Public Interest Technology
Public Interest Technology (PIT) is a broad and emergent field that is synonymous with Responsible Tech. The Ford Foundation notes that PIT “…technologists call out where technology can improve for the public good, and sometimes question whether certain technologies should be created at all…Modeled after the framework of public interest law, public interest technology works to ensure technology is designed, deployed, and regulated in a way that protects and improves the lives of people, centering values of equity, inclusion, and accountability where the public interest is at stake.”
For the Public Interest Technology Knowledge Hub the All Tech is Human team has curated relevant resources from our various publications and from our community. This is a “living document” and will continue to grow with your input.
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EDUCATION | EVENT
“Technology is infrastructure and the way that I think about it really is that like, I studied the built environment, right? I think about the inequities that are built into the world around us. We think about these buildings as just magically appearing. No, there was an architect, there was a patron, there was a plan, and in that same way, the internet is, whether it's virtual or infrastructure. So those same inequities are gonna be built in our virtual world if they don't get resolved in our physical world. And so I think that it's really important to think about all hands on deck ways of thinking about the future of technology and its impact on society.” - Saima Akhtar, Senior Associate Director of the Vagelos Computational Science Center (CSC) at Barnard College at All Tech Is Human’s Responsible Tech Mixer.
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18F
Break Through Tech
Coding It Forward
Cornell University, PiTech
PiTech Studio Studio
Visiting Practitioners Program Visiting Practitioners (ViPs) program
Siegel PiTech Siegel PiTech Faculty Impact Fellowship
Day One Project
Ford Foundation
Building a New Field of Public Interest Technology (report)
A Pivotal Moment: Developing a New Generation of Technologists for the Public Interest
A Future of Failure? The Flow of Technology Talent into Government and Civil Society
Corporate Civic Responsibility: A New Paradigm for Companies to Advance Public Interest Technology
GSA TTS - Technology Transformation Services
Harvard University, Public Interest Technology Lab
New America’s Public Interest Technology Program
PIT-UN members and grant-funded projects
Boston University: Public Interest Technology University Network: Understanding the State of the Field
“Data science is the primary technical foundation for most member institutions (88%), followed by Machine learning/AI (75%) and Cybersecurity (58%). Race and social justice (71%) and Ethics (67%) were identified as the key public interest foci, but only a handful of member institutions emphasized these two areas in the naming of related degrees, certificates or concentrations. Report author and co-Director of the BU Initiative on Cities, Katharine Lusk, said the lack of explicit emphasis on race and social justice, ethics and community engagement in the naming of academic credentials suggests an opportunity: “universities and colleges can help students signal these areas of expertise to employers, and make clear they possess far more than just technical competency.””
“Students play an instrumental role in promoting and advancing the field, including by leading student clubs and, in some instances, creating experiential learning programs for their peers. The report also notes more than 120 relevant experiential learning programs exist, across nearly every member of PIT-UN. Most emphasize real-world projects and partnerships with external clients, whether nonprofit, industry or government. Internship programs are also common, though members believe their institutions do a better job encouraging private- than public-sector careers.”
Public Interest Tech Reports:
https://www.newamerica.org/pit/reports/problem-solving-government/
https://www.newamerica.org/local/reports/networks-and-american-renewal/
https://www.newamerica.org/pit/reports/primer-technologists-working-immigration-nonprofits/
https://www.newamerica.org/pit/reports/pit-building-future-2020/
Partnership for Public Service
Innovation and Technology Modernization policy recommendations
Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF)
PIT Policy Lab
Introduction to Public Interest Technology Course Syllabus
Responsible use of technology in Latin America and the Caribbean
A National Cloud for Conducting Disinformation Research at Scale a-national-cloud-for-conducting-disinformation-research-at-scale
Civic Technology in Mexico City: Evolution and Prospective
Public Knowledge
Broadband Access Broadband Access
Content Moderation Content Moderation
Copyright Reform Copyright Reform
Net Neutrality Net Neutrality
Platform Regulation Platform Regulation
Spectrum Policy Spectrum Policy
https://www.publicknowledge.org/public-interest-advocacy-training-at-public-knowledge/
TechCongress
Policy Opportunities for Technologists (archive)
Tech Stewardship Practice Program
Tech Talent Project
U.S. Digital Corps
U.S. Digital Response
USofTech
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Books
Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology by Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schan
The Tech That Comes Next by Amy Sample Ward and Afua Bruce
Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin
Articles
https://medium.com/organizer-sandbox/building-technology-with-not-for-communities-an-engagement-guide-for-civic-tech-b8880982e65a
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/technology/universities-public-interest-technology.html
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3463837-public-interest-technology-must-be-for-everyone/
Podcasts:
https://www.howtechbecomeslaw.org (Harvard PIT Lab)
Episode: Microsoft with Ford Foundation president: https://wwps.microsoft.com/episodes/public-interest-technology
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Business Case for AI Ethics
Co-Creating a Better Tech Future
HX Report - Aligning our Tech Future with Our Human Experience
Improving Social Media