This has very little to do with technical knowledge and everything to do with power. —Cathy O'Neil
Eddie Glenn
Software Engineer
Giving Program Manager
former lawyer - current techie
Leyla Mahabadi
Marketing and Spanish
Carlson School of Management
current student - future unlimited
On a scale of 1-5 rate your confidence with tech
What apps are you using?
Do you have any developers or IT staff? What do they do for you?
Tech can limit you
Prepare for Development
Software Development
Food in Location A.
People that need food in Location B.
People that can move the food are in Location C.
Business/Psychology Lesson: Make it easy to pay for music.
Philanthropy Lesson: Make it easy to donate.
Text
Artificial Intelligence has been used to expedite criminal sentencing.
Secret algorithm
Can we avoid creating "algorithmic bias"?
1990s: Jack Maple's "Charts of the Future" implemented as NY crime cut in half, several times over
...
2010s: CompStat notorious for incentivizing "juking the stats"
“The numbers became the boss”
This is a problem?
What is technology's role here?
What makes a good teacher?
Math gives easy answers:
- Use a Secret algorithm like the "Value-added model score"
- It can't be biased! It's math!
"analyzing test results of only twenty-five to thirty students is statistically unsound"
Dynamic Scheduling
- use math to schedule staff efficiently
- clopening
"combines user tracking with stimuli calculated to foster addiction and behavior modification" -- Jaron Lanier
Ask these questions early and often about your problem space
Goal: Help the younger generation transcend prejudices that set communities apart.
Community organize where the community is already organizing?
Where are uncomfortable topics most comfortable?
It's surprisingly difficult to whittle down
all your good ideas
to find a great idea to start with.
Experiment Creatively
What's the value proposition?
Donate to pay others' utility bills.
They sought out existing technology, applied it to help with a social problem.
Analyze problem(s)
Identify possible tech solution
Explain that solution to others. (Ask for help?)
4. Experiment! MVP!
5. Rinse and Repeat
Stay in touch!
eddie@softwareforgood.com
@EddieGdotMe
leylamahabadi@gmail.com
I'd love to hear your feedback,
questions, problems, and crazy ideas!
Open Source
Partnerships with tech companies
Tech companies adopt a project
Meetups
Freelancers
Aspiring developers
Hackathons
Think of an idea big enough
to get a nerd excited
Basic Website: static page, sharing information, very limited number of people can edit it
Wix, Squarespace
Fancy Websites
Wordpress (with plugins)
Commercial Web Apps
Salesforce, Google suite
Custom Websites
Wordpress, generic database
Web Applications: 100% customizable
Mobile Apps: 100% customizable
Communication
Distributed teams, real time collaboration
Logistics
All the moving pieces
Automation
Simplify your life
Accessibility
Help your clients better
Data Collection, Aggregation, Analysis
Gain insight
There are definitely more...