Home / Lectures / Kentaro Toyama, University of Michigan, School of Information

Technology’s Law of Amplification and What It Means for Organizations

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Kentaro Toyama, University of Michigan, School of Information

Description

Semester:

  • Winter 2022

Speakers:

Kentaro Toyama

Lecture Time:

Fri, January 28, 2022 @ 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Lecture Location:

R0220, Ross building

Speaker Webpage(s):

No speaker websites available.

Introduced By:

Jim Westphal

Abstract

Over the years, the tech industry has made many promises to organizational customers — for example, that its products would improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase scale. More recently, the promises have extended to such things as improving teamwork and decision-making. While these promises have been realized in some contexts, they remain largely unmet in others. Is there a way to distinguish between realism and hype in computing?

Technology’s “Law of Amplification” is a simple idea that captures digital technology’s impact. This talk will reveal how it explains a broad range of past and existing organizational phenomena, and how it suggests predictions for the future.

Recording & Additional Notes

Kentaro Toyama is W. K. Kellogg Professor of Community Information at the University of Michigan School of Information, a fellow of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT, and author of Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology. In previous lives, Kentaro taught at Ashesi University in Ghana and co-founded Microsoft Research India, where he did research on the application of information and communication technology to international development.