Transparency and accountability advocate Frances Haugen announced as featured speaker for mesh conference, taking place June 11-12, 2024 in Calgary
Social platforms wield significant influence over society as a whole, yet they function with limited transparency. While billions of people use these platforms, only a small fraction really know just how they work on the inside.
This lack of transparency leaves regulators, concerned citizens, and researchers in the dark, unable to apply their expertise to address the various challenges and harms arising from social platforms.
This important topic will be front and center at the mesh conference, with Frances Haugen taking the stage as a featured speaker.
Renowned whistleblower and advocate for ethical technology, Frances Haugen will join industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders to explore the intersection of technology, ethics, and society.
Haugen gained international attention for her courageous actions in exposing internal documents at Facebook, revealing critical information about the platform’s impact on society and its handling of user data. Her insights and advocacy have sparked important conversations about the responsibilities of tech companies and the need for greater transparency and accountability in the digital age.
As a featured speaker at the mesh conference, Haugen will share her experiences, insights, and vision for a more ethical and responsible tech industry. Attendees can expect thought-provoking discussions on topics such as privacy, misinformation, algorithmic accountability, and the role of technology in shaping our future.
Focusing on real opportunity, and honest conversations around challenges
The mesh conference is a two-day event that will feature a series of inspiring talks, interactive workshops, and panel discussions that delve into how technology and innovation can be used to augment human capabilities to improve our world.
With a focus on four threads — business, media and technology, society, and marketing — the mesh conference hosts Canadian digital transformation leaders who will meet to connect, share, and inspire others to think about changing the way we think, organize, operate and behave.
Taking place June 11-12, 2024 in Calgary, this year’s theme is focused on “How to spot the opportunity, when to jump, and where to bail,” offering leaders an opportunity to have open and honest conversations about opportunities and challenges.
Haugen will speak to the society thread where mesh will explore the possibilities and challenges of a tech-enabled world with a focus on ethics and impact.
The importance of transparency and accountability in innovation
As a transparency and accountability advocate, Haugen is currently the founder for Beyond the Screen, a non-profit driving systems-level change for social platforms by building an ecosystem of accountability for the industry.
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, she is the daughter of two professors and grew up attending the Iowa caucuses with her parents, instilling a strong sense of pride in democracy and responsibility for civic participation.
Haugen holds a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Olin College and an MBA from Harvard. She is a specialist in algorithmic product management, having worked on ranking algorithms at Google, Pinterest, Yelp and Facebook. She was recruited to Facebook to be the lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team, which dealt with issues related to democracy and misinformation, and later also worked on counter-espionage.
During her time at Facebook, Frances became increasingly alarmed by the choices the company makes prioritizing their own profits over public safety and putting people’s lives at risk. As a last resort and at great personal risk, Frances made the courageous decision to blow the whistle on Facebook.
The initial reporting was done by the Wall Street Journal in what became known as “The Facebook Files”.
Since going public, Frances has testified in front of the U.S. Congress, UK and EU Parliaments, the French Senate and National Assembly, and has engaged with lawmakers internationally on how to best address the negative externalities of social media platforms.
Frances has filed a series of complaints with the U.S. Federal Government relating to Facebook (now named ‘Meta’) claiming that the company has been misleading the public and investors on how it handles issues such as climate change, misinformation, and hate speech, and the impact of its services on the mental health of children and young adults.
Frances fundamentally believes that the problems we are facing today with social media are solvable, and that we can have social media that brings out the best in humanity.
Don’t miss your chance to see Frances Haugen at the mesh conference, June 11-12, 2024 at Platform Calgary.
