FROM WORSHIP TO SCRUTINY: Tech Titans in Pop Culture and the Stories We Need Next

Описание: From Worship to Scrutiny: Tech Titans in Pop Culture and the Stories We Need Next

For over a decade, pop culture worshiped the tech founder. The Social Network (2010) gave us the lone genius building empires from a dorm room. Then came a wave of whistleblower biopics. Now, with The Social Reckoning on the way, we're deep in the scrutiny phase. But here's the thing: whether we're worshiping these figures or putting them on trial, the camera still points at the same people. The stories are still about CEOs. Everyone else gets erased.

So what comes next? And who gets to tell it?

In this fishbowl conversation from the Impact Lounge at Sundance 2026, we dig into the stories we actually need, the ones that make collective power feel as inevitable as disruption once did. Audience members rotate into the conversation alongside our panelists, bringing perspectives from fandom consulting, independent filmmaking, documentary production, tech refusal, and more.

Speakers:
Nicole Allred, Principal, Omidyar Network, Culture and Narrative Strategist in Technology Ecosystems
Dr. Avriel Epps, Professor, AI and Human Development Expert, Founder of AI4Abolition and The Center for Liberatory AI Research (CLAIR)
Lynn Renee Maxcy, Screenwriter, Co-founder of Creators Coalition on AI
Meredith Levine, Fanthropologist, Audience Development Researcher and Strategist
Facilitated by Jocelyn McDougall, The Tech We Want

Plus audience participants including filmmakers and creators from around the world.

Presented by The Tech We Want and Omidyar Network at the Impact Lounge during Sundance 2026.

Chapters:
0:00 Welcome Remarks
1:00 Setting the Stage: From Worship to Scrutiny
4:00 Fishbowl Format Explained
6:00 Panelist Intros: Why This Shift, Why Now
11:00 How Do We Tell Stories About Collective Power?
17:00 Fishbowl Opens: Audience Joins the Conversation
20:00 Stories for Today's Children
24:00 Character-Driven Narratives and Trojan Horse Storytelling
29:00 The Social Network as Cautionary Tale
32:00 Regulating Power, Not Demonizing It
38:00 Mythology, Military History, and New Story Frameworks
42:00 Fandom as Collective Identity and Civic Imagination
45:00 What Must Be True for the Future We Want
47:00 Fandom as a Space to Practice Being Human
50:00 The Alternative Futures Fund and Closing

WHAT IS A FISHBOWL CONVERSATION?
This conversation uses a fishbowl format, where four speakers sit in the center with one empty chair, and anyone in the room can walk up, sit down, and join. When someone new enters, one of the four steps out, keeping the group rotating and the perspectives fresh. We chose this format because the whole premise of the panel is that tech stories center too few voices. It felt wrong to talk about distributing power from a stage where only three or four people get to speak. The fishbowl lets the room become the conversation, and what you'll hear is richer and more surprising for it.

WHAT IS THE TECH WE WANT?
The Tech We Want is the responsible innovation platform and network for tech visionaries, operators, and champions building an alternative tech economy rooted in shared power and prosperity. Learn more at thetechwewant.com.

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