Woodrow's Steph Bailey on who builds our digital systems, who they leave out, and why this matters for all of us.
In the opening scenes of 10 Things I Hate About You, the camera sweeps across a high-school yard while the narrator categorises the subgroups of American adolescence: the jocks, the mean girls and, of course, the geeks. Presented as socially awkward, focused on science fiction and computer science, sitting at the fringes.
Today the geeks are having the last laugh.
When the current US administration recently invited the heads of the world's leading technology companies to the table, I was struck by the collective image of the men in the room. These are the new jocks. They stand at the absolute epicentre of our global information system, yet they represent a strikingly narrow demographic.
Digital systems are created by humans. If they are not designed with a broad spectrum of perspectives, they do not remain neutral: they magnify our existing flaws. They take the exclusionary social norms of a high-school cafeteria and bake them into the objective-looking laws of our global infrastructure. This lack of diversity at the top creates a monolithic structure that remains blind to the experiences of anyone outside that narrow, powerful group.
As the parent of two teenagers, the impact of this warped digital infrastructure is clear. I see firsthand how my children consume social media and how the platforms' fight for their attention manifests as a constant, intrusive stream of notifications. These are not just alerts. They are an invasion of the subliminal consciousness.
This is not just a women's issue. It affects my son as much as my daughter. Recent cultural discussions, highlighted by documentaries like Inside the Manosphere, show that digital echo chambers are gaining more mainstream acceptance.
The gamification of social engagement serves as a persistent dopamine hit for brains still being formed. Algorithms designed for engagement have found a dark efficiency: the easiest way to keep a teenage boy's attention is to play on his deepest insecurities, often stacking men against women in a lose-lose game of social dominance.
We are witnessing the death of nuance in real time. With the rapid acceleration of AI adoption, we no longer have the luxury of waiting. We must act quickly to ensure our digital future is built by, and for, everyone.
