New technologies have social consequences, and innovators have a unique responsibility to think these consequences through and adjust products as necessary. Often, companies treat new technologies as inevitable forces with their own logic, speaking of new products as “tools” and “platforms” that can be used for good or bad. This masks a deeper reality. Where and how we deploy technology is not an inevitable consequence of technology itself. It's about how it's socialised, how it's positioned, and how the companies that bring it into the world push it forward and what they prioritize. Amar explores this topic with a range of examples from historical innovators to today’s tech giants. This talk will help all who hear it better incorporate social thinking into the process of innovation itself.

We have incredible tools at our disposal making it as easy to call someone across the world as down the block. But we too often use these technologies to ensconce ourselves in our own bubbles. This talk helps listeners imagine how our spaces and societies can be transformed if we purposely harness technology to connect us.

Amar’s company, Shared_Studios, has connected more than 250,000 people from across 40 sites in 20 countries in intimate conversations across divisions of age, race, gender, sexuality, politics, and faith. In the process, he has learned lessons critical to any individual or organization that wants to foster healthier dialogues within their organization and beyond.