#tech-accountability

#tech-accountability

"We appealed and appealed and lost every appeal. And then the case was ultimately dismissed."

But one of his most consequential legacies unfolded far from church pulpits and voting booths. It was inside technology boardrooms and much of Silicon Valley. The Reverend was incredibly instrumental in holding Silicon Valley and the big tech companies accountable, by pushing for them to put into practice diversity, equity, and inclusion. He was well aware that the technology industry was a predominately white male industry not taking into account the millions of people their tech products would affect.

For 40 years I have been a proud valley resident. But I am increasingly appalled by how our tech leaders are shaping our future. And, more recently, embarrassed for the valley. The links to Jeffrey Epstein. The trips to Mar-a-Lago. The donation of millions for monuments to President Trump's ego. The failure to use power and technology to call out the cruelty and lies that are the backbone of the current administration.

As parents, we did everything we could to teach our kids how to use social media responsibly and monitor their usage, but it still wasn't enough. Our sons, Carson and David, suffered from relentless cyberbullying that resulted in them taking their own lives. As we navigated our own grief and struggled to understand the pain that overwhelmed our sons, we met each other - and even more "survivor parents" who have experienced similar loss.

More recently, reporters have requested user-exported data from TikTok and OpenAI to answer key questions about how tech users interact and what they're shown. User-exported data contains detailed and well-formatted data based on each user's history, and is likely an artifact of compliance to data privacy laws in Europe and California. Importantly, this data allows reporters to report on real behavior on tech platforms, as opposed to creating fictitious accounts and mimicking user behavior.

For more than 20 years, I have worked in suicide prevention-a journey that began after losing my own father to suicide. I have interviewed hundreds of people around the world who've stood at the edge of despair and survived. But this story felt different. It wasn't just about pain, loss, or even mental illness. It was about a new kind of relationship -one between human vulnerability and AI.