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

U.S. congressman Khanna, whose California district includes Silicon Valley, debuts with a well-reasoned and articulate plan for reforming the tech industry. Noting that “nearly 50 percent of digital service jobs... are in ten major metro centers,” Khanna explains his legislative proposal to create 10 new technology hubs around the country and contends that the wide-scale shift to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic proves that tech jobs can be moved to such regions as eastern Kentucky, where a program called Interapt is offering tech training to supplement the decline in coal mining jobs. Khanna also details the alienating experiences of people of color working in tech and offers tenable approaches to making the industry more diverse, including targeted outreach and training through HBCUs. Elsewhere, he outlines suggestions for an “Internet Bill of Rights” that would protect users’ data and increase tech companies’ transparency, argues for a reallocation of funds from “bloated defense spending” to protecting against cyberattacks, and calls for wider public participation in government policy. Though he glosses over the steps for achieving some of these reforms, Khanna has a nuanced take on the tech industry and offers genuine solutions to significant problems plaguing the country. This commonsense call for change should win the congressman plenty of new supporters. (Feb.)