CSC PIT Career Talk Series: Josh Lash

​Keeping Humans in the Loop: Tech Journalism That Centers People

​In 2011, the venture capitalist Marc Andreesen famously declared that “software is eating the world.” He was right. Today we live in a world where our physical, economic, and social infrastructure is inextricable from digital technology. And now, AI is eating software—and by extension the world—rapidly and profoundly changing the way we live. As journalists, how do we cover this uncertain moment in tech in a way that holds companies and policymakers to account while also celebrating innovation? How do we report on technology so that it centers humanity?

These are questions that I grapple with every day and that I’ll explore in this talk. Drawing on my own journey, I'll share how I built a career at the intersection of public interest journalism and technology. We'll explore ethical frameworks for reporting on technology, walk through projects from my career that prepared me to report on tech ethics, and discuss what the future of public interest journalism looks like in the AI age.

​Josh Lash is an award-winning journalist, producer, and researcher covering tech and society with a special focus on artificial intelligence. A Columbia Journalism School graduate and Toni Stabile Investigative Fellow, he was a part of a reporting team whose work on algorithmic bias in predictive policing earned an Edward R. Murrow Award and NABJ Salute to Excellence Award. Today, he reports on the latest developments in AI and tech ethics at the Center for Humane Technology. Throughout his career he has covered a wide array of subjects from special education, to business, and even maritime commerce. He is a strong believer in public interest journalism, which is more important than ever as we face rising global autocracy and the threat of AI to existing media business models.