Conference Overview
Data on Purpose 2021: “Democracy, Civil Society, and Digital Technology”
Digital technology and data shape both organizational operations and individual interactions, not only in our personal lives, but more and more in civil society, where it is increasingly used by nonprofit organizations and social movements to coordinate action, empower constituencies, elevate issues, and mobilize support.
But the same mechanisms can just as easily operate to undermine democracy and civil society—for example when social media and targeted messaging is used to disinform and foment polarization. Digital engagement has its own technical, ethical, and security limitations, and its widespread use has tested our social and political structures.
What are the trends and technologies heightening concerns over the use of data and digital tools? How are different actors – movement builders, platforms, elected officials – working to improve upon or leverage these tools and processes to be better applied for the benefit of all? What steps are being taken to address crucial issues of equity and justice that are part of our social fabric? How can we build alternative approaches that recognize that people are more than analytics and metrics in service to the latest automated solution?
Join Stanford Social Innovation Review for our 6th Data on Purpose conference, "Democracy, Civil Society, and Digital Technology." This year’s convening is designed to help nonprofit leaders and their teams (technical or not) identify and operationalize digital solutions to critical issues related to our democracy and civil society. With a focus on issues of equity, privacy & security, polarization, and the curtailing of misinformation, Data on Purpose will address the latest research- and practice-based insights from data scientists and researchers, nonprofit, foundation and for-profit leaders, policymakers, and other experts. Our goal is to help identify digital technologies that can strengthen our democracy and civil society, reduce inequities, improve the operation of nonprofit organizations, and empower the kind of informed, democratic participation which is a vital underpinning of civil society.
Participants in Data on Purpose 2021 will come away with:
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Knowledge of the tools and processes that can help organizations benefit from artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce inequity and provide for their constituents, while avoiding the ethical and security concerns AI presents
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Insights into how nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and social movements are using digital technologies and platforms to organize and empower their constituenciesand confidence in their own ability to answer the technology questions that have bedeviled their organizations, and tools to bring those answers to fruition.
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A better understanding of the current state of the digital divide, the ways in which challenges can be overcome, and where we still need to focus our efforts, with a special focus on maintaining human connections with those we serve in a world dominated by data
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Examples of how digital technologies are being used to strengthen civil society institutions and the social connections between people
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Knowledge of ways to support digital democracy and combat the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, weaponization of information, and hacking
Sessions
“Syndemic Crises, Philanthropy, and Civil Society – A Discussion of Blueprint 2021”
Lucy Bernholz, director of the Stanford PACS Digital Civil Society Lab, has been writing an annual Blueprint on Philanthropy since 2010. Her 2021 edition includes a powerful argument that we are in the midst of several, intertwined and mutating crises that reveal the fragilities and fissures in the US, and urges philanthropy and civil society to reconsider their purposes, practices, and roles in contributing to positive change. She will be joined by Jara Dean-Coffey, director of the Equitable Evaluation Initiative; Divya Siddarth researcher in the Office of the CTO at Microsoft; and Mario Lugay, senior innovation director of Justice Funders, in conversation about the challenges we face, the changes needed, and ways forward.
“For the Good of Society: Is Regulating the Internet the Answer?”
The internet, search, and social media platforms encourage the free and rapid exchange of ideas and have played a major role in fostering democratic movements around the globe over the past two decades. But these same technologies have also helped undermine democratic ideals, leading to the spread of disinformation and propaganda, increased surveillance, and an erosion of trust in democracy and its institutions. Is the responsibility for policing these technologies better left to the technology companies themselves (whose business models were never designed with a thought about their potential misuse by actors looking to undermine democratic systems), or is there a need for more formal oversight and regulation by independent organizations or government? In this conversation, Marietje Schaake, the international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and international policy fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (and a former member of the European Parliament for 10 years); and Kelly Born, director of the Cyber Initiative at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, will discuss the relationship between democracy and the internet and social media in today's global society, and the different paths to protecting their misuse by bad actors.
