‘Care or die’

COPENHAGEN 2018: We have all been fed the same slogan for decades: Disrupt or die.

Disrupt the market, disrupt the status quo, break things, move fast, hustle and don’t look back.

Somehow ideals that we would hardly teach our kids, have been fed to innovators and tech entrepreneurs like forced food to a French foie gras duck. But that is about to change. Just like tech is about to.

You don’t have to be a tech insider to see that Big Tech is in the midst of a true thunderstorm: Cambridge Analytica, Uber harassments, Amazon revelations of horrible work conditions, ‘brogrammer culture’ and #deletefacebook are signs of a growing distrust in the tech giants’ democratic values. From celebrated heroes with hoodies, the public is learning about the challenges and frictions.

With speed hardly seen in other sectors in history, tech went from counterculture to overwhelming power. From a dream of distributed do-it-yourself systems to a world-dominating sector. Today, 8 of the 10 largest companies are tech companies. Facebook has nearly 1.5 billion daily active users. Google has 40,000 search queries every second, every day of the year. Thirty years ago, no one used the internet for anything. Today, everybody uses it for everything.

In other words, what grew up in the garage is now in charge. And like a youthful teenager, the understanding of one’s role and impact in the world suddenly dawns on you.

This is why tech is changing. This is why old slogans like ‘Disrupt or die’ has fallen short as servants of old thinking. Tampering, hacking, kicking, not asking and never looking back are not the guiding principles for future technology leaders. There is simply too much at risk now.

So where exactly does this leave us? It leaves us right in the heart of Copenhagen.

We Care: Join digital caretakers from around the world
We created Techfestival to look for human answers to technology. In the midst of a public pushback on Big Tech, we care about what comes next. We wanna know how we work, inspire and build technologies that serve our societies and us as humans.

Protest is the beginning — New thinking for new times should be the result.

We think that an outcome of this turmoil could be a broader public understanding of our relationship with technology. Perhaps a new breed of technologists with new thinking about tech’s role in society. Perhaps an understanding that ‘to care’ is as important as ‘to disrupt’. Perhaps care in itself is the new competitive edge for a new generation of startups. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reinvent things and break status quo. It implies that we need a conversation about the ways we create and the values we apply to the process.

This is why we are calling digital caretakers from around the world to come to Copenhagen, Sept 5–9th 2018: To drive a new conversation — and do so under our shared vision: ‘Care or die’

Techfestival: A place to participate, create and make an impact
We are longing for new thinking and the next wave in tech. We are opening up the floodgates to an undercurrent of curiosity as to how we can unite, create, share and build for humans in a post big tech world.

No one has all the answers. This is why we have designed Techfestival as a participatory place, where everyone can play a role.

This September in Copenhagen, you can meet digital cool cats and web legends from around the world. Like French entrepreneur and Web 2.0'er Tariq Krim who is inviting for a daylong conversation about a slow web. Like Ingrid Burrington, who is in Copenhagen asking the question of the hidden power structures underlying the internet

Like researcher Jaromil, who comes partly from Italy and partly from the internet to have a close up at algorithmic sovereignty. Like american musician and tech reporter Claire Evans, who is decided to tell untold stories of who made the internet. Like the Finnish educator rockstar Linda Liukas who is creating a classroom in the middle of Copenhagen for educators to explore how to teach digital literacy to kids. Like legendary Bruce Sterling from the cyberpunk generation bringing his tradition of SXSW closing speak to Copenhagen.

All in all, 300 creators from around the world are helping build conversations and outputs in Copenhagen. All bringing their burning questions. All creating spaces in Copenhagen for deep-dive conversations and real participation. Join them all at Techfestival — and help us start a new wave of thinking, talking and uniting around tech.

This September, you got a choice. For more of the old guard go to Silicon Valley.

If you care about shaping new values and building progressive leadership, come to Copenhagen.

We can’t wait to see you!

Sincerely,
Marie Louise Gørvild
Festival director

Originally published at https://medium.com on August 2, 2018.