Technology and Social Change: The Case of Digital Media

Digital and social media have done more than any other influence to upend the news industry, posing at least three challenges. The first is that the resulting proliferation of media has overwhelmed the consumer’s capacity to discern. Majorities tell Gallup pollsters that the more information they receive the less informed they are. The second is the disintermediation of media, as consumers increasingly get their news from platforms like Facebook that aggregate news stories. Whereas consumers used to rely on their favorite editors or producers to distinguish fact from opinion, the important from the unimportant, they are less likely to be aware of the source when reading their newsfeed, and therefore less likely to trust the reporting. Third, when algorithms drive the way in which information is sourced, disseminated, and consumed, biase

not only reflected, but reinforced. Views are hardened, and divides are deepened. Finally, we have not only adopted new technologies but also new business models, without consideration of the ethical implications of the combination. This panel will consider the ways in which the rise of digital media impacts public life, and the ethical, organizational and institutional innovations that are needed to capture the benefits and mitigate the potential harm of reliance on digital media.

Jennifer Cobb, Director, United for News

Eileen Donahoe, Executive Director, Global Digital Policy Incubator, Stanford University

Tristan Harris, Co-founder, Center for Humane Technology

Gerard Ryle, Director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Moderator: Ray Suarez, John J. McCloy Visiting Professor, American Studies, Amherst College