Exploring the intersection of tech, culture and society
The way technology shapes our society and economy is ever changing. Rapid increases in technological progress present new challenges and opportunities for our future.
Search engines and social media platforms have enormous power to organize information for their users, curating what we see. Artificial intelligence increases government and corporate power to identify targets for information and misinformation, such as advertising and political ideas, and communicate tailored messages to those targets. This has significant effects on society and individuals.
New technologies presents both challenges and threats to democracy, and opportunities for improving democracy. Technology can enable dissent and other political possibilities for citizen involvement. The rapid increase in technological progress, however, makes it difficult to assess the impact and moral significance of change, and to know the best way to respond to challenges and opportunities.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is poised to reshape the global economy and change the skills and composition of tasks required to succeed in it. The burden of adjusting to these changes is placed by default on those who have the fewest resources.
How can we secure alignment between our values and the way we use AI?
We need to make sure that our values are enshrined in the AI system being designed. On technological level, the challenge is in making sure AI systems learn the right goal to optimize and continue to abide by these goals. On philosophical level, we need to identify the right values to align to.
Input/Output: How do we ensure explainability of AI systems?
As decision-making about health, finance, and public services is increasingly outsourced to AI, we need to have a clear understanding about the inner workings of those systems. We should be able to understand the logic behind the output. The explainability of AI systems promotes their legitimacy. After all, if citizens don’t know why a decision is made they can’t hold the decision-makers accountable.
Legitimacy: How are the tools getting designed?
There need to be institutional protections to enable people to access and use explanations about the mechanics of AI tools. Who constructs the algorithm? Was there any public review process? What kind of decisions should citizens be willing to delegate to AI? What kind of decisions should remain with human decision-makers?
Immersive Technology & Storytelling
New technologies change the way we perceive reality and connect with each other.
With the advent of immersive media, we are no longer experiencing story as an audience. The gulf between the stage and seats, the screen and the body, the broadcaster and the masses, has been bridged. We have become participants. Like no other time in human history, we each now have a say in the story being told.
Stories are powerful. They shape the way we look at the world and other people. Stories determine what actions we take. We get emotional hence we make decisions. Stories have sparked crusades and revolutions. Stories are as powerful as it gets.
“Immersive storytelling turns
viewers into active participants”
The way in which content is produced, and consumed, is constantly shifting. Technologies such as augmented and virtual reality make it possible for audiences to become more than mere passive consumers of content. Immersive storytelling turns the viewers into active participants.
When we craft stories about the future, we choose the future we want to works towards. This determines our trajectory. At the same time, we have to make sure that we take into account everybody’s visions and dreams, not just ours.
Let’s create the future. Together.
Technology can be used to give more power to citizens in a variety of ways. It can enable dissent and other political possibilities. It opens more possibilities for citizen involvement and direct democracy.
At the same time, new technologies change the way we perceive reality and connect with each other. Immersive reality allows us to experience things in a visceral way, to feel before we think.
At the Future Lab we like to keep on exploring - what will shape our future? How can we be not only participants but also architects of that future?
Join us in our quest >
Let's create the future together
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Let's create the future together
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Let's create the future together ✴︎ Let's create the future together ✴︎
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Future Lab is an independent think tank based in Brooklyn, New York. We’ve worked on numerous projects, helping to imagine and build an equitable future. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with you.