Technological advances may move at the speed of light these days, but that doesn’t mean that everyone in society benefits equally—or at all.
Sarada, an assistant professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, addressed this topic during a recent RED Talk titled “Is High-Tech Innovation Raising Economic Disparity?” The RED talk was sponsored by the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) and hosted by Dan Olszewski, director of WSB’s Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship.
In her presentation, Sarada first acknowledged the irrefutable positives of technological advancements before addressing their inherent complexities.
“The downside and the main question that motivated this talk is, are the gains to innovation disproportionately concentrated in certain population segments?” Sarada said. “Innovation is great, technology is great, markets grow, the standard of living goes up, but is everybody benefiting from these technological innovations in the same way or does it exacerbate the inequities?”
Sarada’s research examines the economics of entrepreneurship and innovation, including inventor demographics historically and their potential implications for present and future innovation.
The CDIS lecture series is designed to advance learning at the intersection of technology and humanity, and highlights thought leaders and groundbreaking work from campus and across industry.
Watch Sarada’s RED Talk: