Technology, Together.

Globally, urbanization, urban development and management debates have been influenced by the “smart city” idea – an idea that has emerged fashionable both in policy and practice. Its main focus appears to be on the role of Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, although related socio-economic as well as political factors have also been discussed. 

Today, we have with us Dr. Anjali Karol Mohan, an urban and regional planner with an experience of over two decades to discuss what do we miss out when we take a technology-centric approach to urban planning as is the case with Smart Cities and what alternatives exist out there. Dr. Mohan is an urban and regional planner with a PhD in e-governance. Over the past two and a half decades Dr. Mohan’s practice and research straddles development, urban planning and management, public policy and information and communication technologies and development (ICTD). She is a visiting Faculty at the National Law School University of India, Bangalore, International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore and Takshashila Learning Institution.

When it comes to talking about AI ethics, we often hear terms such as bias, fairness, accountability, transparency, human-centered explainable AI, and responsible AI. While they cover major concerns around an AI/data-driven world from technologists’ imagination, they do not capture how these technologies are experienced in everyday lives of people across different physical and social geographies. How do we then create a bottom-up participatory narrative about AI, ethics and algorithmic harm? How do we talk about ordinary ethics of AI? To explore some of these possibilities, today, we have with us Dr. Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit is a postdoctoral researcher at the Data and Society Research Institute in New York. Ranjit studies the intersection of data infrastructures, global development, and public policy. His dissertation research advances public understanding of the affordances and limits of Aadhaar, India’s biometrics-based national identification infrastructure, in practically achieving inclusive development and reshaping the nature of citizenship.

Everything we do in our everyday lives - from interpersonal relations to work, from travel to entertainment- are almost ubiquitously mediated through digital technologies. So much so that we can hardly prise apart the digital from the social. We live in a digital society that is increasingly complex and unpredictable, leading to new patterns in our existing social institutions and relations. While these changes bring in new opportunities, they also raise concerns about sustainability, equity and justice in a digital world. In response to some of these questions IIITB introduced an interdisciplinary MSc programme in Digital Society in 2015 which trains new-age professionals who would be ready to address complex realities of our digital worlds and to create a more inclusive digital society. As an extension of this programme, we also look to collaborate with other organizations that share this common goal and vision.  Aapti, a bangalore-based research institution is one such organization.  It  generates public, policy-relevant, actionable and accessible knowledge from the frontiers of tech and society, about our networked lives, to support the creation of a fair, free, and equitable society.

Today, we have with us its founder Dr. Sarayu Natarajan. Sarayu’s wide expertise spans from management consulting (McKinsey and Company) to venture investing (Elevar Equity), from program development and management (Gray Matters Capital) to academic research. She has a PhD in Political Science from King's College London, a Master's in Public Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, and a arts and law degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU). In today's episode, we will discuss Srayu’s experience of establishing Aapti and the kind of work they are dong and their future goals.

Digital society has grown to be an increasingly significant field of study as we have come to live in an increasingly digital world. In that case, questions around navigating through our everyday digital lives as contributors and change-makers also become relevant. For those working on understanding frameworks and preparing to investigate how digital technologies shape our worlds, charting out a career path that best represents their interests is undoubtedly important. For this, we thought it would be best to hear from one of our own alumni, Prasaanth Balraaj who graduated from the M.Sc. Digital Society programme in 2018. Prior to this, Prasaanth came in with an Electronics Engineering background. Since his graduation, he has worked on design and implementation of various ICTs, specifically within the healthcare industry. Initially he was at Everwell Health Solutions, a leader in the healthcare technology industry. He is currently a Associate Solutions Manager at Wadhwani AI and is working on developing multiple interventions within the healthcare sector.

