https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/covid-19-and-tech-wendy-liu-and-hettie-obrien-in-conversation-tickets-104125494156

Common Wealth and Repeater Books are happy to announce a virtual talk to launch Wendy Liu’s “Abolish Silicon Valley.” Join software engineer and author Wendy Liu for a virtual conversation with journalist Hettie O’Brien for a conversation about the tech world’s response to Covid-19, and what the pandemic means for the future of startup culture. As part of Common Wealth’s Covid-19 interview series, the event will examine the economics and policy pathways in the aftermath of Covid-19.

“Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism” is both a heartfelt personal story about the wasteful inequality of Silicon Valley, and a rallying call to engage in the radical politics needed to upend the status quo. Going beyond the idiosyncrasies of the individual founders and companies that characterise the industry today, Wendy Liu delves into the structural factors of the economy that gave rise to Silicon Valley as we know it. Ultimately, she proposes a more radical way of developing technology, where innovation is conducted for the benefit of society at large, and not just to enrich a select few.

The session will last from 19:30-20:30 GMT, including a digital Q&A

Wendy Liu is a start-up founder who left the tech industry to pursue a master’s degree in inequality from the London School of Economics. She was written about technology and politics for Logic Magazine, Dissent, and Tribune, and has been featured in articles on tech worker organising for The Atlantic and CNBC. She lives in San Francisco.

Hettie O’Brien is assistant opinion editor at The Guardian

Common Wealth is an independent think tank with a focus on ownership and the democratic economy. https://common-wealth.co.uk/

Repeater Books is an alternative publisher founded in 2014 by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher. https://repeaterbooks.com/

**Streaming location to be announced closer to date**