Technology

Technologies are emerging and moving so fast, that it's very hard to build accountability mechanisms; not least because technologies can become ubiquitous before we understand them.

CEO and Chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation

We don't currently have the accountability mechanisms in our digital life that we do in our physical life.

CEO and Chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation

The systems we now use exist at a scale that's actually hard to comprehend as human beings. On Facebook, you are one of several billion people and at that scale, it's easy to become a number, or simply a wallet.

CEO and Chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation

There is no healthy society without a healthy internet.

CEO and Chairwoman of Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation

When assessing any new technology, getting experts to explain and understand the benefits and risks is only one aspect of the debate. We also need to involve the public and other stakeholders in a proper transparent discussion on how the technology will be adopted.

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry for Ribosome Structure Studies

My impression however is that the rate of change in society is accelerating as a result of rapid developments in science and technology. Science today is a huge, industrial scale activity and has a far greater impact on society than it did a few hundred years ago.

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry for Ribosome Structure Studies

On the whole, science is seen as one of the most trusted professions- and we need to retain that trust. It is essential that the public knows how deeply science and technology affect their lives.

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry for Ribosome Structure Studies

Criminals are not looking for challenges, but opportunities. Every breach I've been involved with comes down to the fact that someone in the company did something they weren't supposed to or failed to do something they should have done.

Notorious con artist and impostor who inspired the film "Catch Me If You Can

Dehumanizing the victim through the internet has enabled people to commit crimes and not worry about their conscience.

Notorious con artist and impostor who inspired the film "Catch Me If You Can

It can be understood as the undermining of the human will. It starts with distraction in the moment where our ability to focus is fragmented – but then it runs deeper into how it distracts us into living according to certain habits, values and norms.

Distraction is one of those epidemics that we didn't realise existed until quite recently. At a societal level, it's inevitable that our distraction will be impacting our ability to communicate with each other, and will lead to a lowering of focus and attention across our whole population.

Our technological distraction is a first order political problem, worldwide. If digital media has become the lens through which we understand and engage with others, we need to figure out how to make that the right kind of lens.

The concentration of power in technology corporations is a moral and political problem that we simply don't have a precedent for. More people use Facebook than speak English for example, so the implications of Facebook, as just one platform, are at the scale of language itself.

Our apps and platforms are addictive by design. We know this both because the tech titans behind them have admitted it publicly, and because the dominant apps and social media platforms use the same suite of techniques that are well-proven to ensnare us.

Psychologist & Author specializing in behavioral psychology and irrational decision-making

Technology should be leveraged to enhance the physical and human experience, not replace it.

Founder and CEO of Farfetch, luxury fashion e-commerce platform

The distinction between offline and online retail will vanish, as consumers will not be able to tell where one started and the other finished. This is what we call at Farfetch 'Augmented Retail'.

Founder and CEO of Farfetch, luxury fashion e-commerce platform