Ashoka
Making The Internet Work For All. Why Multiplicity Is More Important Than Singularity.
The 21st century has ushered in a new age where all aspects of our lives are impacted by technology. How will humanity anticipate, mitigate, and manage the consequences? How do we ensure tech works for the good of all? Ronaldo Lemos is working on solutions for the internet. He is an internationally renowned Brazilian academic, lawyer and commentator on intellectual property, technology, and culture. He is an Ashoka Fellow and social entrepreneur, and was recently named a member of Facebook’s new Oversight Board.
Ashoka insight
We cannot fight fake news by amending or changing free speech related treaties. To fight fake news, I think it is more helpful to think about them as professional disinformation campaigns — that are sometimes very well funded! – and to focus on the properties and dynamics in the technologies employed by these campaigns. That will be more productive than harming free speech.
Caring about human rights implications is no longer an issue that belongs to the state or public power alone. Since 2011, human rights frameworks are increasingly directed at the private sector. Companies have an important role to play here, and they still need to wake up. How do they reconcile businesses with the values of political communities, with the values of humanity? This is one of the most important discussions we have at the moment.