Defining identities linked to labour relations has been a problem that has perplexed scholars. To accommodate technological nuances into defining these identities has proved an even more puzzling endeavour. But, our guest today has delved deep into such matters and done so very prudently. Joining us on this episode of Technology Together is Prof. Winifred Poster, a feminist scholar of labour and technology. Winnie’s extensive research on digital globalization has led her to follow high-tech firms from the US to India through earlier waves of computer manufacturing and more recently, in the context of back-office work and call centres. Her work examines how information communication technologies are changing the meaning of work, dispersing it transnationally, incorporating new types of workers, and reshaping identities. In this episode, we speak with Prof. Poster about the political economies of transnational labour.

The use of big data in the health industry to contribute to advancing the field is not a new practice. But it is one that has been constantly evolving, especially to support evidence-based policy and practice for population-level impact, This also means that special focus on specific groups of the population is essential to understand varied impacts. This women's day, we try to bring to light the overlap of big data and gender studies within the purview of health. With abundant health data in repositories available for use, the practice of making sense of this data through different lenses becomes imperative. Our guest in this episode does this exactly. She looks at big data and how emerging patterns tell us more about the intersection of gender and health. 

Nabamallika Dehingia is a doctoral fellow at the Center for Gender Equity and Health at the University of California, San Diego. Her interests lie in gender equity and health research, the use of machine learning algorithms for applied gender analysis. She is someone who is extremely well-versed in quantitative data analysis, monitoring and evaluation of community-based health interventions. Nabamallika is also interested in using advanced statistical techniques to answer critical questions related to public health.

Using technology for development has been part of the development discourse for quite some time now. But, what goes into ensuring that these technological solutions rightly impact and benefit those it is meant for? Our guest today is no stranger to confronting such questions on a daily basis.

In this episode, we have with us Aaditeshwar Seth, who is the co-founder of Gramvaani, which is a remarkable organisation engaged in creating participatory media platforms that people find accessible and adaptable. Using simple technologies and social context to design tools forms the cornerstone of Gram Vaani as an organisation. Gram Vaani's technologies are deployed across India, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Namibia and South Africa where Mr. Seth is responsible for the company vision and strategy, and he heads the technology development at Graam Vaani.  In this episode of Technology, Together we draw from his work on deploying accessible, effective technological solutions at the grassroot level.

AI has garnered attention the world over. Now, there are both exaggerated claims - such as what it could mean for the future of the human workforce and aspirational use cases of AI. The field of AI arose in its early stages as an attempt to mimic human intelligence using computers. But, how does an AI powered system function when deployed on the ground?

Joining us today Vidushi Marda, a lawyer and a researcher who has contributed immensely in investigating the consequences of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in societies. Her groundbreaking work has been cited by the Supreme Court of India in a seminal ruling on the Right to Privacy. Vidushi currently works as Senior Programme Officer at ARTICLE 19, where she leads research and engagement on the human rights implications of machine learning. She is also an affiliate researcher at Carnegie India with an exclusive focus on law enforcement use of emerging technologies.

In this episode, we draw from her exceptional work on the conception of a suitable framework for AI policy in India and also talk to her about the many implications of our current understanding of AI systems.

Visit Vidushi's website to know more about her work: https://vidushimarda.com/

The Stranded Workers Action Network or SWAN is an initiative that sprung in response to the acute crisis faced by migrant workers in the wake of the nationwide lockdown in India, announced in March 2020. SWAN is a volunteer-driven effort that helps migrant worker groups and their families access cash for immediate needs, rations and other essentials by connecting them with civil society organizations, NGOs and volunteers nearest to them.

Today, we have with us  Prof. Rajendran Narayanan, who was instrumental in forming SWAN and coordinating its activities for over a year now. Prof. Rajendran, a faculty member at the Azim Premji University in Bangalore works with a network of researchers and activists from various civil society organisations in several states in designing and developing
“bottom-up” Janata Information Systems (JIS) that can be used for continuous monitoring of government programmes and social audits. He is interested in understanding what the proliferation of data and over-reliance on technological processes mean for development and participatory democracy.

