On 12 Feb 2019, IBM published a new video advertisement “Dear Tech, An Open Letter to the Industry” asking what kind of tech company does the world need today? IBM's answer: a company that applies smart technologies at scale with purpose and expertise—not just for some of us, but for all of us.

https://youtu.be/gNF8ObJR6K8?t=17

At the time of writing this post, the original IBM ad received 27,000 views and has been widely shared across many major publications. This advertisement was undoubtedly created with the best intentions… and yet the glorification of technology is quite palpable (read more about that on Slate) That was not left unnoticed by a group of scholars, authors, and tech workers that came together to produce a counter-narrative, here.

The co-conspirators include Poet of Jode Joy Buolamwini and  Ethan Zuckerman, Director of the Center of Civic Media and MIT Media Lab.  Take a look at work response below – we would love to hear what you think.

Guest post by The Futures Agency content curator Petervan

PS: disclosure: Gerd sometimes speaks at IBM events