Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us

Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 7 - 8:30pm

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Khanna

Existing inequalities in access to technology—from students without computers, rural workers with spotty WiFi, and plenty of workers without the luxury to work from home—have laid bare the economic gulf between those who have struck gold in the tech industry and those left behind by the digital revolution. Join Ro Khanna, a member of Congress from Silicon Valley, and journalist Kara Swisher for a conversation about America’s digital divide and how democratizing access to tech can strengthen every sector of economy and culture in a free, public program around the release of Congressman Khanna’s new book, Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us.

The event is being recorded for “Sway,” a twice-weekly podcast about power, hosted by Kara Swisher and produced by New York Times Opinion. Listen to the recording here.

The Strand will sell books at the event.

Attendees are required to show proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination and booster and must wear a CDC-recommended mask (disposable surgical, KN95, KF94, or N95) while indoors. Cloth masks alone are not permitted, but may be worn as a second layer over a disposable surgical mask.

Ro Khanna is a member of Congress from Silicon Valley who sits on the House Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform, where he chairs the Environmental Subcommittee. Congressman Khanna is one of only a few members of Congress to refuse contributions from PACs and lobbyists. Previously, he has taught economics at Stanford University, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Obama Administration, and represented tech companies and startups in private practice.

Kara Swisher is a New York Times Opinion contributing writer and the host of the twice weekly interview podcast “Sway.” Her early and no-holds-barred coverage of the technology industry earned her a reputation as “Silicon Valley’s most feared and well-liked journalist.”In addition to her contributions to The Times, Ms. Swisher is an editor-at-large at New York Media, host of the “Pivot” podcast and executive producer of the Code Conference.

 

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.