Innovation For All - Diversity in Tech and Business

Latest Episodes:

How can technology help close early education gaps? feat. Cyrena Chih Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Learn how Khan Academy Kids provides digital educational resources to support kindergarten-readiness and help close early achievement gaps. In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana chats with Cyrena Chih, formerly the Director of Product & Business Development for Khan Academy Kids, a free educational program for children ages two to six.

YOU’LL LEARN:

· How to design kid-friendly apps

· What a well-executed adaptive learning program looks like

· Why they chose to turn from a for-profit to a non-profit

· How do we choose technology to alleviate early achievement gaps?

· The importance of parents co-playing with their kids.

Do you enjoy Innovation For All? Remember to rate and review us on your favorite podcasting platform. View shownotes for this and every episode at www.innovationforallcast.com.

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Why FinTech is failing the poor with Wendy De La Rosa of the Common Cents Lab Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

How can FinTech leverage behavioral economics to help people become more financially secure? Sheana Ahlqvist talks to Wendy De La Rosa, co-founder of Common Cents Lab, a research lab that launches and tests products to help low-to-moderate-income Americans.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR:

What kinds of Fintech products and apps effectively help people budget and save.
How certain Fintech apps could be hurting more than helping those below the poverty line.
Why lots of common features are ineffective and undermine our interest in savings.
Tricks from behavioural economics that anyone can use to get their spending habits in order.
How the needs of those in poverty are drastically different and what product managers can do to fit their unique needs.
Specific ways to remove friction around SNAP benefits, tax refunds and loan repayments to help people in poverty get ahead.
Frequency Budgets vs. Financial Budgets
What dark patterns are and how they apply to Fintech products.
How “round-ups” can help people save money in the long term.
How temptation plays a major role in how people deal with their money.

Sheana and Wendy also talk about the Stanford course Designing AI to Cultivate Human Well Being.

OTHERS MENTIONED:

Tech Crunch
Forbes
30 Under 30 Forbes
PBS News
MetLife Foundation
Uber
Lyft
SNAP Benefits
Ford
Amanda McLaughlin
Jennifer Aaker
Fei Fei Li
LinkedIn
Facebook
Stanford University
Katy Milkman

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Stereotyping Appalachia: What tech gets wrong feat. Sherry Hamby Feb 06, 2019

Show notes

People in Appalachia are skeptical and cautious about technology. Dr. Sherry Hamby believes understanding how they think can be useful for living in a tech-centric world.

Dr. Sherry Hamby is a Research Professor of Psychology at the University of the South and Director of the Life Paths Appalachian Research Center, She’s best known for her work in violence measurement, poly-victimization, and resilience.

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What did you change your mind about in 2018? Answers on AI, data, work, and more. Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

In this special episode, Sheana asks some of her favorite guests two key questions: What is something you've changed your mind about in 2018? And what is something you'd like to see become a larger part of the conversation in 2019?

You don't want to miss this one. Want to hear more from these great guests? Check out their full episodes:

Hear more from Jordan Axt (@jordanaxt) in Implicit Bias: Everything You're Afraid to Ask; Amanda Lotz (@drtvlotz)in Is Netflix a tech company or a media company?; Jutta Treviranus (@juttatrevira) in The 80/20 rule hurts everything from education to self-driving cars; Osonde Osoba (@OsondeOsoba) in When are "fair" algorithms better than accurate ones?; Eliza Khuner (@ElizaKhuner) in Facebook Can do more for working parents and Sally Hubbard (@Sally_Hubbard) in Google and Facebook are monoplies. Does it matter?

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Is Netflix a tech company or a media company? Amanda Lotz explains why it matters. Jan 23, 2019

Show notes

Dr. Amanda Lotz is a media studies professor at Queensland University of Technology.

View full shownotes for this and every episode at innovationforallcast.com.

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No one taught us how to work. Jake Kahana wants to change that with Caveday. Jan 09, 2019

Show notes

Technology can better serve humanity. In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana Ahlqvist speaks with Jake Kahana, founder of Bettvr With Age and Caveday. Jake shares these two projects that look very different on the surface. In fact, they are united by a common goal, to demonstrate the social impact of technology. Discover how Virtual reality (VR) can be therapeutic for seniors, why the typical 9-5 work day is a complete fallacy, and how to manage remote teams effectively. You’ll enjoy this episode if you are interested in VR or modernizing the workplace.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR:

The difference between a social impact agency and cost marketing agency
The challenges in producing and distributing VR films 2 significant limitations for senior citizens: mobility and finances
The Impact of Bettvr With Age Physical and mental therapy using VR
What is Caveday?
How to improve your relationship to work
The dangers of overwork
How to communicate with a remote team
How important is establishing rules around communication, scheduling and productivity inside a team
3 Things you need when you work – accountability, motivation, and support
Resources your team can use to increase productivity

Undoubtedly, technology isn’t just for the young. It is for all ages – even seniors. This is what Jake is proving to exhibit in his Bettvr with Age project where he produces VR films for senior citizens. Seniors can still experience places and activities that their old age won’t permit them to do and visit through VR. We also discuss the science of productivity.

