Be My Eyes: Mobile micro-volunteering for the blind with Hans Wiberg

Cassie Betts is the founder of District2.Co, a technology company that connects brands/designers with factories to streamline the manufacturing process, and Made In South LA (MISLA),

a DevShop Academy. Hear how Cassie went from being homeless to being called “The Woman Turning South LA into Startup Land” by Forbes.

You'll hear

• How she went from coding her first computer game at 9 to being homeless at 19, and how she turned that all around.
• How do you help protect the poor from being displaced through gentrification?
• Why more money should be spent on technology bootcamps instead of other diversity initiatives.

Note: This episode uses includes explicit language and includes some difficult topics about Cassie’s past that may be uncomfortable for some listeners. Please use your discretion.

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Paul Tasner, Co-founder and CEO of PulpWorks and more recently, Co-founder of Sort, has more than 40 years of operations experience. He has held leadership positions in ventures ranging from start-up to Fortune 100. For the past decade, his focus has been on sustainability. Paul’s corporate affiliations include The Clorox Company, Clif Bar, Method Products, and Hepagen Vaccines. He has authored numerous papers and presentations on supply chain sustainability and currently lectures on this subject in the MBA Programs at San Francisco State University and Golden Gate University as well as the Packaging Engineering Department at San Jose State University. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Boston University.

In this episode you will learn:

• How PulpWorks manufactures packaging for consumer goods using fiber waste
• The story of Paul Tasner starting his first business at age 66
• The perks of being your own boss as an entrepreneur
• The specific challenges PulpWorks faces in securing new customers
• How to pursue investors in the competitive city of San Francisco
• Critical questions to consider for people nearing retirement that want to start a business
• How recycling is an answer but not the answer
• Why Paul is envious of the millennial mindset
• How rejecting plastic can make a difference
• What Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is and how EPR regulations could impact society
• Paul’s new tech-based recycling business

Get shownotes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

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Jimmy Chen is the Founder and CEO of Propel, a software company that aims to fight poverty through technology. They are the creators of the Fresh EBT mobile app, which enables EBT cardholders to manage their benefits, save money through grocery coupons, and find jobs. Fresh EBT is used by over 2 million low-income Americans across the country. In this episode of Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana learns why Jimmy decided to start Propel and use the tools of Silicon Valley to address social issues around poverty.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why Jimmy Chen decided to focus on building tech for low income families
• What is Propel and Fresh EBT
• Why start with the food stamp program to battle poverty
• How does Propel get the experience and empathy to solve problems they might not understand
• What is the process for getting usable information from users
• What are the logistical and general obstacles faced by Propel and how are they overcome
• What are some misconceptions about the food stamp program
• Where else can the private sector make a difference and what are the challenges

Get show notes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

Original air date: 8/21/19

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/innovation-for-all/message
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In this episode you will learn:

• How the civil rights movement impacted the growth of McDonald’s in black America
• How McDonald’s utilized black-centered marketing strategies to fuel advertisements
• The pros and cons to working in a franchise
• How the fast food industry was seen as a win for low-income communities initially
• How black-run McDonald’s franchises pooled resources to benefit the community
• The differences of how white and black America viewed McDonald’s and its impact on advertising
• How racist systems use black entrepreneurship as a way to avoid addressing racism
• COVID-19: Challenges to the food justice movement and what environmental racism is
• Corona virus: What are the limits of the private sector?
• Experience and complexities of black franchise owners
• How to reframe historical storytelling to highlight the community rather than the business

Franchise is available now wherever books are sold.

Get shownotes for this and every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

In this episode you will learn:

• How the CEO started Amplio Recruiting and why?
• What were some of the challenges in starting the business?
• How are companies vetted to ensure that the refugees are protected?
• What are the assumptions about the refugee community and are they true?
• What are the challenges with finding opportunities for women refugees?
• What is Amplio Ventures?
• What are some of the success stories?
• How has this work in diversity and inclusion influenced his personal views?

Learn more about Amplio Recruiting at https://ampliorecruiting.com/. Get shownotes for this and every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

Two years after her revenge porn nightmare began, Darieth Chisolm won the case against her ex-boyfriend. Should tech companies make it harder to weaponize their platforms against women?

