Public Technology and Public Policy

Tech Mirror

In this episode Johanna sits down with Sharad Sharma, a distinguished evangelist of public interest technology in India. Sharad co-founded the non-profit think tank iSPIRT in 2013 and has held senior leadership positions across tech companies in India and the US.

The pair discuss digital public goods – both what they are and the rights and privacy implications of their design and use. They also delve into the importance of trust, how Australia and India can work together, and the imperative to move from technology being “values free” to “values based.”

Tech Mirror is recorded on Ngunnawal land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respect to elders past, present, and emerging.

Professor Johanna Weaver is Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre at the Australian National University. This episode was produced by ANU Media. Special thanks to Ben Gowdie for research and post-production support.

Relevant links:

Volunteer with iSPIRT: https://volunteers.ispirt.in/

Sharad’s article with Henri Verdier, French Digital Ambassador:

https://theprint.in/opinion/india-building-the-future-it-desires-with-its-own-digital-infrastructure-eu-can-learn/1005272/

A New Chapter for Sahamati: https://pn.ispirt.in/a-new-chapter-for-sahamati/

The Curse of Bigness: Anti-Trust in the New Gilded Age, by Tim Wu: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40081165-the-curse-of-bigness

Normative statements to guide tech development for healthcare: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41745-022-00326-9

Sharad on Twitter: @sharads

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