Hi, I am Daniel, CEO of the Future Narratives Lab, and guest editor of this week’s newsletter. 

‘Narrative’ is a word you’ve probably heard with increasing frequency recently. In truth it’s often used quite loosely to mean different things by different people. In our work, we think of narratives as the taken for granted understandings embedded in our culture and discourse, that shape and channel our ultimate decisions and behaviours.

That’s still probably a bit abstract for some, so best to get into some practical examples. Just last week I took part in a session at Untitled Festival run by Bethnal Green Ventures’ own Milly Shotter, which looked at two influential narratives in tech today.

My presentation looked at how big tech companies have pushed an individualistic concept of personal privacy that risks undermining collective efforts to address our broken data economy, by putting responsibility onto us as individual users, rather than those that have the actual power to change it. Facebook, for example, recently ran an advertising campaign explicitly titled ‘Privacy is Personal’. This kind of effort to frame the solution as an issue around personal choice, rather than systemic change, might be familiar to critics of recycling as a solution to plastic waste, or of the idea of a ‘personal carbon footprint’. 

Despite its scientific, objective self image - or perhaps because of it - the tech sector is actually suffused with powerful and often bizarre narratives about what the future should look like, human nature and how we should organise society. We explored a few more of these in an event last year called ‘Escape from Humanity: the Narratives behind Big Tech’, a recording of which you can access here.

Aside from technology, we also work on projects on a range of other subjects where our assumed understandings of the world get in the way of social progress. For example, last month we launched some work that aims to help overcome our reluctance to consider land reform in the UK, and we’ve also looked at the way our relationship with money undermines attempts to grow the ethical finance sector. 

Alongside my role at the Lab, I am also Creative Director at Cohere Partners, where we work with individual impact-led organisations to shape their own narratives and communications strategies to best resonate in the current cultural context. We also run a regular meeting for people working in communications in the social impact tech space to share best practice and build collaboration, called the Tech Strategic Comms Working Group. Our next session is on Tuesday 12th October at 10am. You can find more about that and sign up here.

Hope this was of interest, and that you enjoy the rest of the newsletter. Do get in touch if you’d like to discuss any of it - my details are below.

All the best,

Daniel
daniel@coherepartners.com
Twitter | LinkedIn

#How narratives shape the future of tech 💬

🗣 In the wake of the revelations in the Facebook Files, the company is making its own efforts to shift the way they are perceived - even using their own Newsfeed to push positive stories about the company. The sinister sounding ‘Project Amplify’ represents a shift in strategy after the company has adopted a more conciliatory approach in recent years.

🔮 Another way that Facebook is trying to shift the narrative is through pushing the idea of the ‘metaverse’ - an imagined VR driven platform in which users could quickly shift between different types of software and activity. Beyond being a sci-fi inspired pet project of Mark Zuckerberg, the project also represents an effort to put Facebook back on the cutting edge of technology, and evade efforts at regulation.

🧑‍💻 A big part of how we imagine the use of technology is through the lens of data. How might we move away from the individualised frame mentioned above to a more collective way of operating? There is some great work out there on how this could work in practice, from the Ada Lovelace Institute on Participatory Data Stewardship, Mozilla’s Data Futures Lab, and work to develop Data Trusts. But we also believe a narrative is needed that can underpin and connect this work, and make it intelligible. We hope to share more of our analysis on this soon. 

🗞 How big and serious a problem is disinformation? This long-read in Harpers Magazine argues it has been overhyped, and is a distraction from addressing more fundamental causes of conflict and social fracturing. Lands a few fair criticisms, so worth a read, but is also very US-centric in its perspective, ignoring the real world violence that has  stemmed directly from disinformation campaigns in a number of other countries.

News in tech for good:

📱 Fairphone announced the Fairphone 4 - the newest, most sustainable smartphone from the company, with 5G speed, a 5-year warranty and electronic waste neutral. Check it out here.

🧥 In 2013 the Rana Plaza Disaster shed a tragic light on the negative social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry. For Aisling Byrne, founder of the Nuw, it was a turning point in her relationship with fast fashion. Read her advice for building a tech business for sustainable fashion. 

🐦  Last month, Twitter officially introduced Super Follows - a subscription tier for creators to charge for content. This is a fun piece on where this fits into the Gated Internet.