Through Caveday, Jake and his team are able to organize pieces of training for individuals and companies on how to do deep work since no one taught us how to work. There are ways you can improve your relationship to work to be productive and also avoid overworking. Jake identifies specific resources you can use to support your team’s productivity and happiness.

Full shownotes available at innovationforallcast.com.

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When bad data leads to social injustice, feat. David Robinson Dec 26, 2018

Show notes

Can AI really change the world? Or are its developing algorithms formalizing social injustice? When these highly-technical systems derive patterns from existing datasets, their models can perpetuate past mistakes.

In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana Ahlqvist discusses with David Robinson the threats of social bias and discrimination becoming embedded in Artificial Intelligence.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

What is the role of technological advances in shaping society?
What is the difference between Machine Learning vs. Artificial Intelligence?
Social Justice Implications of Technology
What are the limitations of finding patterns in previous data?
How does should government regulate new, highly technical systems?
The need for more resources and more thoughtfulness in regulating data
Examples of data-driven issues in the private sector.
Removing skepticism of regulatory agencies in examining data models.
Authorities should remember that there are limits to what AI models can do.

David is the co-founder of Upturn and currently a Visiting Scientist at the AI Policy and Practice Initiative in Cornell's College of Computing and Information Science. David touches on how government regulatory agencies should examine new AI models and systems, especially as the technology continues to creep its way into our day-to-day lives. David discusses the importance of “ground truthing.” David emphasizes looking at a technology’s capabilities and limits before deciding on whether decision makers should implement it.

LINKS

OTHERS MENTIONED

Cornell University
Hannah Sassaman
Christan Salazar Volkmann
Human Rights Data Analysis Group

CONNECT WITH DAVID

Sign up for Equal Future newsletter
Follow David on Twitter

Learn more at innovationforallcast.com

If you enjoy this episode on AI and ethics, you might also enjoy WHEN ARE “FAIR” ALGORITHMS BETTER THAN ACCURATE ONES?

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Facebook can do more for working parents feat. Eliza Khuner Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

Are the tech giants doing enough for working parents?

Eliza Khuner questions whether the 9-to-5 full-time work schedule is limiting companies and employees, especially working parents. Eliza is a data scientist who worked at Facebook until she had her third child. Discover how she turned her concerns into a company-wide movement for more flexible work options, growing from private talks with HR to a public discussion with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a viral WIRED article.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR:
Do company standard policies really support working parents?
What happened when Eliza confronted Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives with the demand for more flexible options for working parents?
Why should companies allow working parents to part-time or work from home?
Will this create a loss of culture in the workplace?
Are huge talents overlooked because most companies require full-time work?
Does creating more flexible solutions create ways to pay people less?

Sheana and Eliza also talk about the loss of workplace culture when there are flexible work options, the need for wellness rooms for breastfeeding mothers, and the support that should be given by companies to working parents. Eliza continues to speak about this so that companies are made aware of the problem and working parents can have the choice to live their lives while staying valuable to their company.

Visit innovationforallcast.com for URLs.

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VR-training against sexual harassment is not a gimmick, feat. Morgan Mercer of Vantage Point Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

Learn how Vantage Point is using VR to reduce sexual harassment at work through way, way better training. In this episode of Innovation For All, Sheana Ahlqvist speaks with Morgan Mercer, founder and CEO of Vantage Point.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
How Vantage Point leverages the benefits VR to combat sexual harassment;
Examples of subtle & aggressive sexual harassment situations in the workplace;
Why they take a bystander approach to training;

Morgan (@themorganmercer) is product-enthusiast and idealist who founded the Virtual Reality immersive training company Vantage Point in 2017. Prior to founding Vantage Point, she concurrently served as the Head of Digital for an e-commerce startup and an Analyst for a digital agency where she has worked on high-profile contracts focused on attitude change and behavior change within the domain of complex social issues.

Learn more at innovationforallcast.com.

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Google and Facebook are monopolies. Does it matter? feat. Sally Hubbard Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of Innovation For All, Sheana Ahlqvist speaks with Sally Hubbard, antitrust expert and investigative journalist at The Capitol Forum’s. Learn whether giant tech companies are building monopolies (spoiler alert: they are) and why that unfair advantage matters.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
What is Antitrust law?
Is fake news an antitrust problem?
How monopolies amplify inequality
What would it look like to unmonopolize big tech companies?

Learn more at innovationforallcast.com

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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/innovation-for-all/support

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