A roundup of news and perspective on disruptive technology.

1. This Week In Disruptive Tech
A roundup of news and perspective on disruptive technology.
6th April 2019

2. In this issue..
● Tech's complicated relationship with government
● Robots, drones and anti-drones
● Environmentally cool food
● Two books for polarised times

3. Tech's complicated relationship with government

4. Governments are worried about national security impact
of technology
● US government has raised concerns over Chinese gaming
company Kunlun Tech owning a significant stake in Grindr, a
popular gay dating app.
● UK's cyber security inspectors say software from China's tech
giant Huawei pose risks for the country’s mobile networks.
○ “The oversight board’s report criticized Huawei for making “no
material progress” in fixing technical shortcomings noted in last
year’s report….” Read More
● Google CEO Sundar Pichai had to meet US president Donald
Trump to convince him that he is "totally committed to the U.S.
Military, not the Chinese Military."

5. But, people have to be worried about government's use
of technology
● Technology often amplifies existing biases. When government
uses it for crime prevention or welfare delivery, it could have
unintended consequences..
○ Facial recognition software that Amazon sells to law enforcement
can misidentify women and people with darker skin
○ London's 'Gang Matrix' predictive policing tool
that the city hoped will bring down gang
violence ended up discriminating black
communities

6. Tech bias is not restricted to government
● Facebook discriminates against certain groups of people even
when serving ads.
● Autonomous cars have trouble recognizing people with darker
skin tones
● It might even be the reflection of inherent bias in the tech sector.
According to a new study, in the US, over 50% of women tech
sector get less money than their male counterparts.

7. Yet, big tech's influence on society has been growing in
the recent years
● After facing criticism for Russian interference in US elections,
Facebook responded by taking down pages that display
coordinated inauthentic behaviour. As India faces elections, it
has banned over a thousand of pages.
● Whatsapp launched a new fact checking service to fight fake
news
● However, there is no app to stop anyone from believing what
they want to believe. According to one study, the smarter you
are, the harder will it be for you to change your mind about fake
news and conspiracy theories.
○ For any issue that strikes at the core of who we are, greater
brainpower may simply serve to preserve that identity at the expense
of the truth. Read More

8. In short, technology alone will not solve the problem
● Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has called for new regulations
from governments across the world addressing: “harmful
content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability.”
● Google, which repeatedly ignored warnings about false,
incendiary, and harmful content on its YouTube platform,
formed an AI ethics committee, only to be lambasted by its
employees on its composition of the council.
● We often tend to forget that the problems that we attribute to
technology often don't arise out of technology, but because of
multiple factors. It needs more than tech to solve the problems.
○ “The idea that technology is disrupting markets is not really true in
the majority of the cases.” ~ Thales Teixeira Read More

9. Robots, drones and anti-drones

10. Robots are getting better
● Here's the latest video from Boston Dynamics. Handle seems
impressive, but not yet ready for warehouses
● Robots can also pick apples and make coffee and run tiny,
automated, micro-fulfilment hubs.

11. And drones enter a new phase
● UPS now uses drones to deliver medical samples in the US, first
commercial drone delivery.
● US Navy is building systems that can fight off enemy drones,
while Russia has patented an anti-drone that can shoot of other
drones in the sky.
● But, let’s keep in mind, it didn't take hackers more than a few
stickers to mislead a Tesla autopilot into a wrong lane.

12. Environmentally cool food

13. To create the food of the future, researchers are turning
to vegetables
● Burger King has introduced a Whopper made with a vegetarian
patty, to the delight of environmentalists.
● Researchers are using AI to enhance the taste of basil, and the
technique has huge implications for food and medicine.

14. Two books for polarised times

15. Beyond filter bubbles and polarising engagements
● If we live in filter bubbles, we might never learn of alternative
perspectives. But, research also shows those who engage with
opposing points of view might get even more entrenched in their
own. We need more than just listening, and these two books
offer a way forward
○ In Nonviolent Communication Marshall B. Rosenberg
encourages you observe without evaluating.
○ In Collaborating with the Enemy: How to Work with People
You Don’t Agree with Or Like Or Trust, Adam Kahane
underscores the need to embrace discord, experimentation
and genuine co-creation.

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