In early February a critical and thought-provoking conference brought a group of diverse speakers to São Paulo. The aims of the conference were to create a network of artists, designers, activists, and researchers that would provide much needed Global South narratives and perspectives on the impact and role of technology. This was strikingly in contrast to the standard dominant Global North conversations. Also interesting was that participants were encouraged to bring incomplete works, ideas that they were passionate about. This opened up for unpolished yet very promising work to be shared. I was part of that conference, and I’m glad that I was.

What stood out the most about the event was the spirit of camaraderie and collaboration between the participants. We spent long hours together, eating together, going out together, brainstorming, and prototyping different ideas. I sensed a spirit of giving and openness. The focus seemed first and foremost to humanize each of us and our perspectives and to humanize the voices of the disenfranchised. During the conference I proposed an incomplete idea I had to challenge the lack of representation of people of color in academia through the creation of a platform to organize and publicize underrepresented scholars. Another project challenged the dehumanization of Amazon turkers through the creation of a platform that allowed turkers to connect to other turkers to organize and strengthen bonds. There was an artificial intelligence artistic visual project that challenged the knowledge gap between the effects of AI and how it is created. We also shared personal and professional challenges when advocating for tech policy.

Undoubtedly, the ability to suspend one’s activities and responsibilities for one to three days in order to attend a worthwhile conference may not be available to all due to social and racial factors. In Brazil, where half the population is of African descent, the conference attendee representation did not reflect the diversity in part due to the systematic disenfranchisement of the Afro-Brazilian community and the social determinants that prevent the marginalized from attending such events. Nevertheless, from the Afro-Brazilian attendees I spoke to at length, whom I’m now keeping in regular contact with, and from the overall warmth from the organizers, I left with pleasant memories, new friends, and the reassurance and hope that such a gathering, led by a spirit of service, community, and giving, is what is needed to challenge the current negative effects of technology in light of historic marginalizations.