System Error, Live! With Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami, and Jeremy Weinstein

Join Profs. Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami, and Jeremy Weinstein — the authors of System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot — for a discussion hosted by Ambassador Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford. The operating system of Big Tech is broken, and this panel discussion will explore the path to a reboot. Plus, it will also allow you experience Professor Sahami’s famous tradition of throwing candy into the audience!

This event is co-sponsored by the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, and the Stanford School of Engineering.

A forward-thinking manifesto from three Stanford professors — experts who have worked at ground zero of the tech revolution for decades — System Error reveals how Big Tech’s obsession with optimization and efficiency has sacrificed fundamental human values and demands that we change course to renew our democracy and save ourselves.

Armed with an understanding of how technologists think and exercise their power, these three Stanford professors—a philosopher working at the intersection of tech and ethics, the director of the undergraduate computer science program who was also an early Google engineer, and a political scientist who served under Barack Obama—reveal how we can hold that power to account. Troubled by the values that permeate the university and Silicon Valley, these professors worked together to chart a new path forward, creating a popular course to transform how tomorrow’s technologists might better approach their profession. Now, as the dominance of Big Tech becomes an explosive societal conundrum, join us as they share their provocative insights and concrete solutions to help everyone understand what is happening, what is at stake, and what we can do to control technology instead of letting it control us.

Books will be available for purchase at the event, and the authors will be signing copies as well.

Health and Safety Guidelines

All visitors coming to Frost Amphitheater must meet at least one of two criteria: 1) be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 OR 2) receive a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to arrival onsite.

To show proof of vaccination, you must bring a photo ID plus one of the following: 1) vaccine card or a photo of your vaccine card 2) digital COVID-19 vaccine record using the My Vaccine Record App.

For outdoor shows at Frost Amphitheater, masks are required for unvaccinated patrons, and optional for fully vaccinated patrons. In accordance with Santa Clara County Public Health, masks are encouraged to be worn by all at crowded outdoor events.

For more information, please visit the venue's policy page.

Host or Publisher Professor Robert Reich