“Making and Breaking Video: Digital Media Manipulation and Society”
Video has become a primary medium for communicating ideas, making sense of information, and sharing new narratives. While advances in technology – including video-recording capabilities embedded in our mobile devices – have made it easier to capture video, raw media rarely tells a compelling story. And some of the tools that are designed to reduce the effort required to edit and produce high-quality video of talking heads can also be misused to produce “deep-fake” videos. In this talk, Maneesh Agrawala, Forest Baskett Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, will present several recent projects that aim to facilitate the creation of video content and culture, in addition to exploring the potential for the misuse of these same technologies, and the steps that might be taken to prevent that from happening.
“Disinformation, Misinformation & Our Digital Information Ecosystem”
Whether it’s elections in the US and abroad, the ongoing worldwide conspiracies around vaccinations, or the array of other controversial issues, the spread of disinformation online globally continues to undermine the foundations of civil society. Led by Samantha Bradshaw, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Internet Observatory & Digital Civil Society Lab of Stanford University, this panel discussion brings together Katherine Maher, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation; Jesse Lehrich, Co-Founder of Accountable Tech; and Nick Pickles, Head of Global Public Policy Strategy and Development at Twitter––all of whom are working to fight the spread of false information across our digital information ecosystem. Recognizing that false information erodes trust in our systems and solutions, and threatens democracies and the very rule of law on which our globally connected society depends, our goal is to foster an open dialog focusing on steps that have been taken and could be explored to combat the spread of disinformation.
“Case Study: Political & Social Movements in the Context of 2020”
The jarring events of 2020—massive economic and social disruptions created by the global pandemic, long-overdue pushes for equity and racial justice, and ongoing political division and upheavals—provide a unique lens through which to examine the ways that movements can be created. Despite challenges such as rampant disinformation campaigns and algorithmic bias, social activism and democratic participation both received a boost. Out of necessity, organizations and social movements found ways to engage people in real and lasting change using digital platforms and tools. Led by Moderator, Jane Booth-Tobin, P3 Lab Director at The Johns Hopkins University, this discussion includes Jennifer Edwards, senior director of Digital Engagement at Color of Change, and Jess Morales Rocketto, civic engagement director at National Domestic Workers Alliance. These leaders of digitally-empowered organizations will share their perspectives and offer insights into what lies ahead.
“Case Study: Using Digital Tools to Build Worker Power”
In early 2020, when stay-at-home orders swept across the United States in response to the coronavirus outbreak, workers’ rights advocates were presented with an array of new challenges, forcing them to rapidly adjust. In the intervening time, digital platforms and tools have been used to connect workers and magnify their voices, share information about the problems workers are confronting, mobilize different forms of support and mutual aid, and make demands of employers and policy makers. Accelerated as they were by the pandemic, these uses of digital tools are not new. Mainstream social media platforms, despite serious drawbacks, have played an important role in a variety of social movements, and custom-built platforms have supported a range of efforts to improve the lives of working people. Led by Beth Gutelius, research director at the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, this panel discussion will delve into the potential—and potential drawbacks—of using digital tools for workers’ benefit. Joining Beth in conversation will be leading innovators, including Aquilina Soriano, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California; Nidhi Mirani, Executive Director of Carina; Brian Young, Executive Director of Action Network; Drew Ambrogi, Digital Director of Coworker.
“More than a Movement: How Young Leaders & Activists are Creating Real Change”
It’s no surprise that young people who grew up in a rapidly evolving and ever-changing digital landscape are successfully leveraging emerging tools and platforms to not only build movements and organize action, but to create real change in the world. Not simply re-packaging old approaches in a “digital skin,” these activists are re-inventing the ways that action happens, and writing their own original playbooks for bringing about impact on issues about which they are passionate. What can established organizations and their leaders learn from these social innovators? In this session, Geoff Corey, senior manager of digital campaign strategy at Advocates for Youth, will lead a discussion with several young activists who are working on an array of issue areas. This panel discussion will include LaKia Williams, digital organizer at SisterSong, Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, Nour Abdelwahab, an organizer from Muslim Youth Council, and Đinh Thị Lan Anh, program assistant at the Gender Relations Center at the University of Notre Dame.
