June Monthly Briefing: Tech for Good Our views on what matters |
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Our focus this month is on “tech for good” – addressing the widespread and growing concerns about the impact of digital technologies.
These are real, but in danger of crowding out the opportunities. After all, humans have been adjusting to the adoption of technologies – usually for the best in my honest opinion – since someone invented the wheel in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago and broke the monopoly previously enjoyed by strong people in the transportation of heavy goods.
Both our guest contributor this month, Fiona Couper from Teamspirit, and a ‘long read’ from my colleagues set out numerous examples of companies who are having a positive impact through innovation, although both pieces warn that doesn’t happen by accident. On the contrary, it needs specific actions to ensure positive outcomes, and not just by those in so-called technology companies.
In their contributions, our own in-house analysts focus on three specific aspects of the digital transformation, and signpost you to news of recent and relevant developments, good and bad.
Are we worrying too much? Ned Ludd – who gave his name to a movement opposing late-18th-century mechanisation that was rendering traditional textile skills redundant – would say no. Google Books (a nifty bit of new technology) seems to agree, or at least it reports that the use of the term Luddite is at an all-time high in published material, reflecting pre-occupations of our own age.
Still, rather than smashing things up or trying to take a hammer to the cloud, can we agree that technological change can play an important part in creating a sustainable and inclusive future for us all? Whether it does or not, depends on the actions we decide to take.
Mike Tuffrey |
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