Website: http://strandedworkers.in/

The current era of our datafied society is still grappling with the effects of its first pandemic. In a race to represent it, our efforts to manage and report the crisis seem to be a numbers game for the most part. This data-driven approach by governments and public discourse has silenced many untold stories from the margins. To explore the pandemic from the perspective of individuals and communities at the margins in the Global South(s), we have with us Silvia Masiero and Soumyo Das.

Silvia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo and one of the editors of the book 'Covid-19 from the Margins'. Her research is in the area of ICT4D and is currently working with Health Information Systems Programme (HISP). She is the Secretary of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) 9.4 Working Group on the Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, a member of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), and a member of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D.

Soumyo is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Management at Emlyon Business School, France. He is also an alumnus of M.Sc. by Research in Information & Society program of IIIT Bangalore. Soumyo authored a chapter in the book which delves deep into the issues raised due to technological interventions like Aarogya Setu in pandemic management particularly in a society like India.

Link for the book: https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/covid-19-from-the-margins-pandemic-invisibilities-policies-and-resistance-in-the-datafied-society/

Link for the blog: https://data-activism.net/blog-covid-19-from-the-margins/

After a short break, we are back with season 2 of the podcast! This season will be a mini-series of 5 episodes focused on Covid-19 where we bring to you engaging critical discussions on the many ways digital technologies have shaped our lives during the pandemic. We will be joined by experts in economics, law, public policy, and public health to reflect on the role that technology has played during Covid-19, all of the success stories, cautionary tales, episodes of breakdown - we will talk through them.

IIIT Bangalore's flexible and holistic curriculum ensures engineering students of the integrated MTech program take up courses from the fields of economics, sociology, web sciences, HCI and so on. This enables students with critical thinking skills and sensitivity to various aspects of technology development. So far in the past episodes, we discussed a few of these aspects with faculty members but as season one comes to an end we wanted to capture the experience of the students who took some of these courses. We have 4 iMTech students across various batches: Aditya Gulati (2016-21), Nithin Raj (2017-22), Aarushi Goenka (2018-23) and Neetha Reddy (2018-23) who share their stories and perspectives over the integration of Humanities and Social Studies (HSS)/Digital Society courses with core engineering curriculum.

In this episode of Technology Together, we turn to design researcher and visiting faculty member at IIIT Bangalore, Dr. Linus Kendall, who is an expert in participatory approaches to design. We explore the lesser-known side of Digital Design, one which engages with users and encourages designing with them than for them. We also discuss Dr. Kendall's research with farmers in Bengal, his course on Human Computer Interaction and much more!

For more details on Dr. Kendall's work on sustainable agriculture through ICTs, please check: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01972243.2020.1844828, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQIWbMY9UP8

Joining us on this episode are Profs. T.K. Srikanth, Janaki Srinivasan and V Sridhar. Prof. TK Srikanth is a computer scientist who is actively involved in multiple collaborative research projects in healthcare as the co-convenor of the E-Health Research Center at IIITB. Prof. Janaki Srinivasan is a social scientist whose research explores privacy, algorithmic control and the role of intermediaries in digital transactions, with an emphasis on the domains of financial inclusion and work automation. Prof. Sridhar is an expert in the techno-economics of networks, telecommunications, internet policy and regulation. Together, they are here to tell us the story of how they came together to design and co-teach a course on digital privacy, especially, at a time when its landscape is constantly shifting.

In the first episode, we speak to Vidhya and Prof. Amit Prakash about the challenges faced by visually impaired students in STEM education and their efforts to address those challenges. They share insights from their journey of designing, developing and rolling out inclusive technologies. To know further about their work, reach out to: Centre for Accessibility in the Global South (CAGS), IIIT Bangalore: http://cagsiiitb.org/ Vision Empower: http://visionempowertrust.in/

IIIT Bangalore has been host to research domains, programmes and centers that bring together researchers from engineering, public policy, political science, sociology, economics and many others. To celebrate this diverse research culture, we bring to you “Technology, Together.” a podcast series that dives headfirst into the complex world of technology, critically engaging with social, political and cultural factors that shape the design, development and use of technologies.