For the next few weeks, we’re going to be doing something a little bit different. The next three episodes of the series focus on the theme of changing minds: what it means to engage in dialogue with people with whom we disagree, sometimes deeply, and the importance of civil discourse, particularly in this deeply polarized national moment. In the first two episodes, I speak with Daryl Davis about racism, and how he envisions the possibility of changing the minds of those who believe, and participate in, white supremacist and separatist movements.
Daryl Davis is an Black singer and author who has facilitated over 200 members of the KKK to leave the organization, simply by befriending them and letting them know who he is. He's big on simply reaching out rather than censorship and has created a deradicalization movement at change.minds.com to help people connect in a civil way online.
Across these two episodes, I talk to Daryl about his work and his views on navigating this particularly fraught moment. In thinking about the ethics of technology, and in particular, its relationship to our moment of political, cultural, and ideological polarization, the ethics of technology extend far beyond how we use tech. Those ethics start far before we ever sit down at our computer to respond to a Facebook post, or broadcast our views on Twitter. They start with how we imagine, and practice, civil discourse. In my conversations with Daryl, we explore what those ethics can look like, and how they can come to transform our approach to engaging in dialogue with distant others. Distant others can mean geographical distance. It can also mean political distance, ideological distance, or cultural difference. Daryl’s work, and his activism, shows an important alternative to the discord that dominates our current conversation, and points us to the possibility of ethical engagement across that distance.
In the third of these episodes, I speak to Bill Otman, the CEO of Minds.com, a social media platform that provides an alternative to Facebook, and that seeks to prioritize privacy, transparency, and open exchange. Between these conversations, and across these 3 episodes, we explore the relationship between tech and civil discourse, and ways that we all can be part of creating a healthier and more vibrant national conversation—not in spite of our differences and distances, but because of them.
Produced by Matt Perry
Artwork by Desi Aleman
Funny Business: ”Silicon Valley” writer and co-producer Dan Lyons explains what‘s funny about tech culture
The TransHuman Code: Carlos Moreira imagines a human-centered technological future
Explaining AI: Kordel France's quest to create Ethical AI
Chris Wexler's Quest to Detoxify the Internet: AI and Krunam's Fight to Stop Human Trafficking
The Rise of the Ethical Hacker: The Wild, Wild West of Cybersecurity with Ted Harrington
Captivating Technology: How surveillance technology is taking over our prisons and our bodies
Network Technology: Dr. Ethel Mickey explains how networks structure the tech workforce
Millennial Action Technology: Steven Olikara talks tech and political activism for a new generation of leaders
Hard at Work: Sharla Alegria discusses inequality in the tech workforce
Digital Justice: Tech, policing, and the digital divide with Dr. Rashawn Ray and Dr. Nicol Turner Lee
Nintendo Nation: Jeff Ryan on Super Mario, gaming culture, and the ludology of play
Climate, Chemicals, Carcinogens, Cancer: Dr.Sandra Steingraber challenges the system
Natural Technology: Defining Technology in New Ways with Dr.Timothy Morton
Persons and Things: ThingLogix CTO Rob Rastovich talks human values and the Internet of Things
Body Technology: Disability and Technology Part 2 with Paralympian Ezra Frech
Body Technology: Disability and Technology Part 1 with Clayton Frech
Haley Pavone Reinvents the Heel: Fashion is an Ethics and Equity Issue
World Building:John Maeda designs the future of art, tech, and architecture
Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson Revolutionizes Climate Science: How tech can save the world from climate change and what YOU can do to help
Virtually Human: Living in Jaron Lanier’s virtual reality
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