“How Not to Use Data Like a Racist: A Seven-Step Framework for Ethics and Equity in Data”
Very few people build data products because they want to promote racist or sexist ideas; however, it’s very easy to fall into these traps, particularly when we fail to question the widely held belief in the “objectivity of evidence.” A working understanding of how to incorporate equity into data products, and knowledge of practical tools that embed equity in your research and data, is essential for anyone conducting data analysis, or making decisions based on data analysis. This session, led by Heather Krause, founder of Datassist and We All Count, provides you with several shocking real-world examples of mistakes made when using data that led to biased outcomes, and a seven-step framework for identifying inequity and hidden bias in the data product lifecycle. As interest in equity in data grows, this framework provides actionable steps for making changes in the way you and your team use data.
“Democracy & Digital Technology”
Digital technologies are having a profound impact on democracy in the United States and around the world. New communication platforms that give voice to the previously voiceless also empower nefarious actors who seek to undermine democracy, silence minority groups and critics, manipulate search engines, and sow distrust. Through changes in policy, technology, and social and ethical technological norms, can digital technologies be better leveraged to support rather than subvert democracy? And if so, what is needed to bring about such changes? In this conversation, two of the principal investigators of the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at Stanford University will discuss these issues in depth and what these mean for social-sector organizations. Nathaniel Persily, the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, and Francis Fukuyama, director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute of Stanford University, will share their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities the Internet poses for democracies.
“The Digital Divide: Why It Still Exists and How We Can Close the Gap”
The digital divide has existed for decades, but its impact on individuals and society has never been so glaring as it is today. Many schools have gone to online learning, hundreds of print newspapers have closed, physical stores have shuttered, and many companies are requiring employees to work virtually from home. The result is that tens of millions of Americans who do not have access to broadband internet and a computer to learn, shop, and work have been effectively disenfranchised from society. And globally it’s even worse. The problem isn’t just that many people don’t have the money to cross the divide. The problem is that broadband internet is simply not available in most rural areas of the world regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Why does the digital divide persist, and what can be done to overcome it? This session brings together four people who have been working at all levels—from grassroots community organizations to national public policy—to discuss this critical issue. The moderator is Larry Irving, who first brought public attention to the digital divide when he served as the head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration in the Clinton Administration. The three panelists are Olatunde Sobomehin, CEO of StreetCode Academy; Ron Littlefield, former mayor of Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in the Obama Administration
“AI Will Change the World. Who Will Change AI?”
As AI goes full steam ahead, it's critical to ask the right questions while still in early stages: who is building and shaping this important technology? It’s also crucial to ensure we’re incorporating the perspectives of youth who will inherit the outcomes of the decisions we make today about AI. There is a diversity crisis in AI: under 14% of AI researchers are women globally, and in the US, only 2.6% of tenure-track engineering faculty identify as African American or Black and only 3.6% identify as Hispanic or Latinx. When diverse voices are excluded from AI, the reliability and fairness of AI systems come into question. Join youth who are starting out on their AI journeys and the CEO of AI talent and education nonprofit, AI4ALL, to talk about challenges and concrete solutions in shaping an inclusive and ethical future of AI.
“Data Analytics: Bringing Justice & Equity to the Process”
Data and data analytics are powerful tools that can be used to increase the efficacy of those working to improve society. But too often not enough attention is paid to issues of equity and justice. Data is not neutral. What kind of data is collected, how it is collected, who owns the data, to what use the data is put—all of these issues matter if we are to create a truly democratic society. How can data be used by countries in developing regions to help solve critical issues such as health and climate change without exacerbating colonial approaches around data gathering and usage? In this panel discussion, Nithya Ramanathan, CEO and co-founder of Nexleaf Analytics, will moderate a discussion between Andrew Warren, co-founder, and head of product at Recidiviz, and Yeshimabeit Milner, founder & executive director of Data for Black Lives to explore ways data science can be used to better understand the inequities and injustices of our systems, and what must be done to remedy these problems.
“Software and Data Are the Future of Social Action”
Society has been remade by tech advances that change every aspect of our lives, reshaping the work of the social sector, and expanding the possibilities to achieve scalable, lasting impact. Digital technologies not only enable listening and learning from the communities we serve, but also puts tools and information directly in their hands. This power shift will be at the core of systems change efforts going forward. In this closing keynote discussion, Jim Fruchterman, founder and CEO of Tech Matters, will explore the practical challenges and opportunities of this tech-enabled future.
