Is technology empowering or hindering human flourishing?
This week, I found a promising illustration of empowerment. While driving back from South Carolina, I listened to an episode from Technopolis podcast which explores how technology is altering urban landscapes. Just like in a previous post, the podcast did not disappoint. In this episode, they talk to Palak Shah from the National Domestic Worker Alliance digital lab. The advocacy group seeks innovative ways to empower 2.5 million nannies, house cleaners, and care workers in the United States. Because of its highly distributed workforce (most domestic workers work for one or a few households making it difficult to organize in a way that auto workers could), they quickly saw that technology was the best way to reach and engage the workers they trying to reach.
The lab developed two main products: the Alia platform and a La Alianza chatbot. The platform aggregates small contributions from clients to offer benefits for the workers. One of the biggest challenges with domestic workers is that they have no safety net. Most only get paid when they work and do not have health insurance. By pooling workers and getting an additional contribution from clients with little overhead, the platform is able to give the workers some of these benefits. The chatbot offers news and resources to over 200K domestic worker subscribers.
When the pandemic hit, the lab team with some help from Google was able to fully pivot in order to address new emerging problems. The Alia platform became a cash-transfer tool to help workers that were not getting any income. Note that most of them did not receive unemployment or the stimulus checks coming from the government. Furthermore, the chatbot surveyed domestic workers to better understand the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods so they could adequately respond to their needs.
The NDWA lab story illustrates well the power of harnessing technology for human flourishing.
As a technology worker myself, I wonder how my work is expanding or hindering human flourishing. Some of us may not be doing work that is directly aligned with a noble cause. Yet, there are many ways in which we can take small steps re-direct technology towards a more human future.
Last week, in a history-making move, a group of Google employees formed the first union in a major technology company. Before that, tech employees have played crucial roles as whistleblowers for abuses and excesses from their companies. Beyond that, numerous tech workers have contributed their valuable skills for non-profit efforts in what is often known as the “tech for good” movement. These efforts range from hackathons to long-term projects organized by foundations embedded within large multinational companies.
These are just a few examples of how technology workers are taking steps to keep large corporations accountable and contribute to their communities. There are many other ways in which one can work towards human flourishing.
