ITSPmagazine Podcast Network

If What We Do Is Not About The People, We Are Doing It Wrong | A Conversation With Mei Lin Fung, Chair And Co-founder Of The People-Centered Internet

Episode Summary

Many people are envisioning a better world and a higher quality of life. They know that technology can help us achieve what we want. But what do we want? Why do we want it? How can we achieve it? These are the questions.

Episode Notes

Many people are envisioning a better world and a higher quality of life. They know that technology can help us achieve what we want. But what do we want? Why do we want it? How can we achieve it? These are the questions.

Long passed is the time when observers and scientists believed that the earth is flat, the sun and planet rotate around planet earth, and that we are at the center of the Universe. As a matter of fact, there is an excellent chance that there is not even a center of the Universe. That is, of course, if you believe in science — if you do not, then believe in it, we wish you farewell, as ITSPmagazine is most definitely not your kind of place.

Once we accept the fact that our small little blue dot is nothing more than nothing in the Universe and we are, like everything else made of cosmic dust, it is very advisable that when looking at life and humanity from an earthling perspective, we are exceptional dust and we should be at the center of our own Universe.

All this means that, in an ideal and perfect world, we should do everything in the function of not only preserving our own existence but also prosper. Not a few of us, but all of us.

The reality is a bit different; why not look at things as they should be and figure out a way to make the right decisions to get there and not let us be guided by all that is driving us off track to get there. We are better than that — the problem is that sometimes we may not realize it.

Take technology, for example. We blame it for what it does wrong as if we didn't think it, invent it, and create it ourselves. Humans are the creator of our technology, and most of the time, we are driven by the purest of good intentions, but as anything else in life, it is how we use it that makes the real difference.

We should talk more about the social good that can, should, and must come from technology. Let's consider the Internet: something born with the growth of humanity in mind and keeps taking more and more center stage in our daily life, our business, and our society as a whole. But is it now what it was originally envisioned to be, and what it could really become? Is it a force for social good?

Today we talk about that and much, much more with Mei Lin Fung. Mei Lin is a technology pioneer dedicated to ensuring that technology works for humanity as the next 3.9 billion people come online. In 1989 she was part of the 2-person skunkworks team that developed "OASIS," the first customer relationship management (CRM) system. She later served as socio-technical lead for the US Dept. of Defense's Federal Health Futures initiative. She is involved in so many things that it would take too long to list them, but you can find more about her below.

For now, you should know that, in 2015, co-founded the People-Centered Internet with Vinton Cerf.

"People-Centered Internet works to make sure that the Internet is a positive force for good, improving the lives and well-being of people around the world. Through our global initiatives, we promote connectivity, fight disinformation, add to the discussion about technology ethics, support the development of people-centered applications and initiatives, advise policymakers, and leverage technology to help communities be more resilient."

In this podcast, we talk about many topics and we expect you'll find it both an entertaining and an educational conversation.

If you like it, stay tuned — we are planning another conversation with Mei and some other fantastic guests.

Enjoy. Think. Share.

"I think the community should have the ability to talk about  what is good for us in our families, but not do it in a way that now you've got a big [Internet] wall and are now cut off from everyone." —Mei Lin Fung

"Let's be humble about moving into a huge frontier. The universe is much, much larger than what we know in the last 30 years. And I've got a great metaphor for that—IPV4." —Mei Lin Fung

Guest(s)
Mei Lin Fung, Chair And Co-founder Of The People-Centered Internet

Resources
People-Centered Internet: https://peoplecentered.net/

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): https://www.ietf.org/

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