Is Technology Our Savior — or Our Slayer? | Ruha Benjamin | TED

Summary

The script discusses the future shaped by a small, powerful group focused on technology and space travel, neglecting social needs like healthcare and housing. It contrasts utopian and dystopian tech-driven futures, both sidelining human agency. The speaker introduces 'ustopia,' a term coined by Margaret Atwood, emphasizing collective well-being over wealth concentration. Highlighting initiatives like Barcelona's Decidim platform and Atlanta's resistance to 'Cop City,' the script calls for communities to reclaim their imagination and build inclusive futures prioritizing people and the planet.

Takeaways

• 🌌 A small elite imposes their visions on humanity, investing in space travel and AI while neglecting basic needs like health care and housing.
• 🚀 Futurists dream of transforming material and digital realities but fail to address social realities for a meaningful life for all.
• 📜 Two main future narratives exist: Silicon Valley's utopia of convenience and Hollywood's dystopia of chaos and inequality.
• 🤖 Both narratives assume technology drives the future, ignoring human impact and input.
• 🌀 The concept of 'ustopia,' borrowed from Margaret Atwood, emphasizes the future as a collective creation reflecting our interconnected struggles.
• 🏙️ Technological advances often deepen social inequities, displacing long-term residents and ignoring broader social needs.
• 🌐 Barcelona's 'Decidim' platform exemplifies a participatory approach to governance, prioritizing collective well-being over technological dominance.
• 🌳 Atlanta's resistance to 'Cop City' highlights grassroots efforts to prioritize community safety and environmental preservation over militarization.
• 🌱 Initiatives like Decidim and forest defenders show that true community safety and well-being rely on public goods and connection.
• 🌍 The vision of ustopia involves dismantling harmful systems and creating inclusive, sustainable communities where no one is left behind.

Q & A

What is the main concern expressed in the script about the current state of humanity's future vision?

The script expresses concern that a small group of people with power and resources are imposing their visions on the rest of humanity, focusing on space travel, AI, and personal security while neglecting basic needs like healthcare and housing for all.

What are the two contrasting narratives about the future presented in the script?

The two narratives are the Silicon Valley version, which is a utopia where technology caters to every human desire, and the Hollywood version, which is a dystopian future characterized by conflict, competition, and technology dominating humanity.

What does the script suggest is the underlying logic shared by both utopian and dystopian visions of the future?

The underlying logic is that in both visions, humans give up power and let technology take the driver's seat, with technology impacting us for better or worse, but our impact on technology and the human inputs shaping our digital and physical worlds are missing.

What is the term 'ustopia' as used in the script, and what does it represent?

'Ustopia' is a term borrowed from Margaret Atwood to describe the idea that the future is shaped by us, reflecting our values, interests, and needs. It is a collective imagination where everyone has what they need to thrive.

What is the script's perspective on the role of technology in shaping our future?

The script suggests that technology should not be the sole driver of our future. Instead, it should be shaped by collective human input, focusing on collective well-being and addressing social inequities.

Can you provide an example from the script where technology deepens social inequity?

The example given is from the Bay area during the tech sector's growth, where long-time residents were displaced, and the focus on biotechnology advancements did not translate into accessible healthcare for all.

What is the 'Decidim' platform mentioned in the script, and how does it contribute to creating policies?

'Decidim' is an open-source digital platform used in Barcelona that allows residents to create, comment, consult on ideas, and track policy development in real time. It has been instrumental in creating policies that respond to people's actual needs.

How does the script describe the participatory experiment in Barcelona, Spain?

The participatory experiment in Barcelona involves the use of the 'Decidim' platform alongside in-person neighborhood-level deliberations, enabling residents from all walks of life to contribute to policy-making and ensure public transparency.

What is the 'Superblocks' initiative mentioned in the script, and what is its purpose?

The 'Superblocks' initiative is an effort in Barcelona to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality by closing 12 city districts to through traffic, making interior blocks more hospitable to pedestrians and cyclists, and creating more green spaces.

What is the 'Cop City' controversy mentioned in the script, and how did the community respond?

'Cop City' was a planned 90-million-dollar facility in Atlanta for training police, which would have involved cutting down a significant forest and affecting a predominantly Black, working-class community. The community responded with a broad coalition using direct action and digital tools to oppose the project.

How does the script suggest we can create a better future?