In this episode you will learn:

• About Darieth's personal experience with revenge porn
• Her challenge of taking legal action outside of the U.S.
• The impact of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• Examples of first steps on how victims can take legal action
• Obstacles to taking down nude content that is published online
• A brief history of policies like the SHIELD Act and Enough Act
• How Freedom of Speech should not apply when it is enacted with the intent to do harm
• The pervasiveness of victim shaming and victim blaming
• The importance of parents having conversations about nude photos with their children
• Resources for victims of revenge porn (linked below)
• How Darieth is supporting victims today

Links and mentions:

• 50 Shades of Silence Documentary
• SHIELD Act
• Enough Act
• SpeakServeSoar.com membership
• Cyber Crimes Act of 2015 in Jamaica
• www.50shadesofsilence.com/
• Candi Castleberry
• DMCA.com
• Che Pinkerton 

Connect with Darieth:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website
• YouTube

Did you enjoy this episode? Text it to a friend or tag us on Twitter at @inforallpodcast.

Please note: this episode was recorded before the COVID-19 Pandemic and the George Floyd protests.

Can AI really change the world? Or are its developing algorithms formalizing social injustice? When these highly-technical systems derive patterns from existing datasets, their models can perpetuate past mistakes.

In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana Ahlqvist discusses with David Robinson the threats of social bias and discrimination becoming embedded in Artificial Intelligence.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

• What is the role of technological advances in shaping society?
• What is the difference between Machine Learning vs. Artificial Intelligence?
• Social Justice Implications of Technology
• What are the limitations of finding patterns in previous data?
• How does should government regulate new, highly technical systems?
• The need for more resources and more thoughtfulness in regulating data
• Examples of data-driven issues in the private sector.
• Removing skepticism of regulatory agencies in examining data models.
• Authorities should remember that there are limits to what AI models can do.

David is the co-founder of Upturn and currently a Visiting Scientist at the AI Policy and Practice Initiative in Cornell’s College of Computing and Information Science. David touches on how government regulatory agencies should examine new AI models and systems, especially as the technology continues to creep its way into our day-to-day lives. David discusses the importance of “ground truthing.” David emphasizes looking at a technology’s capabilities and limits before deciding on whether decision makers should implement it.

Get shownotes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

Original air date: 12/26/18

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"Set the market and work when and how you like. You have complete control." At least that is what gig economy companies like Uber would have you believe. In this episode of the Innovation For All podcast, Sheana speaks with Marshall Steinbaum, Assistant Professor of Economics at University of Utah, to talk about the pitfalls of the gig economy. Find out how employers can have control over the workforce without being a monopoly and how gig workers may be getting the short end of the stick.

You’ll learn:

• Why did Uber driver’s strike?
• What makes the gig economy examples more complex?
• What is the difference between the gig economy labor and employment relationships?
• What should an independent contractor relationship look like?
• What are the markers of employer and employee relationships as opposed to independent contractor relationship?
• How does antitrust factor in to these issues?
• Proposed solutions to the gig economy and labor laws
• How these companies exercise control over their underrepresented workers

Do you know someone who is concerned about the rise of the gig economy? Text them a link to this episode. You are the reason our movement is growing.

Get shownotes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/innovation-for-all/message
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/innovation-for-all/support

You'll learn

• How contract workers are essential in aiding AIs and search engines
• Examples of a ghost work in everyday technology
• How the tech industry often devalues contract employees
• What data labeling is
• What a ghost worker's daily schedule looks like
• How the growing telehealth industry is a prime example of under-appreciated, yet essential contract work
• The three elements that undermine job happiness
• How business are benefiting from contract workers
• The growing challenges of moving towards more contract-driven business
• Why we should mind the gap rather than close the gap
• How the pandemic is demonstrating the value of contract and ghost work
• What are the limits of tech and where does human creativity and spontaneity become irreplaceable

Links and Mentions

• Lead Genius
• Amara
• Barbara Grosz
• Mark Sendak
• Ghostwork.info

Connect with Mary:

• Twitter
• Website