A roundup of news and perspective on disruptive technology | April 6, 2019

1. This Week In Disruptive Tech
A roundup of news and perspective on disruptive technology.
5th 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.
● 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.

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.

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

16. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
Read the Disruptive Tech Archives
Thank you!