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WHAT THE TECH

How do we find meaning among the machines?

Hey there, I'm a computer science undergrad at Berkeley. Thinking about my opportunities for using my CS skills in the future, I find myself asking a lot of questions. How do I do work that is actually meaningful and helpful to people? And, how can technology bridge barriers between people and scale bright ideas?
This futuristic world we live in can be difficult to understand, but it is important to ask these key questions and focus on impact. This blog is called What the Tech because, frankly, What the Tech is Tech... and Life... and Everything... I'm not sure. However, in these blog posts you'll find my attempts to be a heckler (or techler haha) by questioning, challenging, and trying to understand what the tech is happening with today's biggest ideas.
Let's see where this takes us! :P

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PROJECTS

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PROJECT I

To Beep or Not to Beep: Why Understanding Human Consciousness Means Better Robots

Currently, the information processing, logical side of the human mind is the part that is mainly understood and used to make helpful computers, but more complexities exist in the subconscious level that prevent technology from becoming “human.” However, artificial intelligence has come a long way towards replicating creativity, analysis, and intelligence and even offers humans an opportunity to improve their lives by changing or uploading their brains. With all these technological advances, what will it take to have a future where robots and people both have consciousness? And, if this happens, how can these two groups best function together to maximize prosperity?

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PROJECT II

Slidedeck on Technology and Philanthropy

A presentation of research related to corporate philanthropy, psychological ideas such as argumentative theory, and why advancements in technology have great potential to damage society. Project III is a much more developed version of this project.

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PROJECT III

The Social Good Revolution: How Corporate Responsibility can Enable Technological Innovation and Beneficially Impact Society

Abstract: In this day and age, technology is affecting people in ways it never has before. Artificial intelligence is replacing human decision making in key areas, the sensational ways in which companies use technology incur short term gains while corrupting entire populations, and unmoderated sides of the internet decrease participant responsibility and hateful groups to reach others under the guise of anonymity. All these advances pose new and concerning ethical and moral questions we’ve never seen before. The decision to build technology with the benefit of society in mind may change from being the “right” thing to being the only way technologists, companies, and the people of the world can prevent self destruction. This social good revolution is on the horizon because companies like Uber and Lyft are becoming more competitive in the realm of total societal impact. Also, companies like Pinterest and LinkedIn are realizing where their algorithms fall short of serving the needs of their customers, while others like Google are hiring teams of ethicists and setting goals for themselves regarding their impact on the world. When technology companies and their engineers are aware of the unintended consequences of their new technology, they can build better products that make everyone better off and keep the company sustained in the long term. Mission-driven development is taking off because the future of the world is increasingly at stake. However, making an impact requires more than just intention. Argumentative theory explains that individuals must interact and compare ideas in order to dismantle their confirmation bias. People are starting to care more about working for companies that make ethical decisions. They can contribute by questioning corporate intentions, expressing their opinions, and feeling confident in the social impact of the products they build. Companies can also encourage this kind of culture among their ranks by aiming for diversity of thought while hiring and being open with their decision making. These efforts incentivize engineers to work for companies and make the technology they build better satisfy the mission.
Keywords: Technology, Corporate Philanthropy, Artificial Intelligence, Ethics of Technology, Mission Driven Development, Human Decision, Argumentative Theory, Confirmation Bias, Free Speech, Total Societal Impact, Corporate Social Responsibility, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google, Slack Uber, Lyft, Algorithmic Bias, Diversity and Inclusion, Hiring Practices

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Arc 1 and 2

  • Writer: Techler
    Techler
  • Nov 8, 2018
  • 3 min read

Updated: Nov 12, 2018

Arc 2: Non-tech philanthropic efforts from companies (Salesforce, Lyft, Microsoft)

also: What companies are actually doing to promote diversity in their workplaces


SF Chronicle

Proposition C, the November ballot measure that would tax the biggest businesses in San Francisco to raise as much as $300 million for homeless programs

The money would, among other things, provide housing for 5,000 people, pump as much as $75 million into mental health programs and create 1,000 new shelter beds.

