
The Internet Era: How Connectivity is Reshaping the World
Setup
The Internet, to date, has been an open system that has enabled ideas to spread across borders, has created transformative new economies, and has helped people connect, create, and distribute information, exposing us to perspectives that were previously out-of-reach. But it’s also left behind those on the wrong side of the digital divide, and raised thorny new questions around privacy, harmful content, and the spread of disinformation. From rural America, to the Great Firewall of China, to the global South: who’s winning the battle for the soul of the Internet? Can technology allow us to re-imagine a more humane, equal, and balanced society?
Speakers
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Tara WestoverAuthor of Educated
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David KirkpatrickEditor in Chief of Techonomy Media
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Jacob WardTech correspondent for NBC News
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Ramesh SrinivasanDirector of UCLA Digital Cultures Lab
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Karan BhatiaHead of public policy and government relations for Google
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David CohenChief diversity officer of Comcast
- 2019 Festival
- Technology
- Society
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