There are few people I admire in my line of work as much as Azeem Azhar. I remember the first time I heard Azeem speak at a London Futurists event at Birkberk. I took pictures of every slide (seriously, every. single. one.), nodded along with each point he made, and left feeling positive rather than terrified about the future. Mostly, I was so refreshed to see someone with such a vast, comprehensive understanding of all the ethical considerations posed by technology, who also managed to approach each topic with the nuance it demanded.

The shift to remote work seemed, at first glance, like set of logistical hurdles. From technology hiccups (“you’re on mute”), to finding physical space in our homes for makeshift offices (bonus points for quiet space), just being able to get through the week in one Zoomed-out piece felt like a major accomplishment.

In recent decades, we’ve heard a lot about how the workplace is changing. It’s becoming younger, of course, and as our population demographics change to reflect a more diverse society, our workplaces will also be changing. But saying they’ll change and actually affecting change are two different things. If people that were historically kept out of leadership and management, for example, don’t have the doors open to them, and if companies don’t work to actively recruit and nurture those individuals, then nothing much is going to change in your own company.

Facebook, Microsoft and the Partnership on AI among organizations supporting the Deepfake Detection Challenge this December

The lobbying group that represents big tech is targeting users in California’s capitol ahead of new consumer privacy bill

There are plenty of other areas in which we need to consider the ethical implications of technology, but in the short- to medium-term, these are the broad categories of concern