TAPP “Spotlight” Will Recognize Technology that Protects Society

Technology and all of objective science are caught in a crisis of reputation. From investigations into competition practices to legislative scrutiny over the application and safety of new products, innovators are facing a reckoning for their seeming absence of principles such as privacy, security, inclusion, transparency, and accountability. But it is possible to bend the arc of innovation toward overall public purpose.

The Tech and Public Purpose "Spotlight" is a recognition program that seeks to highlight products, initiatives, and policies that demonstrate a commitment to public purpose in the areas of digital, biotech, and the future of work. Under the guidance of Belfer Center Director Ash Carter, the Technology and Public Purpose project opened a nominations process this fall with independent reviewers evaluating entries based on their proven ability to reduce societal harms and protect public purpose values including: privacy, safety and security, transparency and accountability, and inclusion.

There has been an abundance of scrutiny on the direction of technology today. However, there are still few meaningful guides on how to shape the way forward. “While a lot of good came out of [the digital era], we cannot say in hindsight that it came out at all the way we might have hoped,” says Secretary Carter. The Spotlight seeks to provide examples for technologists and policymakers alike, to influence a tech culture that prepares us for a better future.

For more information, visit belfercenter.org/TechSpotlight