Roundtable Recap: A Discussion with Kentaro Toyama
On June 24, Global Washington members gathered to meet Kentaro Toyama and discuss his new book, Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology. An award-winning computer scientist and co-founder of Microsoft Research India, Toyama spent more than a decade designing technologies meant to address education, health and global poverty before coming to a radical conclusion. “Even in an age of amazing technology, social progress depends on human changes that gadgets can’t deliver,” says Toyama. This conclusion is the crux of his book, in which he argues that technology is not the solution to society’s greatest ills.
On June 9th, Global Washington hosted a panel discussion on the use of innovative technologies by social entrepreneurs. Panelists included: Ali Arjomand, Director of Analysis and Evaluation at Global Good; Beth Kolko, co-founder and CEO of Shift Labs; and Laura McLaughlin, Director of MSR Global Health. The discussion was moderated by Chris Coward, Principal Research Scientist and Director of the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington Information School. Humanosphere sponsored the event.
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