Responsible Tech Summer Reading List, Youth & Wellbeing events, Human-Centered Metaverse gathering, and more!

Plus our new Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Collaboration Group with the United Nations Population Fund

📚We’ve released our curated Responsible Tech Summer Reading List

Let’s get nerdy this summer. Put on some sunblock, dip your toes in the water, and crack open one of the many fascinating reads related understanding the social impact of technology, reducing harms, and ensuring that our tech future is aligned with public interest! Sure, you won’t find James Patterson on this list, but you will finding inspiring leaders in the Responsible Tech movement such as Safiya Nobel, Ruha Benjamin, Cathy O’Neil, Douglas Rushkoff, Shoshana Zuboff, Sasha Costanza-Chock, Cennydd Bowles, and more.

Thank you to all the the submissions we have received so far from the community! Have a suggestion? Let us know here. We have also been fortunate to include many of these authors in our previous events and reports; you can find our full list of our speakers and interviewees here.

👍We’re teaming up with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to kickstart a Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Collaboration Group

One of three key workstreams here at All Tech Is Human is focused on multi-stakeholder collaboration (studying for ATIH trivia night? The other two workstreams are multidisciplinary education and diversifying the pipeline). Our non-profit is teaming up with the United Nations Population Fund for an initial interest meeting (virtual) this Friday at 12pm ET for the people and organizations focused on tech-facilitated gender-based violence. Our aim—similar to all the activities we do—is to create a more connected ecosystem that promotes knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

Do you know of people and organizations across the globe that are focused on researching, convening, and reducing tech-facilitated gender-based violence? Let us know!

🔮What would a human-centered metaverse look like?! We’re getting experimental with our gathering this Thursday in Manhattan.

We’re gearing up for a fun mixer + panel + immersive experience this Thursday in NYC from 4-6pm, for a gathering being held at imre’s Manhattan space (modern marketing agency). And for those of you outside of NYC, we’ll be following up with a video from the discussion!

🚀On June 21st we’re releasing our AI & Human Rights report with dozens of contributors across the globe writing it.

Get ready! Our upcoming AI & Human Rights: Building a Tech Future Aligned With the Public Interest is being lead by Cate Gwin (our Program Associate) and Dr. Karina Alexanyan (our Director of Strategy), with noted AI Ethicist Renée Cummings serving as our subject matter expert alongside 70+ contributors from across the globe who have helped write this report.

This report will include 100+ organizations related to AI & Human Rights, the viewpoints of our contributors, and 43 profile interviews representative of industry, academia, and NGOs. The AI & Human Rights report has been informed by the over 300 people from the community that filled out our initial interest form to help provide resources and valuable perspective.

Here’s a preview of what you’ll read…

“We need to diversify not just the datasets that are used by current AI models, but the teams that develop them. This is a long process that includes reforming the training pipeline in the schools and universities that will bring us the next generation of technologists.” - Alberto Rodriguez, Senior Program Manager, Public Interest Technology

“If we don’t include the voices of those we’ve historically discriminated against as well as listen to their experiences to better understand how we can break the pattern, we risk continuing to repeat those same injustices.” - Dr. Dédé Tetsubayashi, CEO + Founder, incluu, and Responsible Innovation Manager, Meta (Facebook)

“Inclusion requires, at least, proactivity, resource allocation, and continuous dialogue. I would say that, in the context of inequalities and underfunded activities outside of the private sector, compensating people for their time and expertise is a fundamental step toward building more inclusive spaces in human-centred AI.” - Jess Reia (they/them), Assistant Professor of Data Science, University of Virginia 

🥳We’re celebrating the release of the AI & Human Rights report with a livestream on June 22 and we hope you join us.

How did we develop the AI & Human Rights report? What did we learn? What is the best path forward? Sign up for our livestream on Wed, June 22nd at 1pm ET to join the discussion for this 45-minute conversation.

🎙️All Tech Is Human’s Rebekah Tweed just appeared on the Technically Human Podcast to discuss the future of the Responsible Tech workforce.

Our organization has been gathering a considerable amount of intelligence around the overall Responsible Tech movement since we launched in 2018. In particular, our Program Director Rebekah Tweed sits at the crossroads between the diverse range of backgrounds getting involved in the ecosystem, the companies and organizations looking for individuals capable of grabbling with the social impact of technology, and the universities helping educate the next generation. Rebekah recently appeared on Deb Donig’s Technically Human podcast to discuss her work, the motivation behind starting the Responsible Tech Job Board, and how we define a Responsible Tech worker. Read & listen here. Rebekah’s work was also recently covered in this Protocol article.

As our Program Director running the Responsible Tech Job Board, mentorship program, and the university ambassador program, Rebekah has a tremendous level of insight into where the movement is headed and the needed convergence between universities, hiring managers, and individual understanding in order to grow and diversify the Responsible Tech pipeline. We also gain insight from our broad range of 3.1k members on our community Slack group. To expand in this area, All Tech Is Human has recently started a Responsible Tech Talent Matchmaking Service to assist companies and organizations looking for quality individuals.

👋We have some excited gatherings in the works! In August, we’ll have events in DC and NYC focused on youth, tech, and wellbeing.

Fresh off our Responsible Tech Summit: Improving Digital Spaces that drew speakers and attendees from across Australia, Europe, the UK, Canada, and the United States, we are putting plans in motion to unite people and organized focused around youth, tech, and wellbeing. Our Responsible Tech Summit (May 20) was held at the Consulate General of Canada in New York. More announcements coming about our upcoming August gatherings in DC and NYC in the next newsletter! Until then, we are pulling together speakers, organizations, resources and more and would love your help! Interest form.

Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant being interviewed by Matt Nguyen, the Digital Governance and Rights Lead within the Technology and Public Policy team at the Tony Blair Institute.

Yu Ping Chan from the United Nations and Justin Hendrix from Tech Policy Press

Fireside chat with Yaël Eisenstat Interviewed by cyber law & policy expert Betania Allo

🕶️Cool happenings in Responsible Tech

New America's Public Interest Technology University Network is excited to be partnering with a number of Network member institutions to offer the PIT Summer Speaker Series starting June 20 to July 1, 2022. The series introduces individuals of all backgrounds to foundational concepts, skills, and knowledge for advancing PIT. Participants can earn a digital badge by completing the required modules. There are no age, education or professional requirements for participation. The self-paced speaker modules will explore different PIT focuses and require a 10-hour time commitment. They will discuss topic areas such as social justice, structural inequality, tech law, human-centered design and PIT career pathways. Register here.

Tech Policy Press is commissioning a series of essays at the intersection of race, ethnicity, technology and elections to be published in the fall of 2022. Authors of selected essays will receive a $1,000 stipend. The deadline is June 24 at 5 PM ET. Learn more here, and please share this link with anyone you think may be interested to submit: bit.ly/TechPolicyPressEssays

😎Our tech future is not really about technology. It about incorporating more people in the process.

-All Tech Is Human | Write us at Hello / AllTechIsHuman.org

See all of our projects, including our new Office Hours, waitlist for the mentorship program, upcoming events, previous reports, community Slack group, and more.