The script suggests that we can create a better future by strengthening the social fabric in our local communities, prioritizing people over profit, and working collectively to dismantle systems that do not serve the common good.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 The Lopsided Imagination of Futurism

This paragraph discusses the current state of futurism, where a select few with power and resources are shaping the future to their advantage, focusing on technological advancements like space travel and AI while neglecting social issues like healthcare and housing. It contrasts two popular narratives about the future: a Silicon Valley utopia with personalized technology and a Hollywood dystopia marked by chaos and inequality. Both narratives are criticized for assuming technology's dominance and ignoring human values and needs in shaping the future. The speaker introduces the concept of 'ustopia,' borrowed from Margaret Atwood, to emphasize that the future is shaped by us and our collective actions, advocating for a future that prioritizes collective well-being over wealth concentration.

05:01

🌳 Creating Ustopias Through Community Engagement

The second paragraph highlights the participatory experiment in Barcelona, Spain, where the digital platform 'Decidim' and in-person deliberations are used to create policies that meet people's actual needs. This approach is praised for being driven by collective intelligence rather than technology companies. The 'New Deal on Data' is mentioned, emphasizing data sovereignty and privacy. Decidim's open-source nature has led to its adoption in over 80 cities, promoting public transparency. The speaker also discusses initiatives like 'Superblocks' aimed at reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality, and another initiative to make the Barcelona coastline more accessible to locals. The paragraph contrasts this people-driven approach with tech-driven projects like Sidewalk Labs in Toronto, which was ultimately rejected due to privacy concerns.

10:01

🏞️ The Fight for Ustopias in Atlanta and Beyond

The final paragraph brings the discussion to Atlanta, known as Silicon Peach or Techlanta, and its struggle with income inequality despite being a tech hub. The speaker describes the resistance against the construction of 'Cop City,' a police training facility that would have destroyed a vital forest and affected a predominantly Black, working-class community. The opposition, a broad coalition including college students, clergy, and environmental activists, is using direct action and digital tools to advocate for community safety based on connection and public goods rather than policing. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for everyone to strengthen the social fabric in their own communities and create a shared vision that leaves no one behind, dismantling the systems that are harmful while building the ones that are essential for a collective future.

Keywords

💡Futurists

Futurists are individuals who focus on predicting and shaping the future, often through technological advancements. In the video, they are criticized for investing in space travel and AI while neglecting social issues like healthcare and housing. The term relates to the theme by illustrating a group that has a disproportionate influence on the future's direction, often at the expense of social equity.

💡Utopia

Utopia refers to an ideal or perfect society, often characterized by social, political, and technological harmony. The video contrasts utopian visions with dystopian ones, critiquing the Silicon Valley version of utopia where technology caters to every preference and desire, suggesting a potential loss of human agency and privacy.

💡Dystopia

Dystopia is the opposite of utopia, describing a society characterized by suffering, oppression, and chaos. The script mentions a Hollywood version of the future that includes conflict, competition, and inequality, where technology displaces and dominates humanity, reflecting a fear of technology's potential negative impacts.

💡Ustopia

Ustopia, a term borrowed from Margaret Atwood, is introduced to describe a future shaped by 'us,' implying a collective and inclusive approach to envisioning and creating the future. It is central to the video's theme, advocating for a future created by and for everyone, rather than one dictated by a select few or technology itself.

💡Innovation

Innovation in the context of the video refers to new ideas or methods that can bring about significant change. However, it is criticized for deepening social inequity, as seen in the Bay area's tech boom, which led to displacement and exclusion of long-time residents, highlighting the video's theme of the need for equitable and inclusive innovation.

💡Social Inequity

Social inequity refers to the unfair distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges within a society. The video discusses how technological innovation can exacerbate this issue, as seen in the displacement of Bay area residents and the high income inequality in Atlanta, emphasizing the need for a more balanced approach to progress.

💡Collective Intelligence

Collective intelligence is the shared knowledge and skills of a group, often harnessed through collaboration and communication. The video praises the use of collective intelligence in Barcelona's 'Decidim' platform, where residents from all walks of life contribute to policy-making, illustrating the video's theme of empowering communities in shaping their future.

💡Data Sovereignty

Data sovereignty is the right of individuals or groups to control their own data. The video mentions a 'New Deal on Data' that recognizes collective rights to data, privacy, and public transparency, contrasting commercial platforms that often exploit user data for profit, and aligning with the theme of empowering people over corporations.

💡Participatory Experiment

A participatory experiment is an initiative where the public is actively involved in decision-making processes. The video cites Barcelona's use of the 'Decidim' platform as an example of a large-scale participatory experiment, showing how residents can directly influence policy and contribute to a more equitable and responsive governance system.

💡Surveillance

Surveillance refers to the monitoring of individuals or groups, often for control or security purposes. The video criticizes tech-driven projects like Sidewalk Labs in Toronto for embedding surveillance into city services, raising concerns about privacy and reinforcing the theme of technology's potential to infringe on personal freedoms.

