Watch mcb tech .20 here:
Mcb tech .20, hosted by Rea Parashar (NCE Finance Innovation) and Anne Jacobsen (NCE Media), looked into the concept of the future, and how we relate to this in the midst of a global pandemic. This year the conference connected with some of the mcb tech alumni for an update on some very interesting cases;
Henrik Syse: ethical dilemmas in a world full of tech advancements
* Henrik Syse's session is not included in the recording due to copyright.
Digital technology – what does it do to our humanity, and what does the future hold? These were some of the important reflections that Henrik Syse brought to the table at this year's mcb tech.
- We live in a time of momentous change, and we must not forget to preserve basic ethical values and defend our basic human rights in the midst of everything, saidSyse mindfully.
- We need to hope that digital technology can be a huge service to humanity, bring our society forward and make life better. But we know technology has a dark side to it. So, what will dominate our society in 2025, and how do we prepare for what we don’t know? These are a few questions that each and everyone one of us should consider, said Syse.
Syse definitely gave some food for thought about ethical dilemmas which are intertwined with the surge of tech developments in the world.
The Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Associate Professor, David Carroll (The New School, Parsons School of Design) visited mcb tech last year, giving a talk on how he single handedly took Cambridge Analytica to court to fight for his right to his voter data. You all remember the story - Cambridge Analytica accessed the data of near 90 million Facebook users, without their consent, to target advertising for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. At mcb tech .20 Carroll joined us live from New York city to give us an update on this disturbing story.
The Cambridge Analytica story has served as a blueprint for how you can get away with data abuse.
– We are still at the point where bad guys can commit mass data abuse and when investigated they can simply lie and get away with it, Carroll said.
– So we have still so much work to do in this world, to enshrine and protect the data rights of every person in this world - especially related to our democracies. And we cannot let the bad guys get away with this.
David Carroll is also featured by Netflix in the film The Great Hack, a documentary providing an inside look into the Cambridge Analytica scandal, now seen by millions over the world. To this day, Carroll has still not received his data, and probably never will, but he continues to be a leading advocate for data protection rights in the United States.
Digitally China - a crisis which has not put a stopper on innovation and tech developments
Tom Xiong and Jacob Lovén from Digitally China visited mcb tech in 2018, and were back with an update on the Asian market. COVID-19 may have brought the world to a standstill - yet tech developments in China has not halted.
Jacob and Tom took a deep dive into how COVID-19 has impacted China and, being one of the first countries going through this crisis, how companies and innovation has changed in response to this.
- It’s becoming very apparent that the shift into being online is accelerated by the current crisis, and that it’s not really a choice for companies anymore. Chinese companies have kept the momentum going.
- China also has the largest e-commerce market in the world by a large margin, and by studying their online consumer behavior Europeans are likely to learn a lot about what the future of digital technology and innovation might look like for us.
Eirik Solheim (NRK Beta)
A tradition in the mcb tech capacity! This time we visited the high tech, future focused, highly disruptive, borderline crazy and slightly chaotic NRK Beta Sandbox. The Chief Media Cluster Nerd himself gave an update on three different technologies; 3D printing (03:25 in the video), drones (27:00), and his very own homemade, automatic watering system for his plants (54:36).
How was it made?
By creating a virtual and digital experience out of the ordinary, Media Cluster member, Myreze, set up a virtual studio for mcb tech with the help of a trackable camera, a tiny green screen, and some lights. Screen Story, also a member in the cluster, joined us to capture the story behind the scenes.
– Using a virtual studio like this gives us the opportunity to have the speaker deliver their message in a very cool and new environment, which is way better than your usual webinar these days, said Anne Jacobsen.
Get a glimpse behind the scenes here:
The mcb tech conference is a joint initiative between the Fintech and the Media Cluster. The conference will be back in 2021 - so make sure to sign up to our newsletter to stay in the loop!
NCE Finance Innovation: http://bit.ly/financeinnovationnewsletter
Media City Bergen / NCE Media: http://bit.ly/NCEmedianyhetsbrev