June 12 2025 GM

Digitized Divides: Revealing The Trade-offs of a Tech-dependent World

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• Date: Thursday, June 12
• Time: 9am EDT / 1pm UTC
• Facilitator: Ursula
• Featured Guest: Safa
• Where: On TCU Mattermost "IF Square" Channel.
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Join us on June 12, to hear from Safa, the Associate Program Director at Tactical Tech who will be talking about the 10-part series “Digitized Divides: Revealing the Trade-Offs of a Tech-Dependent World”. The series highlights the human and environmental costs, systemic inequities, and ethical challenges that technology can create or amplify. Come join Safa to talk about these sensitive topics, and share ways to move forward.

Safa is a US-born Palestinian who works at the intersection of social justice and technology, and as the Associate Program Director at Tactical Tech.

What is Glitter Meetup?

Glitter Meetup is the weekly town hall of the digital rights and Internet Freedom community at the IF Square on the TCU Mattermost, at 9am EDT / 2pm UTC. It is a text-based chat where digital rights defenders can share regional and project updates, expertise, ask questions, and connect with others from all over the world! Do you need an invite? Learn how to get one here.

Notes

Could you please introduce yourself to those who are entering the chat?

• My name is Safa, and I have been working at Tactical Tech since 2018. I also contribute independently to Global Voices. I am a US-born diaspora Palestinian and based in Germany. I magnetize toward the SWANA space here in the Mattermost. Last year at the Global Gathering, I joined a group of incredible people to co-host the Palestine Booth where we fundraised for our contacts in Gaza and Lebanon.

Can you tell us about the Digitized Divides project and how it came about?

• In early 2023, my team and I began research to produce an exhibition for teens about tech and AI. Our research brought us down a lot of pathways that were very concerning and important, however as we were creating posters for teens, we had to be careful about 'how' to talk about these difficult topics, and also we were restricted in text length (each poster fit like 80 words). As a result, we agreed to fully dive into the topics in the future an unrestricted way for adults. But then in October 2023, the genocide in Gaza reach new heights of devastation. I was utterly shattered. I almost instantly began writing as a way to cope.
• When it started, Digitized Divides was intended to be just one long-form article. But quickly it grew to 10 parts, 21,608 words, and over 400 citations. And we could have kept going... there were many topics we didn't even touch on. This could become an encyclopedia with enough time!

How did your team decide which issues to focus on in such a broad and complex field?

• We primarily discussed the topics which felt nearest to us. Speaking for myself, this series was where many of my life's interests intersected at once. Palestine is a key topic in my life. But the other themes and places, like the DR Congo, accessibility, and environmentalism have also been important in my life's journey.
• Admittedly, I have zero experience with China or Russia (just for example), very little experience in Latin America so that is why I almost didn't talk about them at all. Not because they aren't important... they certainly are. But I felt it was important to the sincerity of the piece to speak with some level of familiarity and experience. This was also important in my research and ability to vet claims and information sources.
• I am very interested to learn more about other contexts and topics which I didn't cover. And I hope that comes next that I can keep reading, listening, and learning.
• This Part 9, for example, was the 2nd piece I wrote actually. This piece is very near to my heart, and I cried many times during the research process. I cannot believe what we do to other people, and that it continues for so long. But for the co-creation--this is an interesting topic with many results!
• We were especially surprised that the teen participants expressed a concern about the dissolution of human-to-human relationships. I personally had not expected that teens had such deep feelings of grief from covid times when the schooling moved online, but it appeared that it caused a lot of distress for them and they were worried that such a similar isolation behind a computer screen would happen again one day in the future with the development of technology. Teens are very perceptive, and can feel deeply about injustices, and they demonstrated that in the co-creation sessions.
• Some of the other results are here but even then, we didn't cover everything. We hope to publish more results publicly to share with other practitioners.

Much of the series critiques Western tech power structures. How did you approach including perspectives from the Global Majority? Would you highlight some key collaborations?

• Our team, which was very diverse, was hugely helpful in the guidance and perspectives. We had myself, someone from Brazil, from Egypt, from Cape Verde, from Czech Republic, Poland, and many partners and contacts to discuss these topics together and learn how to be sensitive and caring.
• For me, foremost it was important to share the stories from the laborers and communities most impacted by tech and tech infrastructures (who are often in the Global Majority) and give those stories the breathing room to be seen and heard and understood. Especially the Part 9 you shared before. Those stories need to be known. I wish I could shout them from mountaintops for all to hear.
• I would have loved to add more about the fighting back and revolt from the Global Majority, but in my mind, that needs to be a different series, to do it justice and give those stories their own breathing room... Although we did indeed include elements of uprising and revolt. Adding stories from labor lawyer Merci Mutemi and from Kenyan content moderator whistleblowers, for example, which inspired me. I'd love to turn this series into a book one day, so that I can pursue further these differing topics and perspectives.

Was the education formal? As in, formally arranged and delivered with the school systems?

• Some of them were! We had some formal educators. But we actually often work with informal educators, like librarians and community leaders. So that is where we had the most results.

Have you - or have you thought of - turning the written series into media formats?

• Yes I would really love to do that. I actually normally prefer those formats as they are more digestible for all (and then my family actually reads them LOL). Ill work on it this summer !

What are your AI specific literacy tools? And do you know if they are reaching people and having a positive impact?

• Yes! Here is an exhibition we developed (actually the inspiration for Digitized Divides) it is free, so just reach out to the email on the page to get access to the tools. And another here.
• For both, we've been getting a lot of positive feedback from partners, and many people offering to translate. Which for me shows that they are in demand. We don't teach 'how' to use AI, but more so how to think about using AI.

Recalling your experience with Digitized Divides, what’s one story, fact, or moment from this project that stuck with you — something you wish more people knew about?

• I'm afraid that the stories that stuck with me most are nightmares. The precious minerals in our phones and computers can be quite toxic, and the process to refine them can also cause toxic run-off into the surrounding environment. People downstream from some of that toxicity have experienced their teeth falling out and hair graying prematurely... I've personally had nightmares in my youth of my teeth falling out, so this really shook me. Tech can cause my nightmares to come true! It sounds like a made-up story, but it was in a credible report "Villagers living downstream from one mine in China reported their teeth falling out and hair turning white pre-maturely due to the toxicity that resulted from the mining process." and it's referenced here

After completing this project, has your personal relationship with technology changed in your daily life? would you share some advice? Considering that we are tech enthusiasts.

• There is a power in learning. Although I felt distress while researching, I am just grateful to know a drop in the ocean of what is going on and to be able to find ways to change my privacy habits, tech habits, and consumer habits. For example buying a used computer and taking better care of my phone so it lasts longer. Not getting caught up in marketing claims that I "need" new stuff all the time...
• There are many other areas which I would like to improve upon, and I am grateful that life opens up possibilities to continue to learn and grow every single day. I will say goodbye to Tactical Tech in 2 weeks, unfortunately, so I really hope I can find a new position that keeps me close to these topics so that I can continue to build upon this knowledge.