💡Social Fabric

Social fabric refers to the interconnected network of relationships and institutions that make up a society. The video encourages strengthening the social fabric by working towards collective well-being and creating a shared vision that includes everyone, emphasizing the importance of community and solidarity in building a better future.

Highlights

A critique of a small group of people imposing their visions on the rest of humanity through investments in space travel, AI, and bunkers, while neglecting healthcare and housing for all.

The two narratives sold by futurists: a Silicon Valley utopia of personalized technology and a Hollywood dystopia of conflict and inequality.

The shared underlying logic of both utopian and dystopian visions where technology has agency and humanity gives up power.

The concept of 'ustopia', borrowed from Margaret Atwood, emphasizing that the future is shaped by us and our collective actions.

The importance of collective imagination in creating a future where everyone has what they need to thrive.

Personal experience witnessing tech growth deepen social inequity and the difficulty of fostering empathy in contrast to medical innovation.

The lopsided imagination where we can regenerate sick bodies but struggle to heal societal issues.

Ustopias focusing on collective well-being over wealth concentration and recognizing the interconnectedness of struggles like climate and racial justice.

The participatory experiment in Barcelona using the 'Decidim' platform for policy creation based on actual needs, driven by collective intelligence.

The 'New Deal on Data' advocating for data sovereignty, privacy, and collective rights to data, exemplified by Decidim's open-source software.

Over 40,000 Barcelona residents submitting proposals through Decidim, influencing 70% of the government's action plan.

The 'Superblocks' initiative in Barcelona to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality by redesigning city districts.

The contrast between Barcelona's bottom-up approach and top-down tech-driven projects like Google's Sidewalk Labs in Toronto.

The mobilization against 'Cop City' in Atlanta, demonstrating the power of collective resistance against militarized urban development.

The importance of protecting public goods like housing and healthcare over punishment and policing for true community safety.

The collective imagination of various groups in Atlanta working towards a future that prioritizes ecological and social well-being.

The role of children in challenging the status quo and envisioning a future without deadly systems.

The call to action for individuals to strengthen social fabric and create a shared vision where no one is left behind.

Encouraging the expansion of our imagination to envision and create worlds that are essential for a better future.

Transcripts

This transmission is for future generations.

As it stands, a small sliver of humanity

is currently imposing their visions on the rest of us.

They invest in space travel and AI superintelligence

and underground bunkers,

while casting health care and housing for all

as outlandish and unimaginable.

These futurists let their own imaginations run wild

when it comes to bending material and digital realities,

but their visions grow limp

when it comes to transforming our social reality

so that everyone has the chance to live a good and meaningful life.

We are in many ways trapped inside the lopsided imagination

of those who monopolize power and resources

to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

And as I see it, there are two stories these monopolists sell us

about what the future holds.

The first is the Silicon Valley version,

in which all our preferences are tracked and desires catered to.

Chatbots, virtual assistants,

driverless cars at our beck and call.

All our wants and needs met in an instant.

This is their utopia, where technology is our savior,

a future where our automated offspring know us

better than we know ourselves.

Ease and convenience, just a click away.

And in their wildest dreams,

we merge with technology,

optimizing our potential to be stronger, smarter, superhuman.

The other story, preferred by Hollywood, is grittier, more chaotic.

Conflict and competition run rampant.

It's "Hunger Games" meets "Blade Runner"

meets "The Matrix."

People are ruthless and unpredictable.

Inequality and precarity are permanent features in our lives.

In this dystopian vision, technology is our slayer,

displacing and dominating humanity.

And while these sound like opposing narratives,

they have different endings for sure,

one in which we're saved, one in which we're slayed,

they actually share an underlying logic.

And in both, we give up power.

Both stories assume technology is in the driver's seat,

propelled by a will of its own.

In the utopic and dystopic stories,

technology impacts us for better or worse.

But our impact on technology, the human inputs, shall we say,

are missing.

The values, assumptions, interests and needs

that shape our digital and physical worlds are nowhere to be seen.

To move forward,

we have to pull back the screen.

Rather than agonizing about a coming dystopia

or longing for a future utopia,

we have to reckon with ustopia.

Ustopia is a word I'm borrowing from Margaret Atwood

to describe the fact that the future is us.

However loathsome or loving we are, so will we be.

Whereas utopias are the stuff of dreams,

dystopias, the stuff of nightmares,

ustopias are what we create together when we're wide awake.

Ustopias invite us into a collective imagination

in which we still have tensions,

but where everyone has what they need to thrive.

When I was a grad student at UC Berkeley in the early 2000s,

I witnessed firsthand how innovation often deepens social inequity.

As the tech sector grew,

people who had lived in the Bay area for generations

were displaced and discarded.

