Bioneer,
The rise of Big Tech happened so rapidly, tech companies—let alone regular users—barely had time to consider the ramifications of an automated, data-driven, constantly connected world before the consequences were already on our doorsteps. This week, we discuss the incredible potential—both extremely positive and gravely negative—of tech with some of the world’s foremost experts.
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This Will All Be So Great If We Don’t Screw It Up
In the world of mega technology companies, how big is too big? Bioneers Executive Director Joshua Fouts chatted with blogger, journalist, and science fiction author Cory Doctorow about monopolies, regulations, algorithms and sci-fi. Following is an excerpt from the conversation.
DOCTOROW: The kind of technology that I want to see in our future is one that is resilient on a technological and on a policy level because it is distributed and pluralistic. Rather than having five giant websites filled with screenshots from the other four, I would like there to be a lot of different places where people accomplish a wide variety of goals online—communication, fellowship, commerce, any of the other things we do, romance and so on...
The difference between “this-will-be-so-great” and “if-we-don't-screw-it-up” is who has control over the system. Is it the people who use the systems? Or is it the people who are trying to extract value from people who use the system? That’s really the major difference.
Read more here. |
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From Artificial Intelligence to Data Collection: The Perils and Promise of Tech
We are living in an age of dizzying technological change, especially in the domains of electronic communications, artificial intelligence, robotics, data collection and genetics. Few people are better equipped to help us make sense of this rapidly evolving landscape than Elizabeth Dwoskin, the Washington Post's Silicon Valley correspondent, and one of the nation's premiere reporters on the world of tech. Bioneers sat down with Dwoskin to discuss some of the best and worst implications of our increasingly plugged-in lives. Here’s a small segment of our revealing conversation.
BIONEERS: Younger people are trending away from Facebook. What do you think the future of Facebook looks like?
DWOSKIN: I think Facebook is really scared of the generational shift. But they’ve amassed so much market power that even if all the kids of the future stopped using Facebook, which most have these days, they still have all their data. They have the parents’ contact lists. And they’re going to have the market power to buy whatever hot new thing comes along that all the kids are using.
They have an unbelievable visibility into what you use, because even if you're not on Facebook anymore, they collect so much data about people in your social network that they can often find out about your behavior too.
I guess one question is: Can what’s going on in the European laws affect these huge tech companies’ revenues? These companies right now, they just print money. Right now they make so much money that they can almost do whatever they want. But you can see a scenario where if Europe continues the way it’s going, and if the U.S. continues the way it’s going, companies won’t be able to buy their way out of their problems.
Read more here. |
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This Week on Bioneers Radio & Podcast
New, democratized access to powerful analytical and mapping tools is transforming our understanding of the natural world – and with it, our ability to meaningfully conserve, protect and restore our collective home – the biosphere. In this program, we explore the boundless possibilities of digital maps and platforms with Rebecca Moore, visionary founder of Google Earth Outreach and Google Engine.
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The Latest from Bioneers.org:
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Microorganisms have always been an invisible part of life. But now that scientists are uncovering how they can help us address some of the world’s most pressing problems, a revolution for life and health is emerging. Learn more in this excerpt from The Hidden Half of Nature by David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé.
Released in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the founding of Bioneers, our Seeding the Field video series celebrates some of the best moments of the Bioneers conference through the last three decades.
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Native American Youth and Google Break the Silicone Wall
On July 1, 2019, the Bioneers Indigeneity Program and Google co-sponsored an all-day workshop attended by 20 greater Bay Area Native youth and chaperones kicking off the second year of the flagship “Digital Natives” initiative. Here’s what it was like, from the perspective of Bioneers Indigeneity Program’s Alexis Bunten.
Read more here. |
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Connect With Like-Minded Customers at the Bioneers 2019 Marketplace!
The 30th annual Bioneers Conference is a few months away, and we are looking for ethical, sustainable small businesses and non-profit exhibitors for our conference Marketplace!
Set outdoors in prime locations for conference foot traffic, our premium booths are available for small businesses who want to sell products and create visibility for their brand. Connect with our audience of 4000 attendees that are looking for sustainable and ethical companies to support.
Early bird prices are available for a limited time! Interested? Simply contact marketplace@bioneers.org to receive more information. |
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What We’re Tracking:
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice has a Small Grants Program for grassroots groups working on environmental health and justice issues. Learn how to submit an application.
Trees talk to each other using chemical signals dispatched along the fungal networks that live in their roots. Dig into these fascinating systems with this short animation from TED-ed. - Thanks to years of grassroots organizing, Latin America’s biggest shale reserve will never be fracked, and 12.5 million people in Paraná are safe from the direct impacts of fracking.
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