The Challenge is to see Tech as Diverse, Because People are Diverse.
By the time people gather around a conceptual idea, they’re already shaping its use and community says Carolyn Marvin in “When Old Technologies Were New: Thinking about Electric Communication in the Late Nineteenth Century”.
And so it is with tech generally and its ecosystem, whether that’s twitter or AI. It has consequences. Generally a homogenous group shapes it and diversity of ideas, international even, can remain unnurtured.
Television’s inception was the result of an international competition amongst Germans, Braun; Russians, Zworykin; Brits, Baird; Japanese, Takayanagi; and Americans, Jenkins and Farnsworth. Back then as now, politics and power played their part. How could many of today’s tech benefit from inclusivity which often lay hidden outside of tech’s dominant narrative and those that reap its benefits?
I have worked in tech for 30 years. I’m a Chemistry and Maths grad who went into international broadcasting, reporting from conflict zones, and then as a producer for Jon Snow at Channel 4 News, but always with an eye of tech and storytelling.
In the mid 90s, with colleagues we were one of the first to work the Net and what it could do with the Cyber cafe in London.
When I presented the news on our findings on the Net in 1995, The Times had 30,000 readers.
I worked within the dotcoms, helping to drive their mission and in 2005 created one of the first video online channels, which caught Apple’s attention with this article on their front page and repeat calls to present at their store over the last fifteen years.
But what matters for me now is the bridge to the next generation. Tech’s potential leaves no doubt, but for whom and in which direction with AI upon us?
That’s why five years ago I drove a new course bringing together technologists and diverse groups for a Masters, which was replicated this year at Cardiff University.
The course’s ambition is to make technologist better storytellers — a feature of my doctorate from James Joyces alma matter University College Dublin. As well as make storytellers better technologists.
Design and computational thinking is mixed with artistic thinking, as a former artist in residence at the Southbank Centre in London. And diversity and inclusion gives a voice to problem solvers. It’s pivotal to a new approach we’re undertaking at the University of Cardiff’s Emerging Journalism, in Wales — fast becoming one of the UK’s most creative tech hubs.
We’re (James Taylor and I ) are pleased in our first year of the collaborations between the school of journalism, Tramshed tech our partners and the outcome of the next generation like Mayo who recorded her views here launching a prototype for a financial services between in South Africa, adding
…your course is more valuable than you know!
And Shanna who landed her dream job with the ONS.
This year’s amazing collaborative partners are Tramshed Tech, who’ve worked with us to source our mentors. We’re also working with remote mentors from the amazing Guild of Entrepreneurs.
Nasma, a student from five years ago is seeing her ideas on gamification and international storytelling gain traction.
If you’re interested in knowing more and our ambitions collaborating with the best of tech in Wales, you can contact me at gyimahd@cardiff.ac.uk
Dr David Dunkley Gyimah is one of the top global writers in journalism on Medium. He is a co-i at Clwstwr.
