Join the YF Tech Network’s Johnny Allain-Labon for a member-led discussion on a vision for left-wing tech policy. The network’s ongoing project on Britain as a Leader in Ethical AI is excellent, so be sure to attend and find out more!

Register for the event in advance here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuc-CrpzIrH9YoeRksx6DrE7Z27VH1D3V3

As the Information Age hits its peak, as Uber and AirBnB transform markets by side-stepping existing regulations, and as European regulators threaten to push back against Silicon Valley’s ever-expanding reach, the need for a left-wing stance on tech policy is clearer than ever. Yet with Labour’s proposals for free broadband derided as an already-dated solution to a modern problem, and the rest of the manifesto seen as lacking in foresight and strategy, how can the left stake its claim on the ideological battlegrounds of tomorrow? 

Join the Technology Network for a chance to share your views on how we define forward-thinking and socialism-centred tech policy, focussed on (but not limited to!) the following key issues:

• Infrastructure: considering the privacy and sustainability implications of connected homes; designing connected cities and intelligently integrating them with individual and shared transport; securing national infrastructure against the environmental and security risks of tomorrow.

• Industry: defining priorities in R&D funding across agriculture, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and more; providing access to opportunity in the age of automation; ensuring sustainability and right-to-repair in consumer electronics.

• Government: regulating information marketplaces, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies; establishing boundaries on and defining the legal basis of state surveillance; the role of the state in ensuring access to key digital infrastructure.

• Education: evaluating the role of technology in primary and secondary education; safeguarding young people in the age of Instagram and YouTube; delivering a pipeline of skilled workers prepared for the intelligent economy.

• Consumer Rights: market regulation in the age of people as product; exploring the consequences of the endless observation enabled by technology; rights, responsibilities and ownership of data in a potentially post-GDPR world.