Ideas worth spreading

The problem with "trickle-down techonomics"

874,585 views |

Jon Gosier |

TEDGlobal 2014

• October 2014

Hooray for technology! It makes everything better for everyone!! Right? Well, no. When a new technology, like ebooks or health trackers, is only available to some people, it has unintended consequences for all of us. Jon Gosier, a TED Fellow and tech investor, calls out the idea of "trickle-down techonomics," and shares powerful examples of how new tech can make things actually worse if it's not equally distributed. As he says, "the real innovation is in finding ways to include everyone."

Hooray for technology! It makes everything better for everyone!! Right? Well, no. When a new technology, like ebooks or health trackers, is only available to some people, it has unintended consequences for all of us. Jon Gosier, a TED Fellow and tech investor, calls out the idea of "trickle-down techonomics," and shares powerful examples of how new tech can make things actually worse if it's not equally distributed. As he says, "the real innovation is in finding ways to include everyone."

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Jon Gosier

Investor, data scientist, entrepreneur

See speaker profile

Jon Gosier is a serial tech entrepreneur and early-stage startup investor. In 2015, Time magazine listed him as one of the "12 New Faces of Black Leadership."

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.