Video: Talking About Tech: Should We Panic Or Should We Calm Down?

Almost two weeks ago, the International Journalism Festival, an annual summit that takes place in Perugia, Italy, celebrated its 12th edition with more than 300 sessions and 700 speakers from 50 countries. This global conversation on trends, news and issues affecting journalism couldn’t possibly happen without technology being a key point on the agenda. The good news is that now you can watch what leading researchers, academics, journalists and tech professionals have to say about the field, as the entire festival was live-streamed and all the videos are available online.

If you are overwhelmed by the array of options, start with this one-hour-long thought-provoking video of a panel on moral panic overtaking the discussion on technology, featuring Jeff Jarvis, associate professor at CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism, Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Tanit Koch, former editor-in-chief of German Bild, Madhav Chinnappa, director of strategic relations at Google, and Jillian York, director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“Widespread fear, often an irrational one, that someone or something is a threat to the values, safety and interests of a community or society at large,” was how Jeff Jarvis defined moral panic. “Typically a moral panic is perpetuated by news media, fueled by politicians, and often results in the passage of new laws or policies that target the source of panic. In this way, moral panic can foster increased social control.”

Reflecting on a growing media and public backlash against technology companies, particularly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and Zuckerberg's congressional testimony, the speakers tried to examine whether the panic is justified or not. The panel also offered some interesting insights into the debate on whether to regulate technology companies, and deserves credit for peering into the future on possible unintended consequences that could spring from the regulation, if the panic leads to action.