The large blue posters hanging on the walls of Lauinger Library, the Intercultural Center and Regents Hall gave passersby on campus a peek into the scale of Tech and Society Week, a series of panels, discussions and webinars on how technology intersects with policy and society. 

Organized by Georgetown University’s Tech and Society initiative, Tech and Society Week 2023 marked the second iteration of the event and was held from March 27 to April 1. Programming spanned multiple disciplines and included a discussion with technology podcast hosts, a technology career panel with a focus on social impact and a webinar on cyber law through a feminist lens.

Emily Tavoulareas, the managing chair of the Tech and Society initiative, described Tech and Society as a collaboration of institutes across campus, including the Ethics Lab, the Massive Data Institute and the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation.

“Ultimately, Tech and Society is an ecosystem of work that is happening at the nexus of technology and society across campus,” Tavoulareas told The Hoya. “The cool thing about it is that it spans both the main campus and the law campus, and it brings together faculty, students, researchers from these spaces on campus that normally don’t interact.”

Tavoulareas said Tech and Society Week is meant to provide a snapshot of what Georgetown is doing in these fields, with a focus on the applications of technology to government and policy.

Natalie Roisman, the executive director of the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy (Tech Institute), organized several of the events, including a webinar on the new field of feminist cyber law, which explores how gender influences laws governing the internet, a panel discussion among chief technologists in federal agencies and a career panel for students interested in pursuing technology for social good.

Roisman said she hopes that Tech and Society Week can help increase awareness of the Tech Institute’s missions within the Georgetown community.

“The goals of Tech and Society Week are a great fit for the goals of the institute, considering that we are always looking to figure out how to engage people who aren’t lawyers with the law school, and how do we engage lawyers and law students with things in the tech space that aren’t necessarily just law,” Roisman said.

Sam Li (SFS, MSB ’24) attended the politics and polling panel discussion, where audience members learned about current polling challenges and the future of political polling in the 2024 elections.

“I went because I am interested in the intersection between data, governance, and business, and thought that ‘Tech & Society’ week was a great opportunity to engage with experts in these fields,” Li wrote to The Hoya. “I took away more nuanced perspectives on polling and its impact on elections. It made me think more critically when looking at news sources, especially when they report on the most recent polls/data.”

For students who enjoyed Tech and Society Week and want to pursue the field, but aren’t majoring in anything technical, Roisman said a lack of technical experience shouldn’t pose a roadblock.

“Nobody should think that just because they haven’t done anything ‘techy’ yet, that that means they can’t,” Roisman said. “Things are changing constantly, and while there are some people who need the depth and the experience and they need to be able to handle all of the nitty-gritty that’s extremely technical, we also need all kinds of other skills from people who are simply conversant in this space, and you can get conversant by learning, by listening and just engaging.” 

As for the future of Tech and Society Week, Tavoulareas said she wants it to become a yearly fixture at Georgetown.

“My hope is that it becomes sort of an annual moment to pause, reflect and connect,” Tavoulareas said.