Technology, Inclusiveness, Structural Racism, and Silicon Valley

The UNC Center for Civil Rights; UNC Center for Media Law and Policy; UNC Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life; and Common Sense Media will host a panel discussion on “Technology, Inclusiveness, Structural Racism, and Silicon Valley.”

We are at a crossroads. Our lives and entire society have been transformed by a technology revolution and its 24/7 influence on so many aspects of our reality. But even as we rely on technology for connection and collaboration, we’re also feeling the negative impacts of its deep roots into our lives, our culture, and our beliefs. Nowhere is that impact felt more keenly than in the systemic problems of racial justice and inequality in our society. As we begin to truly do the work as a society to unravel these threads, we also see how technology has been wielded as a tool to reinforce unjust and inequitable systems and norms. It has been used maliciously to disenfranchise Black voters, to create “e-carceration” systems that prevent those out of prison from ever truly gaining access to jobs and opportunities, to fuel the rampant distribution of racist and hateful content across their platforms, all while systematically denying children in Black and low-income neighborhoods access to the devices and connection speeds they need to succeed in school and beyond. And all of this has happened under the watch of technology leadership that lacks the diversity of Black and Brown faces, and downplays their complacency. This timely panel will explore how the major tech companies will inevitably be judged by their impact, for better or worse, on racial justice and inequality in America, and what steps we need to take to create a more equitable future.

Panelists include:

• Amelia Gibson, Assistant Professor, UNC School of Information and Library Science
• Rachel Kuo, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life
• Ted Shaw, Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil Rights, UNC School of Law
• Jim Steyer, CEO/ founder of Common Sense Media and editor of Which Side of History? How Technology is Reshaping Democracy and Our Lives,
• Francesca Tripodi, Assistant Professor, UNC School of Information and Library Science; Senior Faculty Researcher, Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life
• moderator: David Ardia, Associate Professor of Law, UNC School of Law and Faculty Co-Director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy

The event will be held on Zoom and will be open to the public.