At the time, I was researching the social dimensions of biotechnology.

As I observed scientists growing heart cells

using pluripotent stem cells beating in a petri dish,

I thought about how hard it is to grow empathy for other human beings

in our everyday lives.

Here were billions of dollars being poured into the future of medicine,

but health care for all was somehow far-fetched.

This is what I mean by a lopsided imagination,

where we can imagine regenerating sick bodies

but not an ailing body politic.

Utopias require inequality and exclusion.

Ustopias center collective well-being over gross concentrations of wealth.

They're built on an understanding

that all of our struggles,

from climate justice to racial justice,

are interconnected.

That we are interconnected.

Take what's happening in Barcelona, Spain,

where a large-scale participatory experiment has been underway

for almost ten years now

using a digital platform called “Decidim,”

which means "we decide" in Catalan,

alongside in-person neighborhood-level deliberations

to create policies that respond to people's actual needs.

And the thing is, technology companies are not driving what's happening.

The collective intelligence of people from all walks of life are.

Proponents call it a “New Deal on Data” that recognizes data sovereignty, privacy,

collective rights to data.

Decidim is open-source software,

so it's already been adapted and used in over 80 other cities,

guaranteeing public transparency in a way commercial platforms don't.

Once you install Decidim,

you can create, comment, consult on ideas

and track what happens in real time.

Over 40,000 residents have submitted proposals

on everything from affordable housing to air quality,

and about 70 percent of the government's action plan

have been derived directly from these proposals.

(Applause)

Take “Superblocks,”

an initiative to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality,

where 12 city districts have been closed to through traffic

so the interior blocks are more hospitable to pedestrians,

cyclists, more green space.

On the Barcelona coastline, another initiative is underway

in which residents are working to make it more accessible to locals,

rather than simply a playground for elites and cruise ships.

Notice how different this is

than the typical top-down, "we know best" approach

to shaping the future.

Like what happened with Sidewalk Labs in Toronto,

Google's urban development smart city play

that would have collected masses of data

data in order to create more efficient and convenient city services.

But which in the end was tech-driven rather than people-driven.

Sidewalk Labs staged public input sessions

in order to appear responsive to residents' concerns

about the newfangled surveillance that would have been embedded

into the Quayside neighborhood.

But people saw through the proposal and put an end to the development.

In fact,

there are ustopias taking shape right here in Atlanta.

Known by some as Silicon Peach

or Techlanta,

because it’s the fastest-growing urban tech hub in the country,

it’s also the city with the highest income inequality in the nation.

Which shouldn't surprise us when we remember

that the fantasies of some are so often the nightmares of others.

In many places, tech booms actually exacerbate inequality,

increasing the cost of living, displacing local residents

and creating high tech tools for surveillance and social control.

But that's only half of the story.

Because here in Atlanta, and in many other locales,

we're also witnessing a historic mobilization of residents,

creating ustopias that prioritize people over profit,

public goods over policing.

It started a few years ago,

when Atlanta officials announced plans to build Cop City,

a massive 90-million-dollar facility

that would have trained police from all over the country.

The development would include cutting down Weelaunee Forest,

one of the four lungs of Atlanta

that protects against heat waves and floods,

and which is located next to a predominantly Black

working-class community.

But ATLiens were having none of it.

(Cheers and applause)

Utilizing direct action, digital tools,

a broad coalition has formed

to push back against the militarizing imagination of the city.

Atlanta's forest defenders remind us

that true community safety relies on connection,

not cops.

On public goods, like housing and health care,

not punishment.

They understand that protecting people and the planet

go hand in hand.

From college students to clergy,

environmental activists to Indigenous elders,

they’re inviting us into a collective imagination

in which our ecological and our social well-being

go hand in hand.

An ustopia right in our own backyards.

And even children are pushing back

against the lopsided imagination of city officials.

Like one who asked,

"What did cops do to deserve a playground?"

As they sat in the kids zone outside of the city council meeting

where hundreds of people had showed up to speak out

against Cop City.

Together, they're reminding us that deadly systems may seem durable,

but they're not inevitable.

And we don’t simply have to click: submit.

We can each work to strengthen the social fabric in our own locale

and create a shared vision in which no one is left behind.

We can follow the example of data justice organizers in Barcelona,

forest defenders in Atlanta,

imagining and crafting the worlds we cannot live without,

just as we dismantle the ones we cannot live within.

The first step

is to stop policing the borders of our own imagination.

A world without prisons?

Ridiculous.

Schools that foster the genius of every child?

Naive.

Work that doesn't drive us into the grave?

Impossible.

A society where everyone has food,

shelter, love?

In your dreams.

Exactly.

(Applause)