Progress is more than just innovation - The Copenhagen Letter

by SF Team, 19 September 2017

It is time to take responsibility for the world we are creating. This is the call to action at the Copenhagen letter, published in September 2017, in which a group of tech practitioners start a conversation on the interface between humanity and technology.

This letter really resonates with us. It is made up of 5 simple statements that encourage us as designers, users, humans to shift perspective, perhaps regain perspective, on the role of technology in our lives. Technology should serve and advance society, not undermine or control. We have the power to direct that, including ourselves as funders.

When inviting applications for Shuttleworth Fellowships, we say we are looking for individuals with an innovative idea for social change. We express innovation as fresh thinking that adds value, and that fresh thinking is often implemented through technology. The Copenhagen letter articulates this far better. We are looking for progression, not just newness.

We have been stumped on the large number of applications we get for innovative technology, but with limited vision for a better future. Thank you to the 150 technologists, designers, philosophers, educators and artists who authored this letter, for adding clarity to our thinking and our messaging. We will be building on this framing going forward.

We have signed - you should too: The Copenhagen Letter, 2017