Press Release
10 February 2021

Response-ability Summit 2021 will champion socially-responsible tech, inviting technologists and social scientists to create collaborative solutions and ethical technologies for the future.

The unique two-day event, now in its third year, will take place 20-21 May 2021 on a digital platform that invites debate and networking as well as presentations from some of the leading disruptors in the sector.

The first day will feature talks, panels and debates. On the second day, delegates can attend workshops, a career clinic, or participate in challenges, designed to increase collaboration between delegates, designing working methodologies for future tech projects.

The summit encourages and facilitates conversations and collaborations between the social sciences and technology, particularly in industry. It responds to the rapid pace of emerging technologies and the strong belief that the perspective of social scientists has never been more critical.

Dawn Walter, conference founder, explains:

“The digital and the social are now co-evolving, and the emergent consequences raise profound challenges for equality, social cohesion and sustainability. We have renamed the Response-ability Summit to reflect a focus on action. Now is the time for technology designers and social scientists to come together, to create people-focused solutions that work demonstrably and measurably and do not exacerbate or reinforce existing social and economic inequalities.”

The summit is the only event with the social sciences represented alongside the technology creators, exploring the creation of human-centred design. The summit invites innovators to respond to problems that have already arisen and to ensure that we create technologies that guard against future problems, designed to imagine change and inspire action together.

The call for presentations is now open with speakers invited to submit proposals by 1 March. Last year’s speakers included human rights lawyers, fintech specialists, local economy experts, health tech professionals, and smart city transformationalists.

Phil Harvey, Senior Cloud Solution Architect for Data & AI One Commercial Partner, Microsoft UK, who spoke at the 2020 event, explains:

“We need the perspective of [social scientists] to ensure those building the technology are doing so in a responsible way. As a programmer for over 15 years, I believe we need to have that wider conversation. We have a right to advance the art of technology in many different ways and use what we can to best advantage. But that comes with this responsibility; we have a responsibility to the people who will be affected by this technology.”