One side, led by the city Chamber of Commerce, says suddenly infusing hundreds of millions of dollars into indigence programs would be fiscally irresponsible and would mostly just attract more homeless people to the city.

Mayor London Breed - “I do not believe doubling what we spend on homelessness without new accountability, when we don’t even spend what we have now efficiently, is good government. I have to think about how this will affect our entire economy, including retail businesses, like grocery stores, auto dealers, and department stores, and manufacturing jobs.”

Also has “commitment to cut youth homelessness in half by 2022.”

People can’t be too excited to help out either

You really have to consider both the effects of in-action and action

Fixing this problems isn’t going to be money and shaming other people for not caring enough

It may attract more homeless people

It’s not a binary of do you care about homeless people or not…

Anubis Daugherty

He’s now a member of Larkin Street’s Youth Advisory Board, which gives him a stipend of $170 a week. He also receives a Supplemental Security Income check because of his bipolar diagnosis, which he said is getting better with treatment.

He’s interning — unpaid — in Mandelman’s office two days a week, greeting constituents and answering phones. He’s also going to City College and is debating between being a social worker and a paramedic.

Larkin Street’s Pathways program - 45,000 youth are without a safe place to sleep every night in this country

20 percent of those found homeless in San Francisco’s last biannual count were unaccompanied youth younger than 25.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel — we just need more of what we’re doing.”

Lyft is also working with Voto Latino — whose co-founder Rosario Dawson has urged voters to choose Democrats to combat Trump's immigration policies — as well as nonprofit organizations that help blind people and student veterans to distribute discount codes and identify where free rides are needed. Lyft's efforts have been promoted on social media by celebrities such as actor Samuel Jackson, another Trump critic.

Uber is offering $10 off rides to the polls across the country and added a feature in its app that helps customers find their polling stations by typing in a home address.

Saw that not having transportation was why people weren’t voting and fixed the problem

Lyft using social work to differentiate themselves from uber competition

This is good these days because when companies are unethical they are exposed (people’s stories are heard through media)

Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's biggest private philanthropy organization

"In the way that a personal computer is sort of self contained, not a gigantic thing, we can do this chemical processing at the household level," he said.

Relates it to terms he understands (starting microsoft)

He wants there to be trade and have the parts made in different countries that are good at making those parts

Unprocessed waste leads to most of the diarrheal diseases

There’s a bunch of different approached - competition

His philanthropy enables individuals with good ideas to focus on using their skills to help people

At Slack, the absence of a single diversity leader seems to signal that diversity and inclusion aren’t standalone missions, to be shunted off to a designated specialist, but are rather intertwined with the company's overall strategy.

Social good should be a company wide mission, not an afterthought

They’re involving their employees in diversity conversations

Everyone takes responsibility

Stereotype threat: “ Interpersonal phenomena like stereotype threat, in which people from stigmatized groups spend mental energy grappling with negative stereotypes about those groups, can lead women and minorities with the same skills to perform more poorly”

They recognize that some people have privilege in certain situations and others don’t

Whiteboard interviews -> blind code review

“It’s a huge competitive advantage to be empathetic,” Grace told me. “Candidates know that the company is excited to accommodate them.”

Redefining merit: Interviewers may inadvertently favor candidates who resemble themselves, and if criteria for a job are ambiguous, interviewers may mentally rejigger those criteria to fit whatever a favored candidate has.

having a diverse workforce is a competitive advantage that drives productivity and profits as companies sell their products and services to a broad population.

Unicorn = privately held startup valued at over 1 billion

47 percent of millennials want to work at diverse companies, a 2017 research report by the Institute for Public Relations revealed.

Companies like Apple, Google ect actually have improved diversity

There is a “fierce talent war” so companies want to reach out to as many ppl as possible

Business is a long-term game

 
 
 

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