Doris Duke Foundation’s Post

What kind of digital future are we building—and who gets to decide? That’s what I explored this weekend with Nabiha Syed, executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, First Amendment lawyer and leading commentator at the intersection of technology and society. Our conversation was part of a diverse and exciting slate of programming at the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation's The Muslim House® at SXSW (which DDF is proud to support). Nabiha and I discussed the central dialectic of the internet—and digital technology more broadly. It has played a powerful role in helping a wider range of voices connect with a more richly textured audience, but it has also intensified and worsened many of the material and social inequalities that plague our society. While our conversation covered a lot of ground, Nabiha left us with some great orienting insights: → We can all be activists where we are. Everyone can make choices in their work and lives about how to use technology—including AI—in ways that prioritize or corrode personal or shared social values. → Understanding is critical. We can't shape what we don't understand. Those of us most skeptical about technology should study how these tools work, what they can do, and what they can’t. → The future is what we imagine. Right now, we're heading toward one vision of the future—a vision held by a few people who may or may not share our interests. Artists especially can help us imagine alternative futures we want to live in. It was a great conversation, and I’d encourage folks to check out the amazing work that Nabiha and Mozilla are leading to help us invent a future that better reflects our highest ideals. #Technology #AI #TechForGood #SXSW