Force Multiplier
The Power of Self-Development in an Age of Technology
Kentaro Toyama
W. K. Kellogg Professor of Community Information
University of Michigan
NetHope Summit 2018
November 8, 2018 – Dublin
The Matrix
Advanced
technology
harvests human
energy
to feed
machine masters
while offering
illusion of
pleasant life.
Facebook
Advanced
technology
harvests human
attention
to feed
shareholders
while offering
illusion of
pleasant social life.
“The richest 500 million [people]
have way more money than the
next six billion combined. You solve
that by getting everyone online.”
– Mark Zuckerberg (2013)
Source: http://www.wired.com/2013/08/mark-zuckerberg-internet-org/
Photo: http://www.ibtimes.com/zuckerberg-tells-mobile-carriers-internetorg-will-get-people-paying-data-once-they-1833250
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2017) Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2018 Annual Social and Economic Supplements, Wikipedia
Political Polarization in the United States
Po
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Wikipedia
Rate of Charitable Giving in the United States as a %-age of GDP (1971-2016)
Po
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Source: https://www.philanthropy.com/article/The-Stubborn-2-Giving-Rate/154691
Po
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Sources: BP Statistics; https://rclutz.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/fossil-fuels-%E2%89%A0-global-warming-updated/; Wikipedia
Po
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/charts-income-inequality-middle-class-census/
Top 10% Income Shares in Different Countries
Po
WWW Google
iPhone
Internet PC
Quadcopter
Microsoft Cellphone
Facebook
Source: Alvaredo, Facundo, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman. 2017. "Global Inequality Dynamics: New Findings from WID.world." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 404-09.
“The richest 500 million [people]
have way more money than the
next six billion combined. You solve
that by getting everyone online.”
– Mark Zuckerberg (2015)
Source: http://www.wired.com/2013/08/mark-zuckerberg-internet-org/
Photo: http://www.ibtimes.com/zuckerberg-tells-mobile-carriers-internetorg-will-get-people-paying-data-once-they-1833250
For the most part,
technology (only) amplifies
underlying human forces.
Imagine you are the Executive Director of a large international non-profit that is not meeting its own impact
goals. Which of the following is most likely to improve
the situation?
a) Implement a better strategy.
b) Replace poor performers on the leadership team.
c) Provide more training to program staff.
d) Buy the latest iPads for all employees.
e) Give employees productivity software.
Imagine you are the Executive Director of a large international company
non-profit that is not meeting its own impact
for-profit
goals. Which of the following is most likely to improve
the situation?
a) Implement a better strategy.
b) Replace poor performers on the leadership team.
c) Provide more training to program staff.
d) Buy the latest iPads for all employees.
e) Give employees productivity software.
f) Ensure employees install new AI features for Excel.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox7YBHJUm6Q
“When the heat from American lawmakers
regarding ads placed by Russian trolls on
Facebook began to rise, Mr. Zuckerberg had
no option to ignore it.”
– New York Times (Sept. 27, 2017)
Social pressure came first;
technology solutions came second.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/technology/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-russian-ads.html
For the most part,
technology
(only) amplifies
data
science
underlying human forces.
Sources http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34066941; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/opinion/ai-and-big-data-could-power-a-new-war-on-poverty.html
Not saying that technology is evil.
Not saying that technology cannot be
used for positive ends under certain
conditions.
Not saying that we (in this room)
shouldn’t use technology to help
achieve our goals.
For the most part,
technology amplifies
underlying human forces.
Heart: the intention to have
positive impact
Mind: the intelligence and wisdom
to make good decisions
Will:
the ability to follow-through
Photo: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/heart-icon-with-caring-hands-logo-vector-2970256;
https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-1559-3d-render-xray-style-image-human-brain;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised_fist
positive
impact
good citizen
neutral (or
negative)
impact
villain or cynic
unknown impact,
could be negative
“road to hell”
nice, smart,
couch potato
Technology amplifies underlying human forces.
The more powerful the tech, the more human forces matter!
Organizations can have heart, mind, and will.
Technology amplifies organizational heart, mind, and will.
Technology amplifies societal heart, mind, and will.
Only heart, mind, and will guarantee positive impact.
Spreading technology without heart, mind, and will is
at best, a waste of resources.
Any meaningful transformation, including a digital one,
requires a transformation in heart, mind, and will first.
Your heart, mind, and will gets amplified.
on your own heart, mind, and will,
and be conscious of how they affect outcomes.
Photo: https://www.womanaroundtown.com/sections/woman-around-town/sharon-mckenna-making-a-difference-one-person-at-a-time/
heart, mind, and will
in organizations you belong to.
Photo: Rikin Gandhi
to influence powerful entities.
Photo: https://fpif.org/call-for-sanity-on-sixtieth-anniversary-of-the-russell-einstein-manifesto/
Headlines we’d like to see…
Facebook employees push company to lobby for
more equitable funding of public education
NetHope members and partners hold global protest
against irresponsible use of AI
Gates Foundation grantees demand shift from technical
“grand challenges” to tried-and-true programs
Thank you!
Technology amplifies underlying human forces.
Technology by itself doesn’t solve persistent
social problems anywhere.
Positive use of technology requires the right
heart, mind, and will.
Reflect, nurture, and organize – individually, as
an organization, and collectively!
toyama@umich.edu
http://geekheresy.org