Common at ChainX: Bringing Tech’s Benefits to the Inner City
September 15, 2018 by William Peaster
As technological evolution abounds, so too should our focus on bringing the ensuing benefits to the underserved and downtrodden. So said the acclaimed Grammy-winning rapper Common, who, in his talk at 2018’s ChainXChange conference, emphasized “we owe it to the future […] to do good with what our abilities are.”
Also see: ChainX Panel: Wozniak and Tone Vays On the Fintech Revolution
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‘We Can Put Our Hearts Into This Technology, These Devices,’ Says Common
At this year’s ChainXChange conference in Las Vegas, an array of techniks, analysts, and beyond got together for a series of panels on blockchain technology and experiential tech. Headliners of the panels included prominent faces like Steve Wozniak, Paul Krugman, Tom Lee, and more.
Heading up the artistic side of this year’s ChainXChange speakers was Common, an artist increasingly using his platform to expand the availability of tech-driven benefits in inner city communities that would ordinarily go without.
In his panel, part of a series of talks entitled “I Robot, You Jane: Machine Learning, Diversity, and Opportunity,” Common brings morality into the forefront, saying the builders of the 21st century have a responsibility to ensure bleeding-edge innovation’s promises reach everyone, not just the few.
Highlighting Work with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition
Toward the end of his talk, Common highlighted some of his recent work with ARC, noting that the group was doing great work to give inmates opportunities to turn their lives around:
“We’re working toward criminal justice reform, and we’ve recently been going into prisons in California. And just sitting down and talking with men and women who are incarcerated. And I’ve met some of the most enlightened people.
In fact, I met a gentleman by the name of Charles. He had been involved in gangbanging, he had been abused as a child, his brother had been in prison. I sat with him and talked. He [became] a coder […] He came out, was working with the person who I teamed up with to go inside the prisons, which is called ARC — Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
Some people are really transforming their lives. And those that are have the opportunity to get exposed to new things, and they all are ready to pay their dues, but also be recognized as a human being.”
For the whole scoop on Common’s tech comments, be sure to catch the whole video above.
This is the first of a series of panels and interviews from ChainXChange coming in the next few days, so stay tuned for more talks and information by subscribing and enabling notifications for the Bitsonline YouTube channel.
Do you agree with Common about spreading tech’s benefits far and wide? Let us know in the comments.
Images and video via Ky Primo
