At annual Harvard IT Summit, tech takes a turn to the humanities
Sometimes technology isn’t just about making things faster, easier, or cheaper. Sometimes it’s about making them right. That was the thrust of the eighth annual Harvard IT Summit at Sanders Theatre on Thursday. Rather than focusing on the promise or problems of innovations in information technology, they focused on the impact technology has on its users. Specifically, keynote speakers Iris Bohnet, the Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy and director of the Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and Michael J. Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government, looked at how IT — and IT professionals — can contribute to a more diverse, just, and civil world. Michael Sandel (left) and Anne Margulies speak before her welcoming remarks to open the summit. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer “We know, intuitively, that diversity matters,” said Bohnet, the author of “What Works? Gender Equality by Design.” Noting the need to better...