Tech Can't Save Us

This week on Tech Can't Save Us, we welcomed Dr. Giulia Barbareschi, disability innovation researcher, who holds a PhD from University College London and previously worked for the World Health Organization providing assistive technology to the Global South. 

Dr. Barbareschi is currently a Research Fellow at the Keio School of Media Design in Yokohama, Japan where she leads a project called “Artistic Technologies: Developing Novel Interactions for Inclusive Artistic Expressions” which seeks to find innovative ways to leverage traditional assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, for empowering users to express their creativity through different forms of art in everyday life.
On the pod, our conversation was quite wide-ranging and touched on everything from sex toys for people with disabilities and accesibility in the gaming space to ways startups can better support staff and customers across the disability spectrum. 

We dug into Dr. Barbareschi's fascinating work at the intersection of art, creativity, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Be sure to pay close attention to our guest's great answer to the juicy question about the evilest application of tech out there--it's a spicy one!

You can find out more about Dr. Barbareschi and her ground-breaking research here:

Welcome to Season 2 of Tech Can't Save Us!
In this episode, we welcome Chris Sisserian, Head of Intelligence @ Sifted. His team is responsible for putting out weekly briefings that cover the early-stage tech ecosystem in Europe. Their most recent briefings have covered hot topics like femtech, last mile delivery, and online groceries.
We kick off the episode discussing tech for good headlines such as Meta/Facebook's latest shenanigans, big moves in the gaming space (Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard), and the US government's questionable deployment of "dog drones" along the US southern border.
Beyond the headlines, we dig into the work Chris' team is doing to elevate and deliver investment-grade research on the early stage startup world in Europe. We dive into a few favorite briefings such as Gaming and Proptech, while also teasing some upcoming briefings on Edtech and a soon-to-be-published ranking of unicorn and "soonicorn" startups.
If you're looking to deepen your perspective on early-stage tech startups in Europe, have a listen to this exciting new episode.
Here's where you can find Chris & Sifted & Sifted Pro Briefings:

https://sifted.eu/ 

Have you ever thought about the environmental impact of the websites you visit daily? 
How about the carbon output of your Netflix queue?
Tom Greenwood sure has. He's even written a book on issues like digital pollution, website efficiency, and sustainable web design. 
We talked to Tom about his agency's efforts to make web design and development a bit greener, as well as how he's helping to raise awareness about how our digital activities are connected to climate change.
Tom introduced us to Jevons Paradox (look it up), a number of cool tech tools, as well as his insights about mission-driven businesses and charities. He has a lot to say about "greenwashing" in the tech world, so be sure to listen in!
Here's where you can find Tom:

How do tech for good funders decide where to invest? Where do they place their bets and why?

We dug into that big fat question with Paul Miller, Managing Partner and CEO at Bethnal Green Ventures, one of Europe's leading tech for good funders. During our chat we discussed the contours of the tech for good landscape, its explosive growth, and how funders like Bethnal Green Ventures are staying nimble.
Our discussion covered BGV's recent acquisition by a leading pension fund which includes important implications for its portfolio companies (spoiler alert: more opportunities for funding). Miller shared his concerns about protecting the tech for good ecosystem by addressing the dangers of "impact washing" (wrapping initiatives within the guise of social impact while their true nature is not very impactful).
It's a rich conversation about the tech for good space and we hope you'll enjoy it!
You can find Paul and the BGV team here: https://bethnalgreenventures.com/

Shiti watched her grandmother struggle with symptoms of diabetes and dementia. Some of those symptoms included declining mobility and mental health. Naturally, her next move was to build Breathe Happy, an AI platform for posture correction.
Breathe Happy includes multiple different products, one of which is a longevity platform that helps older adults move, breathe, and connect. In partnership with the UK's National Innovation Centre on Ageing, it's been proven to lower stress, improve balance, and enhance sleep.
We spoke with Shiti about all things yoga and wellness, the dangers of the pharmaceutical industry (#techforbad...sometimes), and her beliefs about ideal applications for tech (to really fulfill the idea of "tech for good").
You can find Shiti & Breathe Happy here:https://www.letsbreathehappy.com/https://praxis-ai.letsbreathehappy.com/

