Data & Society at 10: Foreseeable Futures

Foreseeable Futures video collection    Event program    Event photos

“Technology is our work, data is our business, but opportunity, shared power, equity, justice: these are our values. Knowledge is what we produce, but people – particularly those who rarely get a say in what technologies exist and how they are used – are why we do the work that we do.”

— Charlton McIlwain, Board President

Event Description

On September 26, 2024 we gathered in Brooklyn, New York to celebrate Data & Society’s first decade with our incredible network of alumni, friends, and supporters. Watch video of the full program or access individual talks below:

Welcome | Charlton McIlwain, Board President, Data & Society

Creating a Field | danah boyd, Founder, Data & Society

Lightning Talk: Xiaowei R. Wang | Author of Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech In China’s Countryside

Lightning Talk: Ranjit Singh | Senior Researcher, Data & Society

Lightning Talk: Zara Rahman | Author of Machine Readable Me: The Hidden Ways Tech Shapes Our Identities; Former Data & Society Fellow

Lightning Talk: Michelle Miller | Director of Innovation, Center for Labor and a Just Economy, Harvard Law School; Co-founder, Coworker.org

Panel | Acting On What We Know: Research and Policy in 2024

• Alondra Nelson | Harold F. Linder Professor, Institute for Advanced Study; Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Advisor and Former Board Member, Data & Society
• John Palfrey | President, MacArthur Foundation; Former Data & Society Board Member
• Suresh Venkatasubramanian | Director of the Center for Technological Responsibility, Reimagination, and Redesign (CNTR) with the Data Science Institute at Brown University; Data & Society Board Member
• Felicia Wong | President and CEO, Roosevelt Institute; Advisor, Data & Society

Creating Our Future | Janet Haven, Executive Director, Data & Society

Please consider donating to Data & Society to support our next ten years.

Resources

Xiaowei R. Wang

• Hwang Yu-mi’s story: Cho Mu-Hyun, “​Samsung Reaches Conclusion of 11 Year Leukemia Controversy,” ZDNET (2018)
• Supporters for Health and Rights of People (SHARPS) in Semiconductor Industry (SHARPS) | GoodElectronics
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
• NVIDIA

Ranjit Singh

• Ranjit Singh, “How to Think Like a Sociotechnical Researcher,” Agujas (2024)
• Brian J. Chen, Jacob Metcalf, “A Sociotechnical Approach to AI Policy,” Data & Society (2024)
• Serena Oduro, Tamara Kneese, “AI Governance Needs Sociotechnical Expertise,” Data & Society (2024)
• Serena Oduro, “Why AI Safety Requires a Sociotechnical Approach: Our Top Ten Reads,” Agujas (2024)

Zara Rahman 

• Referenced organizations:
  • AWID Forum
  • Numun Fund
  • SUPERRR Lab
  • African Content Moderators Union: Billy Perrigo, “150 African Workers for ChatGPT, TikTok and Facebook Vote to Unionize at Landmark Nairobi Meeting,” TIME (2023)
• Rahman’s non-profit organization: interalia
• “Redistribute resources in the agile ways required today”: Vu, “Funders: Do a Better Job of Protecting and Supporting Leaders and Organizations Who Take Risks in Standing Up for Justice,” Nonprofit AF (2024)
• “At the same time, governments around the world”: Suparna Chaudhry, “The Assault on Civil Society: Explaining State Crackdown on NGOs,” International Organization 76, no. 3 (2022)

Michelle Miller

• Center for Labor and a Just Economy (CLJE) | at Harvard Law School
  • CLJE Lab, “Building Worker Power in Cities & States: A Toolkit for State and Local Labor Policy Innovation,” Center for Labor and a Just Economy (2024)
• Shawn Fain call for United Auto Workers (UAW) General Strike: Michael Sainato, “‘We Want Everybody Walking Out’: UAW Chief Outlines Mass Strike for May 2028,” El Guardián (2024)
• “It doesn’t have to be this way”: Starbucks organizing and unionizing in 500 stores: Caitlin Harrington, “Before Starbucks Baristas Had Unions, They Had Coworker Petitions,” WIRED
• Miller’s non-profit organization: Coworker.org

Credits

Curation: Rigoberto Lara Guzmán y Ania Calderón

Production: CJ Brody Landow

Post-Production: Tunika Onnekikami

Web: Alessa Erawan

Design: Gloria Mendoza

Editorial: Eryn Loeb

Engagement: Iretiolu Akinrinade

Media Engagement: Sona Rai

Development Engagement: Joanna Gould, Camille Horton, and Harry Hudome

Development Consultant: Kevin Keenan

Front of House Technology: Irene Chung

AV Production: Gala Productions (Shaka Adres, James Hallquist, Nick Laniere, Rebecca Johnson)

Venue: 501 Union (Abby Pansch, David)

Catering: Emma’s Torch (Amanda Garcia-Harris, Tiyanna Reaves-Bey)

Photography: Samantha Isom

Music Curation: Nick Hum

Crew: Parties N’All

Livestream Host: Zoom Event Services (Catherine Morales, Cara Dingenthal, Ryan Brazel)

CART Transcription: SignNexus (Carrie O’Brien)

Event Video and Audio Editing: Pooja Cuts (Pooja Kapadia)

A special thanks to our network book showcase publishers and authors for their donations, discounts, and participation; to our report gallery authors, designers, and installers; and to all of our Data & Society volunteers for making this event a success.