Probes of Big Tech Coming

This headline says quite a bit, especially given the toxic political environment in the United States today.

AG Barr Promise to Probe Big Tech Unites Democrats and Republicans

Well then.  I guess this is happening.

The question of technology's place in our world, in our society, our laws, our forms of government, and much more, has been growing as the impact becomes more understood.

What is government but a place where the voice of the people can be heard?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The Importance of Tech on Company Boards

Let me say I have personal experience with this one having served on a board as a technology product expert and having been impacted by a board that did not have a technology expert serving on it.

Here is Wikipedia:

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization.

Here is the story over on Harvard Business Review (you may need to create a FREE account to read the entire story):

https://hbr.org/2015/09/all-boards-need-a-technology-expert

Here is a snippet from the piece:

A few months ago I decided to look into the professional experience of non-executive directors at the major banks listed in Britain. Like almost every other major industry today, banking relies on hugely complex, enormously expensive technology. So I was curious as to whether the individuals charged with corporate governance would have any more than a layman’s knowledge of IT. I discovered that only one bank had a board member with some direct experience in technology and in that case it was as a sales executive.

...

To ensure that corporate governance includes sufficient oversight of technology, I propose companies follow the following principles:

• Hire a techie to your board. 
• Don’t rely entirely on advisers. 
• Ask tough questions about technology spending. 
• Understand the cyber threat. 

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant