Jon Gosier: The problem with "trickle-down techonomics"

Summary

Jon Gosier discusses the flawed notion of "trickle-down techonomics," drawing comparisons to trickle-down economics. He highlights how technology, like wealth, often consolidates benefits in the hands of a few and questions the unintended consequences of technological advancements. He provides examples across various sectors, such as healthcare, finance, education, and land ownership, emphasizing the need for technologists to consider ethical implications and strive for inclusivity in innovation.

Highlights

• Jon Gosier critiques the assumption that technology naturally benefits everyone. 🤔
• He labels this assumption as 'trickle-down techonomics.' 😅
• Examples from healthcare, finance, and education illustrate tech's limited reach. 🔍
• Land digitization in Africa exposed communities to exploitation by well-connected investors. 🏠
• Gosier calls for a focus on ethical implications and inclusivity in tech innovation. 🛠️

Key Takeaways

• Technology often benefits a select few rather than the masses, similar to wealth distribution. 💻
• In healthcare, the 'digitally invisible' may be marginalized as tech-based efficiencies rise. 🏥
• Digital currency barriers could exclude communities relying on traditional money systems. 💲
• Online education assumes universal access to technology, which isn’t always the case. 📚
• Digitizing land rights in Africa led to exploitation by investors, highlighting tech's unintended consequences. 🌍
• Technologists must prioritize efficacy and ethical outcomes over mere efficiency. ⚙️

Overview

Jon Gosier, a software developer, and technologist, raises an intriguing skepticism about what he terms "trickle-down techonomics." Borrowing from the concept of trickle-down economics, he challenges the assumption that technological advancements inevitably benefit everyone. Gosier points out how these innovations often end up consolidating advantages among a select few, leaving many others behind. With a blend of humor and insight, he urges his audience to rethink the role and reach of technology.

He provides compelling examples from healthcare, finance, education, and land ownership to illustrate his point. In healthcare, the reliance on technology for efficiency could marginalize those without access to the latest devices. Similarly, the barriers to entry for digital currencies keep traditional money-using communities at a disadvantage. With the shift towards digital education resources, there's an assumption that everyone has access to the necessary technology, which is not always true, as seen in parts of Philadelphia.

In East Africa, digitizing land ownership to resolve disputes has inadvertently led to local communities being outmaneuvered by tech-savvy investors. Gosier's message is a clarion call for technologists to consider the unintended consequences of their creations. He advocates for a movement towards ethical technology development that prioritizes efficacy and inclusivity, emphasizing that true innovation lies in finding ways to include everyone, thereby avoiding the pitfalls of a tech-driven divide.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Background in Civic Technology The chapter introduces the concept of civic technology, often termed as tech for good, aimed at solving humanitarian issues. The narrator shares their experience as a software developer working on diverse civic tech projects. A notable example from 2010 in Uganda is mentioned, where the narrator contributed to creating a technological solution that enabled local communities.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Technology for Activism and the Question of Harm This chapter explores the role of technology in activism, focusing on its potential to evade government surveillance and maintain connectivity despite attempts at censorship. It highlights historical instances in North Africa where technology aided activists. However, it also questions the assumed benefits of technology, pondering whether we might be mistaken about its positive impacts.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Critique of 'Trickle-down Techonomics' The chapter titled 'Critique of Trickle-down Techonomics' discusses the common belief within the tech industry that technological advancements inherently benefit all communities. This assumption is critically examined, pointing out that innovations do not always reach or positively impact everyone as intended. The term 'trickle-down techonomics' is coined to describe this optimistic but potentially misguided belief in the universal benefits of tech developments. (Laughter is noted, suggesting a humorous undertone in the delivery.)
• 01:30 - 02:00: Wearables and Health Applications The chapter "Wearables and Health Applications" explores the distribution and accessibility of technology. It challenges the notion that designing for a select few leads to universal access, comparing innovation to wealth in that both are often consolidated among a few before reaching wider audiences. It provides relatable examples within the context of wearables, smartphones, and applications.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Impact of Digital Tools in Medical Facilities The chapter titled 'Impact of Digital Tools in Medical Facilities' discusses the growing use of digital tools in the healthcare sector. It highlights how personal health applications that track activities such as calorie burning, sitting time, and walking are becoming popular. These technologies contribute to making patient intake more efficient in medical facilities. As a result, there is a growing expectation in the healthcare industry for such efficiencies, and medical facilities are beginning to integrate these digital tools into their operations, becoming more digitally equipped.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Challenges with Digital Finance and Inclusion The chapter addresses the issue of digital exclusion, questioning what happens to individuals who are 'digitally invisible', especially in medical scenarios where digital devices play a crucial role. It raises concerns about whether these individuals become burdens on the medical system due to their lack of access to technology.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Public Library Digitization in Philadelphia The chapter focuses on the challenges faced by the Philadelphia public library system as the world moves towards digital currency and digitization. It highlights the dwindling public funding for libraries and their need to innovate to stay relevant. The narrative reflects on the potential impact on communities still reliant on traditional paper-based transactions and services, emphasizing the broader implications of digital currency adoption.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Digitizing Land Ownership in East Africa The chapter discusses the digitization of books in East Africa and their movement to the cloud, focusing on the benefits and challenges of this shift.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Unintended Consequences and Responsibility in Tech The chapter delves into unintended consequences and responsibilities in the tech sector, emphasizing the changes in traditional education, the digitization of records, and its global impacts. A significant example from East Africa highlights the move to digitalize land ownership to address conflicts arising from poor record-keeping and generational changes. This transition underscores the role of technology in resolving existing societal issues, while also implying the new responsibilities it creates.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Call for Ethical Considerations in Technology The chapter titled 'Call for Ethical Considerations in Technology' discusses the unintended consequences of digitizing land ownership records and storing them in the cloud. While the intended goal was to benefit communities by making land ownership more transparent and accessible, this move has inadvertently facilitated venture capitalists, investors, and real estate developers in purchasing these lands, leveraging their technological and connectivity advantages to do so. This example serves as a broader commentary on the ethical concerns and unforeseen impacts that can arise with technological advancements.

Jon Gosier: The problem with "trickle-down techonomics" Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 As a software developer and technologist, I've worked on a number of civic technology projects over the years. Civic tech is sometimes referred to as tech for good, using technology to solve humanitarian problems. This is in 2010 in Uganda, working on a solution that allowed local populations
• 00:30 - 01:00 to avoid government surveillance on their mobile phones for expressing dissent. That same technology was deployed later in North Africa for similar purposes to help activists stay connected when governments were deliberately shutting off connectivity as a means of population control. But over the years, as I have thought about these technologies and the things that I work on, a question kind of nags in the back of my mind, which is, what if we're wrong about the virtues of technology,
• 01:00 - 01:30 and if it sometimes actively hurts the communities that we're intending to help? The tech industry around the world tends to operate under similar assumptions that if we build great things, it will positively affect everyone. Eventually, these innovations will get out and find everyone. But that's not always the case. I like to call this blind championing of technology "trickle-down techonomics," to borrow a phrase. (Laughter)
• 01:30 - 02:00 We tend to think that if we design things for the select few, eventually those technologies will reach everyone, and that's not always the case. Technology and innovation behaves a lot like wealth and capital. They tend to consolidate in the hands of the few, and sometimes they find their way out into the hands of the many. And so most of you aren't tackling oppressive regimes on the weekends, so I wanted to think of a few examples that might be a little bit more relatable. In the world of wearables and smartphones and apps,
• 02:00 - 02:30 there's a big movement to track people's personal health with applications that track the number of calories that you burn or whether you're sitting too much or walking enough. These technologies make patient intake in medical facilities much more efficient, and in turn, these medical facilities are starting to expect these types of efficiencies. As these digital tools find their way into medical rooms, and they become digitally ready,
• 02:30 - 03:00 what happens to the digitally invisible? What does the medical experience look like for someone who doesn't have the $400 phone or watch tracking their every movement? Do they now become a burden on the medical system? Is their experience changed? In the world of finance, Bitcoin and crypto-currencies are revolutionizing the way we move money around the world, but the challenge with these technologies is the barrier to entry is incredibly high, right? You need access to the same phones, devices, connectivity,
• 03:00 - 03:30 and even where you don't, where you can find a proxy agent, usually they require a certain amount of capital to participate. And so the question that I ask myself is, what happens to the last community using paper notes when the rest of the world moves to digital currency? Another example from my hometown in Philadelphia: I recently went to the public library there, and they are facing an existential crisis. Public funding is dwindling, they have to reduce their footprint to stay open and stay relevant,
• 03:30 - 04:00 and so one of the ways they're going about this is digitizing a number of the books and moving them to the cloud. This is great for most kids. Right? You can check out books from home, you can research on the way to school or from school, but these are really two big assumptions, that one, you have access at home, and two, that you have access to a mobile phone, and in Philadelphia, many kids do not. So what does their education experience look like in the wake of a completely cloud-based library,
• 04:00 - 04:30 what used to be considered such a basic part of education? How do they stay competitive? A final example from across the world in East Africa: there's been a huge movement to digitize land ownership rights, for a number of reasons. Migrant communities, older generations dying off, and ultimately poor record-keeping have led to conflicts over who owns what. And so there was a big movement to put all this information online,
• 04:30 - 05:00 to track all the ownership of these plots of land, put them in the cloud, and give them to the communities. But actually, the unintended consequence of this has been that venture capitalists, investors, real estate developers, have swooped in and they've begun buying up these plots of land right out from under these communities, because they have access to the technologies and the connectivity that makes that possible. So that's the common thread that connects these examples,
• 05:00 - 05:30 the unintended consequences of the tools and the technologies that we make. As engineers, as technologists, we sometimes prefer efficiency over efficacy. We think more about doing things than the outcomes of what we are doing. This needs to change. We have a responsibility to think about the outcomes of the technologies we build, especially as they increasingly control the world in which we live. In the late '90s, there was a big push for ethics in the world of investment and banking.
• 05:30 - 06:00 I think in 2014, we're long overdue for a similar movement in the area of tech and technology. So, I just encourage you, as you are all thinking about the next big thing, as entrepreneurs, as CEOs, as engineers, as makers, that you think about the unintended consequences of the things that you're building, because the real innovation is in finding ways to include everyone. Thank you. (Applause)