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

Introduction: The Imposition of Visions

This section highlights how a small group of people impose their visions on the rest of society, investing in space travel and AI while neglecting healthcare and housing for all.

Imbalance in Priorities

• Futurists prioritize space travel, AI superintelligence, and underground bunkers.

• Neglecting healthcare and housing for all is seen as outlandish and unimaginable.

Lopsided Imagination

• The visions of futurists focus on bending material and digital realities but fail to address social transformation.

• The current power imbalance traps us in an imagination that benefits the few at the expense of the many.

Two Stories of the Future

This section explores two narratives about the future: a utopian Silicon Valley version where technology fulfills all desires, and a dystopian Hollywood version where technology dominates humanity.

Silicon Valley Utopia

• In this narrative, technology caters to our preferences with chatbots, virtual assistants, and driverless cars.

• Our wants and needs are instantly met, merging with technology to become stronger and smarter.

Hollywood Dystopia

• This narrative portrays conflict, competition, inequality, and precarity.

• Technology displaces and dominates humanity, leading to a chaotic world.

Giving Up Power: Technology's Role

Both utopian and dystopian stories assume that technology is in control. However, human inputs are missing from shaping our digital and physical worlds.

Impact of Technology on Us

• In both narratives, technology impacts us for better or worse.

• However, our impact on technology is absent; our values, assumptions, interests shape our world but are overlooked.

Reckoning with Ustopia: Creating Our Future

Instead of fixating on dystopian or utopian futures, we need to embrace the concept of ustopia, where we collectively shape a future that meets everyone's needs.

Ustopia: The Future is Us

• Ustopia refers to the fact that the future is created by us.

• It recognizes that our collective imagination can address tensions and ensure everyone thrives.

Examples of Ustopias in Action

This section highlights an example from Barcelona, Spain, where a participatory experiment called "Decidim" empowers people to create policies based on their actual needs.

Barcelona's Participatory Experiment

• Decidim is a digital platform combined with in-person deliberations.

• People from all walks of life collectively shape policies that respond to their needs.

• Technology companies are not driving this initiative; it is driven by the collective intelligence of the community.

Challenging Lopsided Imagination

The speaker reflects on how innovation often deepens social inequity and emphasizes the importance of prioritizing collective well-being over wealth concentration.

Deepening Social Inequity

• Innovation in technology often leads to displacement and exclusion.

• The focus on regenerating sick bodies neglects addressing societal issues.

Utopias vs. Ustopias

• Utopias require inequality and exclusion, while ustopias prioritize collective well-being.

• Recognizing interconnected struggles like climate justice and racial justice is crucial for creating ustopias.

New Section

This section discusses the active participation of residents in shaping the government's action plan and the initiatives taken to improve air quality and accessibility in Barcelona.

Residents' Proposals and Government Action Plan

• Over 40,000 residents have submitted proposals on various issues, such as affordable housing and air quality.

• About 70 percent of the government's action plan is derived directly from these proposals.

Superblocks Initiative

• The "Superblocks" initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

• Twelve city districts have been closed to through traffic, creating pedestrian-friendly areas with more green space.

Making Barcelona's Coastline More Accessible

• Another initiative focuses on making Barcelona's coastline more accessible to locals rather than just being a playground for elites and cruise ships.

New Section

This section contrasts the top-down approach of tech-driven urban development projects with community-driven initiatives in Atlanta that prioritize people over profit.

Sidewalk Labs' Tech-Driven Approach

• Sidewalk Labs in Toronto aimed to collect massive amounts of data for creating efficient city services but lacked a people-driven focus.

• Public input sessions were staged to address residents' concerns about surveillance, but ultimately, the project was halted due to public opposition.

Atlanta: Silicon Peach or Techlanta?

• Atlanta is known as Silicon Peach or Techlanta due to its rapid growth as an urban tech hub.

• However, it also has the highest income inequality in the nation.

Mobilization of Residents in Atlanta

• Residents in Atlanta are mobilizing against projects that prioritize profit over people.

• They actively opposed the construction of Cop City, a facility that would have trained police officers from across the country.

• A broad coalition has formed to push back against the militarization of the city and advocate for community safety, public goods, and environmental protection.

New Section

This section highlights the collective imagination and actions of various groups in Atlanta to create a more equitable and sustainable society.

Ustopias in Atlanta

• Atlanta's forest defenders emphasize the importance of connection over policing for community safety. They advocate for public goods like housing and healthcare.

• A diverse coalition, including college students, clergy, environmental activists, and Indigenous elders, is working towards an ustopia where ecological and social well-being go hand in hand.

Children's Perspective

• Even children are challenging the lopsided imagination of city officials by questioning why police deserve playgrounds.

Strengthening Social Fabric

• The transcript encourages individuals to work towards strengthening their local communities' social fabric.

• By dismantling oppressive systems and creating shared visions, we can strive for a society where no one is left behind.

New Section

This section emphasizes the need to challenge our own limited imaginations to envision a better future.

Policing Our Imagination

• We need to stop limiting our imagination by policing what we believe is possible.

• The transcript challenges notions such as a world without prisons or schools that foster every child's genius as naive or impossible.

Crafting New Worlds

• Data justice organizers in Barcelona and forest defenders in Atlanta serve as examples of imagining and crafting worlds that prioritize equity and sustainability while dismantling oppressive systems.