[While some of the posts are more current, this profile was last updated in 2018. For updated information on Karen and her work please refer to www.threshold-allies.com]

Hi! I’m Karen Tay. I currently work in the Silicon Valley for Singapore’s Smart Nation team. I worked in social and educational policy for many years before transitioning into the world of tech. Growing up, one of my greatest passions has been making our world a more inclusive place, where everybody has opportunities for a good life regardless of where they start.  Technology has such tremendous potential in this respect, and I believe this is maximised when tech, business and governments work closely together.

However, we often don’t have a good understanding of each others’ objectives and considerations. We talk past each other, or even hold some suspicion towards each others’ intentions. As a result, we miss out on opportunities to optimise good for society. 

If you work in tech, I hope this blog gives you a flavour for how your work counts towards the public good – in ways beyond what you might imagine. I hope to give you insight on the big issues Governments and societies grapple with, so that you can help to think about how to solve them. I hope to give you a peek into the objectives and considerations of Governments when we think about technology, so that you can understand where our seemingly arcane positions may come from, and teach us how to change.

If you work in Government or civil society, I hope this blog gives you ideas about how to use technology for public good. Technology can exacerbate or alleviate the societal problems we face today. We must work with tech and business to achieve the latter. Articles like “An Autonomous Vehicle Strategy for Smart Cities” and “Three Ways to Build a Transportation System that Serves the Most Vulnerable” aim to do this. I have also started a “What I Wish They Knew” series, where people who work at the crossroads of Tech and Government share their experiences and insights.

If you are simply interested in learning about tech, and/or public good, I hope that this blog gives you an overview of the big issues in these two sectors, and how we may bridge them. I am happy to point you in the right direction if you would like to explore any of these topics further.

Finally, if you have ideas in this general area, I’d love for you to be a contributor. You can also catch me at upcoming conferences in the “links” section below.

*the views in this blog are my own, and do not represent the views of my organisation