Welcoming Submissions for the Inaugural Class of the Critical Tech Hall of Fame
Civics of Technology Announcements
AERA Meetup: Meet up with us at AERA! Friday, April 10, 2026 4:00-5:30 PT at the Yard House in LA. Please RSVP for the event here.
Next Tech Talk: Our April Tech Talk will feature the theme of “Caregiver Resistance to (Ed)Tech.” It will be on Wednesday, April 15 at 8:00 PM ET. Register here.
Upcoming Book Club: We’re reading The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms our Kids’ Learning - And How to Help Them Thrive Again by Jared Cooney Horvath. Join us on Wednesday, April 22nd at 7:00 PM ET. You can register here. You can read more about our mixed feelings and reasons we’re reading this book in this blog post.
Tech entrepreneurs often make the headlines. The thoughts and perspectives of white men such as Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Sam Altman often get the headlines. Bill Gates, who was derided for bullying, anti-competitive practices in the 1990s, gets to use his wealth to rebrand as an expert of everything, including many failed educational initiatives. Men like Bill Gates are granted air time and prestige, even when their opinions fall outside their knowledge and within their self-interest
As I wrote this post, I figured I’d amuse myself by seeing how Google’s AI Mode would label tech criticism… the response is a predictable assortment of white men, including B.F. Skinner (WTF!):
As AI companies’ chatbots seek to flatten knowledge and advance what Ruha Benjamin calls the New Jim Code, we want to gather human-authored submissions on the tech critics who have inspired us.
Technology critics, on the other hand, too often labor without the media influence afforded the wealthy. We have included many of these critics in our book clubs or in our technology quotes activity. Who has inspired your tech criticism? Inspired by the grandparents of media literacy project, We are welcoming submissions for our forthcoming Critical Tech Hall of Fame. If you are interested in writing a submission, click here to submit your nomination by Sunday, April 30th. Here’s our instructions in the form:
Civics of Technology is interested in creating our own Critical Tech Hall of Fame that would include (a) a profile of the person including their story and key ideas/contributions with a high quality image, and (b) linking to key resources (e.g., links to their published work, quality resources related to their work) to be submitted by June 30th, 2026. This can include historical figures from Lewis Mumford and Jacques Ellul to contemporary figures such as Timnit Gebru and Ruha Benjamin. To be included, the figures of the past or present should critique systems of oppression and power through their words or actions; address the concerns of marginalized and oppressed groups; and/or work toward alleviating injustice related to tech. Depending on interest and resources, a follow-up project may seek to publish longer profiles either in an academic journal or on the Civics of Tech site.
We will review nominations and email out decisions and instructions in early May, 2026. Completed Hall of Fame submissions will be due by June 30th. We look forward to seeing who will be included in the first class!