☔️  When I look at the weather forecast everyday, I still count on it to be wrong when I see thunderstorms predicted. This is a really interesting update on how DeepMind’s AI can predict almost exactly when and where it’s going to rain.

📍 The Markup has identified 47 companies that harvest, sell, or trade in mobile phone location data. 

🤳 While we’re on the topic of personal data, Mozilla has a guide on video call apps and how they rate on their creepy scale.

The Tech for Good Newsboard 📍

• We have often written about online safety in this newsletter and this piece emphasizes that this should never be an afterthought. There’s some great practical information on how to build online spaces and prioritize safety. 

• The second issue of COMPOST magazine explores how we shape digital networks, and how they shape up. If you are a community organiser, we’re sure you’ll find some valuable information here. 

• The fortnightly Catalyst newsletter has a wealth of useful information, from how to go about impact measurement to how to build and test a solution using no-code.

• Likewise, the Startup Life newsletter from Sifted, has a really helpful interview from Rebekah Brown on how to turn your beta testers into a community. 

• Rolling invitation for anyone interested in joining our Slack community. Connect with more than 300+ peers passionate about tech for good.

#Opportunities and Funding

If you have a funding challenge, grant opening, speaking gig or another opportunity that you want to share - let us know!

• Applications are now open for the FCA/City of London Digital Sandbox. Apply here by 11th October for the opportunity to receive access to a suite of tools to collaborate and develop financial services proofs of concept.

• FORWARD is a 6 month accelerator programme, based in the UK, for high-growth startups. Apply here for the January 2022 cohort.

• The William Sutton Prize for Social Innovation 2021 Theme is “A Home for All.” The call is for innovative ideas tackling homelessness and addressing temporary accommodation needs, creative solutions for housing an ageing population and for tech supporting sustainable tenancies. Apply by 6th October for your chance to win up to £20,000.

What’s going on? 📅

• Hear from four leading impact VC firms based in California, Germany and the UK on how the US and Europe compare when it comes to impact venture capital. Sign up to the webinar on 7th October here.

• Those in and around London can join this in-person Hattusia community meetup at Newspeak Terrace on 7th October This is a great chance for anyone working in technology, who also cares about ethics, to connect. 

• The Open Science Community Delft (OSCD) is an inclusive learning community that focuses on sharing and promoting Open Science practices. They’re hosting an online discussion on 6th October, 12:45-13:45 CEST, on diversity and inclusion in research, technology and design. Sign up
  here.
• The Tech Strategic Comms Working Group is meeting on 12th October at 10am. We mentioned this in the intro, but definitely worth checking out if you are interested in how people in the communications and social impact tech space can share best practices and build collaboration. You can find more about that and sign up here.

Working in tech for good 💼

We’ve trimmed the job section to new arrivals and featured ads only. For the full list head to our website.

• Bethnal Green Ventures is looking for an Operations Associate to join the team under the government's Kickstart scheme. Find out more here, and apply by 3rd October. 

• LVNDR is looking for a Director of Clinical Services to be a part of their Senior Leadership Team. This is an opportunity to make a difference by  supporting the health and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community.

• Chatterbox is hiring for a Head of Learning. This role is completely remote, adn perfect for someone looking to work for an impact-oriented online educator. Apply as soon as possible here.

• SPOKE is looking for a community and growth manager to join their team. If you care deeply about mental health and music, definitely check this out. Apply as soon as possible here.

• CHAYN is looking for a user researcher to join their team and help them understand the experiences of survivors of abuse. Apply by 20th October.

• Big Society Capital is hiring a Venture Investment Manager. This role will help to deliver transformative social change through investments in impact venture funds that support mission-driven startups. Apply by 11th October.

• Varthana Finance Private Limited is looking for an Engineering Manager to be responsible for the engineering setup and the end-to end execution of the products being built within the team. Apply by 31st October.

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre are hiring a Head of Technology and Human Rights to lead and strengthen its work on accountable digital technologies. Apply by 18th October.

• ActBlue is looking for a Senior Software Engineer, Senior Desktop Support and a Senior DevOps Engineer to join their team. They have a mixture of remote and in-person roles. Apply for each role before the 1st November.

• InChorus is looking for a React Software Engineer to join their team and be the second engineer on the team, alongside their CTO. Apply by 15th October.
   

If you have an opening or know of a job opportunity to do with tech for good, please head to our website and we can look into adding it to the jobs board.

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