Earlier this fall, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)—the world’s largest technical professional organization—held their annual International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) in partnership with the Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). The 2021 symposium was a four-day virtual affair, bringing together speakers from across the world under the theme of “Technological Stewardship and Responsible Innovation.”
Along with the University of Guelph, the University of Waterloo co-hosted ISTAS21, and contributed speakers and panels to the program. One such panel featured the unique PeaceTech community that has emerged through the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. Centre Director Paul Heidebrecht interviewed five panelists who have all been involved in Waterloo’s PeaceTech community to discuss the role of PeaceTech in our changing world.
The panel, entitled, “More than Tech for Good: PeaceTech at Waterloo and Beyond,” heard from Hannah Bernstein, PeaceTech Living Learning Community member at Conrad Grebel University College, Branka Marijan, Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, Cassie Myers, CEO and Founder of Lunaria Solutions, Jonathan Smith, Machine Learning Scientist at Layer 6 AI, and Richard Yim, CEO and Founder of Demine Robotics. Each panelist shared their work and passions, delving into why they believe the intersection of peace and technology is so important for society moving forward. As Paul mentioned during the panel, PeaceTech is a culture change project, and each of the panelists embody lives dedicated to using technology peacefully and advocating for a world that values socially responsible innovation.
PeaceTech is a culture change project.
For those who were unable to join the session live, we have compiled a few of our favourite moments below.
Cassie Myers and Richard Yim started off the panel by describing their work and what led them to develop peace and technology start-ups. Reflecting on her journey to founding Lunaria, Cassie shared how she views technology as filling gaps in pre-existing fields like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI):
Richard Yim looked back on the last few years of Demine Robotics, sharing the role that PeaceTech has in society when it intersects with entrepreneurship and how he has learned to appreciate all aspects of running a PeaceTech start-up:
While both Cassie and Richard have used technology for good in their start-ups, Branka Marijan spends her days analysing the role that technology plays in conflict and human rights abuses. In her work with Project Ploughshares, Branka focuses on encouraging a broader understanding of how everyday technology can be used to harm humans with the goal of enforcing more thorough standards and regulations:
Jonathan Smith, a current technology practitioner, echoed Branka’s concerns about ethical violations involving technology stemming from poor policy and lack of understanding on the part of tech creators. Jonathan shared his vision for responsible innovation among engineers, sharing how they can question the uses of the technology they create and how PeaceTech can offer helpful frameworks to encourage those conversations:
Lastly, Hannah Bernstein shared her perspective as a student currently involved in the PeaceTech program at UWaterloo – a community that has engaged each of the panelists as members or expert guests. As an engineering student, Hannah reflected on how PeaceTech has guided her search for how to use her engineering degree to positively impact the world:
Paul Heidebrecht concluded the panel by encouraging the audience to learn from the panelists’ experience with PeaceTech and their passion for engaging with technology in innovative ways
Check out our PeaceTech Living-Learning Community webpage for more information about PeaceTech, and how to get involved.