#102 - Student Debt, AI Governance, and Tolstoy!
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Impact Updates
Applications for the Impact Summit 2023 are closing on July 30th! Don’t miss it! The summit will take place on August 5th and 6th in New York City, featuring a roster of amazing speakers, social events, an opportunity to meet incredible people, and so much more! Join us as we envision how technology can be channeled for equity and social change. The summit is free for attendees!
Also, we’re still on the lookout for volunteers to help The Impact Summit run as smoothly and beautifully as possible! Volunteers get to meet speakers backstage, and they also get special swag and snax! 😎 If you're interested, apply to volunteer by July 30th! Please message hello@impactlabs.io if you have any questions!
News
🇪🇺 The U.N. Security Council is set to hold a first-ever meeting on the potential threats of artificial intelligence to international peace and security.
🤖 In less than 24 hours Open AI’s Chat GPT has been hit by TWO class action lawsuits!
💵 The Biden administration is canceling $29B of student debt - affecting 800,000 borrowers. If you’re one of those 800,000 people, we’re so happy for you and not jealous at all!
💉 J&J was considering evergreening their patent for a life-saving TB drug, but they’ve relented, and now they’ve agreed not to enforce their patent against generics that can be used for millions of people at risk of dying from TB
Opportunities
Tigo Energy is hiring a full stack software engineer to help further their mission of providing clean and safe solar energy!
Centre for the Governance of AI is looking to hire one or more Research Fellows! They are interested in candidates from a range of disciplines, who have a demonstrated ability to produce excellent research and care deeply about the lasting impacts of AI. The role would offer significant research freedom, access to a broad network of experts, and opportunities for collaboration.
NAF engineers are agents of change, building tools that impact thousands of high school students, educators and business partners! NAF is looking for a Jr. Full Stack Engineer responsible for the development of NAF’s digital products for students, teachers, schools, partners, and stakeholders!
Nexleaf is a purpose driven organization that partners with low and middle income countries to ensure they have the data they need to build lasting solutions that improve people’s health. Nexleaf’s technology is used in over 25 countries across Africa and Asia, protecting and supporting the infrastructure required to get safe vaccines to 1 in 10 children born each year. They are looking for a Frontend Engineer to join our Product Enablement Team!
What We’re Reading
📕 Tolstoy on why people “stupefy” themselves with drugs and alcohol
🍄 Australia legalizes psychedelics for mental health
🏆 Winners Take All is a thoughtful critique of the "social impact" industry. The author brings up issues around prestige and status, and questions how institutions that profit from the current state of things are incentivized to do symptomatic-level work without working to change the status quo. This book brings up questions that we are still engaging with in our work at Impact Labs & is an absolute must-read if you're interested in tech & social good!
Company Spotlight
All Tech Is Human brings together people, organizations, and ideas to tackle wicked tech & society issues and co-create a tech future aligned with the public interest! We’re huge fans of their work and we think that you should be too!
Quotes We Love
“Embracing human-centered design means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones like poverty, gender equality, and clean water, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer.”
—The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design by IDEO