[THREAD] To understand why I am convinced that the future of work in 4IR makes humanities degrees essential please watch Netflixes "The Social Dilemma".
Big tech, big data, AI, machine could be a good or destructive force to our world and social scientist are to the balance https://twitter.com/tessie18/status/1332425512015327232

Anyone who knows me knows I am not tech savvy at all. I can barely put together an electronic email as pointed out by @PearlPillay last week. But I am fully convinced that I have a future I tech related industries as a creator and thought leader. Here's why.

In 2017 in my role as a @NPC_RSA I decided to embark on a project to digitize the NDP to be more accessible. I reached out to @4otune and @Geekulcha to be part of their Hackathon in hope to develop a platform there. I thought techies just needed a brief, I was wrong

I walked into the Hackathon with hundreds of techies ready to code I realised that in order for solutions to human problems to be solved in this room these tech experts needed as much expert knowledge about human and social scientific patterns. As a sociologist I was that person.

Instead of spending a few hours stayed through out most of the weekend holding information sessions, hosting design thinking workshops, coaching pitching, consulting one on one with each group and helping them understand the socio economic dynamics they were solving for. Loved it

Coding and building tech is not about the tech it's about its usefulness (or not) for changing human experiences, for development as it were. As a development practitioner I could explain social patterns, policy, organisational dynamics, economics to improve the tech

Perhaps the biggest contribution the social scientists can make to tech related to the ethics of utility. Not everything that can be made through tech should be. We need healthy balances between where tech ends and humans begin. I dont want an AI bot to be my social worker

Heres an example. Staw technology was a breakthrough at some point. Humans didnt know they needed straws but one we could have them suddenly drinking a milkshake with out lips from a cup became undesirable. Today, we are campaigning straws for their unintended ecological impact

Now in the new anti-straw wars we have created new crisis. An implement most in society dont need has birthed an industry that employs people. If we stop producing straws they lose jobs but of we keep producing stratws we damage the environment. Let's not allow a 4IR to straws!