TechProm Tech Talk - Episode 2
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Transcript
Welcome to a special edition of CDT's Tech Talks. I'm Jamal Magdi, and it's time to talk tech.
Welcome to Tech Talk. Bye. CT.
In this very special episode, we're taking you inside one of the most anticipated nights in tech policy, Tech Prom. Each year, Tech Prom brings together leaders from government, civil society, industry, and academia to celebrate progress, exchange ideas, and chart the future of technology in service of democracy and human rights. In this episode, you'll hear short interviews from the event floor, conversations with some of the most brilliant minds currently shaping the technology and policy landscape. We ask them about their work, what opportunities and challenges they see on the horizon, and what gives them hope for the future of tech. So grab your headphones and join us as we step into the energy, insights, and optimism of Tech Prom twenty twenty five. Welcome to CDT's Tech Talks. I'm here with Alan Davidson. Phil Bernstein. Bruce Melman from Melman Consulting. Nuala O'Connor. I'd love for you to reflect on your time with CDT. In particular, why you support our mission and how you've seen CDT evolve over the years. Well, I've had the incredible
luck and opportunity to be a part of the CDT family for a long time now. I was the first professional staff member hired by CDT, after its founding, so thirty years ago, which is kind of incredible. And I've been a board member. I chaired our search committee that hired our current incredible CEO. And I've been a funder. I've been in government and had the chance to really appreciate how much CDT contributes to the conversation. And I am just so intensely proud of what CDT does, the organization we have now here, and how important it is to this national conversation about technology. I got involved,
with CDT in 2011. Leslie, Harris was the CEO then and, got captivated by her energy and the, amazing mission of the organization. When I arrived at CDT, I always, equated it to being sort of like a small family office. It was all the original founders, and I was sort of the first real outsider, to join the board. And, you know, from the beginning, it was it's just a very unique organization, not only in terms of its knowledge and its approach, but in terms of the community and the people it attracts to its mission. Well, I've been a
observer and a fan of CDT for more than two decades, which ages me really frustratingly. But, as somebody who's been focused on technology and technology policy going way back to .com bubble, and, yeah, what the the old hell is not necessary. Right? You're rubbing it in, man. Like, I don't wanna know where you were at that point. You know? But back then, super excited about the technology, but also cognizant of this is changing how we work, live, play, learn, parent, and believing that on behalf whether it's of industry or political figures, we also need a third set of eyes, a perspective on what's it mean for society. How do we help ensure technology doesn't just make great profits, which it does, doesn't just create all these awesome new products, you know, but also makes the the, economy, the country, the the population healthier and happier. Now I guess you could debate, have we done that or not as a society? But I think CDT has been a really important voice
to push us in the right direction. It is just an honor to have been part of the legacy of this great organization reaching thirty years now, as Alex was just saying. And every single person who has worked with CBT has made an impact on the organization, on the life of this great advocacy organization, and has made an impact on the world. So I really felt like at the time I was there, it was the right time for me to serve and to be a part of the team, and its work is never more important than it is now. It's important every day, but I'm so proud of the team and and Alex and everyone who's there fighting the good fight and staying true to the core values, which are immutable. No matter who's working there, it's always about the rights of the individual
and how they are expressed and protected in the digital age. Looking ahead, what makes you the most optimistic about the future of technology and its role in supporting democracy and human rights?
It's a tough time right now because the change is so huge. It's clear we haven't gotten right all the things that we needed to get right. So, you know, up to up until this moment, when I look at the Internet and Internet policy, social media policy, there's a lot more to do. And then add on top of that, layer on top of that, what's happening with AI and you think, wow. Are we really do we have the muscle memory? Do we have the capability to do this? What community that is building around these issues. And I'll say as a somebody who's been at these CDT Tech Proms annual dinner since they started, there was a moment, you know, when they started where I felt like I knew 95% of the people in the room. And now I feel like I I know 20% of the people in the room, but that is an amazing thing because what it means is our field is growing. There are this incredible influx of committed and gifted people who care about technology, care about how it's impacting society, and that gives me hope that we have the the people power, the capacity
to really tackle these big problems together. And CDT is the focal point for a lot of that work. I look at technology as the great enabler of human expression. And if you look around what's happening in the world, so many people are connected by technology and, have the relationships they never have without it. It's certainly changed our society in a big way. And protecting that and having it be a free and open in Internet, which is available to everybody, I think is one of the pressing issues facing our nation and our or indeed the whole world. One of the lessons I always advise my team, people I work with, clients, organizations
I speak to, it's really easy to get depressed and to feel like it's never been this bad, and a lot of that is recency bias, and a lot of that is because the media is a business. It needs you to click. It needs you to watch. It needs you to listen. How does it get that outrage? If it bleeds, it leads. But important lessons, balance your media diet and read history. And when you go back and you read history, you find nation's been divided many times. And among the things that have always gotten us out of it, it's a combination of our kind of of the things the nation believes in and technology. And technology is the way that new voices get heard, that people who maybe don't tow the official line but have important things to say can be seen, can be heard. You go back to the civil rights era, there were three major networks, and to their credit, they ultimately covered, you know, doctor King and Bull Connor and a lot of the things that were going on, but there's a lot of stuff and a lot of people who didn't get covered. Why? Because there were three networks. They were businesses, and so they had to do what they had to do. They showed a whole lot of courage, but we're now in a world where everybody can be an activist. Everyone can be a witness. Everyone can be a publisher. That's a really powerful set of tools with great power and comes great responsibility, so we also have to make sure that those tools aren't abused, they aren't dominated,
by a select few, or they aren't perverted by those with the chops to do so. I suppose I'm still fundamentally an optimist despite everything that's going on in the world, which is becoming increasingly more difficult. I guess I'm optimistic partly because I have children, and and children who are becoming adults and who are savvy and passionate and believe in the right things and believe in equality and equity and the dignity of the human no matter where in the world they are. And I do believe still at my core that technology can be an enabler of good and can be an enabler of equality and opportunity for people around the world. But we have to make good and perhaps better choices than we are making now in the industry and in government. And, thank goodness we have civil society and in its many forms, journalists, advocacy groups, and and more to hold people accountable in positions of authority in the public and the private sector. But I am I guess I'm always a little short term pessimistic and long term optimistic that we will get the right answers eventually.
Thank you for listening to Tech Talks presented by the Center for Democracy and Technology. I've been your host, Jamal Magby. Tech Talks is edited by Jacob Kaufman and produced by Drew Corby. Check out more of CDT's work by visiting us online at cdt.org and on various social media at sendem tech. That's c e n d e m tech. Thanks for talking tech.
