Ramesh Srinivasan: Reclaiming our technology

Social media, like most technologies, is a double-edged sword. It can shrink distance but it can also manipulate our behavior and help disinformation spread like wildfire. It can help us feel connected, but keeps us doom scrolling well past our bedtimes. Ramesh Srinivasan suggests other possibilities in his latest book, “Beyond the Valley: How Innovators around the World are Overcoming Inequality and Creating the Technologies of Tomorrow.”

Srinivasan is a Professor in the UCLA Department of Information Studies and Director of the UC Digital Cultures Lab. He was an advisor to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and to the Biden/Harris campaign. And he’s a panelist for the UCLA Arts discussion series “10 Questions: Reckoning” on Nov. 2, responding to the question, “What Is Hope?” In this interview with Works In Progress, he looks at efforts around the world and in the U.S. to reclaim technology to serve people’s needs, and not unaccountable corporate interests.