The digitisation of fashion is upon us. Being locked down with all their possessions for the past year, people have begun to reconsider their relationship with their wardrobes. At the same time, there's a huge push for the fashion industry to behave more sustainably.
Enter Little Black Door.
A social wardrobe app that helps people see what they own while sharing and styling their wardrobes with friends. This naturally helps people be more sustainable in their fashion choices (i.e. buy differently, share more). LBD users can see their past, present, and future purchases while also getting connected with their favorite brands and stores. The goal is to help people create highly-personalized fashion interactions.
Lexi Willets, the founder of LBD, sees it as a bridge to greater sustainability in fashion and a tool to raise consciousness among users about their fashion choices and their impact on the environment.
You can find Lexi and LBD here:https://littleblackdoor.io/

What are "digital rights" and how do we secure them in our modern era? Arda Awais and Savena Surana are at the forefront of answering this critical question through their organization Identity 2.0, a creative studio working at the intersection of digital rights, technology, and identity. 

In this episode, we discuss their efforts to use provocative and progressive art exhibits to push forward conversations about data privacy and digital human rights. 

Identity 2.0 poses and seeks to answer difficult questions such as: Why does participating in online communities require us to sacrifice our privacy? Arda and Savena believe that digital communities have a duty to their users to make them feel safe. They're using cutting edge artistic techniques, building community, and facilitating collective action to ensure it happens.

www.identity20.org 

www.identity20.org/thismachineisblack 

Instagram //  Twitter 

In this episode of Tech Can’t Save Us, CEO and Co-Founder of Literal Humans Paul David talks to Katie Boody-Adorno, Founder of LEANLAB Education, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that builds communities and launches transformational innovations into K-12 schools.

Katie is a former teacher with deep expertise in education who always finds herself in the startup phase of organizations. She founded LEANLAB to pair innovative solutions with the most pressing needs of K-12 schools. LEANLAB is supported by heavy-hitters in education philanthropy like the Gates Foundation and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative.

Katie and Paul discussed systemic challenges in the edtech space including the mismatch between supply and demand as well as structural issues within the procurement process that hamper real innovation in schools. As the leader of LEANLAB, Katie offers up a bold new vision for subverting current paradigms of education innovation by grounding the development of new edtech products in the lived experiences and needs of the local community.
Her team supports entrepreneurs through the co-design process, working hand-in-hand with schools and communities to build and deploy edtech innovations from the ground up rather than the top down. Listen in to hear about the unique edtech solutions her team has helped to launch!

In this episode of Tech Can't Save Us, CEO and Co-Founder of Literal Humans Paul David talks to Sophia "Puff" Story, Co-Founder of 3 Sided Cube, a tech consultancy that builds digital products for tech for good brands.

At 3 Sided Cube, Puff helps tech for good founders create products like mobile apps and web apps during the earlier stages of their founding journeys. When founders are looking for a technical team to build new products, they turn to Puff's team.

Puff and Paul discussed all things agency life, nailing down the true meaning of "tech for good," and the "moral maze" of figuring who to work with as service providers to tech companies.

Puff shares her experience on the traditional agency side of things before launching 3 Sided Cube and now taking a somewhat non-traditional approach to supporting new ventures. One of Puff's greatest successes in the tech for good space was helping the American Red Cross develop and deploy an app that has helped them increase the rate of blood donations in the United States.

Here's where to find Puff & 3 Sided Cube.

In this episode of Tech Can't Save Us, CEO and Co-Founder of Literal Humans Paul David talks to Prateek Agarwal, Founder of Calgee, a new startup on a mission to create the world's most sustainable and high-quality health supplements.

Prateek talked about his personal health journey and how it led him to develop Calgee's first product, a vegan Omega-3 nutritional supplement. The short story: Prateek got a health check-up and realized he needed to make some changes to his nutrition regimen. He looked around for the right products, didn't find a great fit, and then developed his own!
A classic founder story.

Prateek and Paul discussed the ethical implications within the supplements space and broader issues like the fishing industry and its impact on the planet. Prateek's startup really strives to thread the needle by providing maximum value to consumers while reducing its toll on the planet. Prateek shared a great story about receiving customer feedback (specifically palm oil) and taking action on it as a mission-driven founder. 
Prateek talked about how much of a gamechanger Shopify has been, the increase in consumer awareness when it comes to "voting with their wallets", and the precise contours of tech for good (a favorite topic of ours!).

Here's where to find Prateek and Calgee: https://calgee.com/