Navigating Polarisation about Tech

There are numerous opinions and camps around the ethics of various technologies (most strongly and recently, AI), which can create frictions even amongst political technologists who are aligned on other values - let alone people who do not consider themselves political technologists. I can provide advice for Fellows who wish to discuss or navigate polarised views around tech. I will not attempt to convert Fellows to any particular perspective, nor help them to do so with others. I will instead help them consider how they can locate their own work, projects, and views within the existing space; and engage with & prepare for potential criticisms and opposition.

My experience in this topic: Besides my broader work in tech accountability and safety, also at the NGO AlgorithmWatch I was responsible for a lot of work at the intersection of differering views on tech, and a spectrum of organisations who took different approaches and stances. I developed AlgorithmWatch's principles for use of Generative AI algorithmwatch.org, building on surveys which showed diverging views of AI in our organisation. I was also responsible for our research strategy, much of which challenged technologies while also often using (and sometimes encouraged use of) the same technologies.