand on our views on computing? How do we ensure they are programmatically and financially supported, so they can stay in curricula?
- Now more than ever we are realizing how powerful the military-industrial complex is, and its direct impact on BIPOC communities. A lot of technology actually began as military projects - many protected by NDAs, clearance hierarchies, and black budgets. Even the internet began as a U.S. DoD project. How can we ensure we are in the right spaces to hold officials accountable for decisions made on ideas that pose many ethical and humanitarian risks?
- How do we bring more awareness into who is funding and investing in certain technology? How do we become more aware of who represents the money and what they stand for?
- The jump from middle management to upper management/c-suite is often one of the biggest hurdles among women and BIPOC engineers. How can we better facilitate the jump? How do we fill any knowledge gaps around career advances? How do we better mentor and support aspiring and emerging leaders?
- How do we expand and advance digital privacy as a practice and discipline? How can we make digital privacy and privacy engineering more accessible? How can we broaden and further privacy and cybersecurity education?
- How do we better bridge the gap between engineering/the tech industry and tech law and policy?
Written: November 11, 2023