WeAreDevelopers Logo WeAreDevelopers
Sign in
For You LIVE
World Congress 2024 • Aug 20, 2024 • Session details

Opening Keynote: Civic Coding, A Framework for Democratic Tech

David Simas

From the Obama White House to the era of deepfakes, one truth emerges: technology is ethically neutral. Discover how civic coding empowers engineers to become true developers of democracy.

Pause
Mute Enter Fullscreen
#1 about 3 min

Immigrant roots and lessons from the West Wing

Reflecting on personal history and public service demonstrates the importance of remembering one's community and responsibilities.

#2 about 4 min

Centering daily work on human needs and empathy

Reading letters from struggling individuals grounds daily work in the real-world needs of regular people over political prestige.

#3 about 4 min

Navigating societal disruption and technological transformation

Economic dislocation, cultural shifts, and instantaneous information overload drive polarization that professionals must actively address.

#4 about 3 min

Defining civic code and democratic responsibility in technology

Because technology lacks inherent ethics, software creators must embed democratic principles and civic responsibility into their work.

#5 about 2 min

Practicing leadership of self through humility and awareness

Interrogating personal biases and maintaining intellectual humility allows professionals to discover optimal solutions without ego interference.

#6 about 2 min

Embracing diversity and shared expertise for team leadership

Effective collaboration requires an openness to opposing viewpoints and the wisdom to defer to others' expertise.

#7 about 2 min

Applying leadership to serve the broader public good

Prioritizing community resilience and interdependence equips the tech industry to combat destabilizing forces like deepfakes and misinformation.

#8 about 7 min

Stepping up as developers of democracy and society

Personal stories of policy impact and presidential gratitude underscore the crucial role of tech professionals in upholding democratic values.

Matching moments

3:58 min

The ethical and civic responsibilities of software engineers

Constantijn van Oranje Constantijn van Oranje +3 · World Congress 2024

2:23 min

Tech leadership responsibility to rebuild society

Phil Bennett · World Congress 2021

4:09 min

Overcoming introversion and conflict avoidance in tech leadership

Sumit Gupta · JS Congress

1:04 min

Required leadership skills for modern technology transitions

Annabella Bassler Annabella Bassler +3 · World Congress 2026 Europe

2:00 min

Speaker background and current technology implementations

Manjuri Sinha Manjuri Sinha · World Congress 2025

2:34 min

Prioritizing societal impact and responsibility in software development

Yiyang Lu Yiyang Lu · World Congress 2026 Europe

More from World Congress 2024

Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI Strategies Panel thumbnail
24:07
11 months ago

Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI Strategies Panel

Mike Butcher, Jürgen Müller, Katrin Lehmann, Tobias Regenfuss

Carl Lapierre - Exploring Advanced Patterns in Retrieval-Augmented Generation thumbnail
21:17
almost 2 years ago

Carl Lapierre - Exploring Advanced Patterns in Retrieval-Augmented Generation

Carl Lapierre

Coding an Immersive Copilot using Unity / .NET and Azure OpenAI! thumbnail
31:50
about 2 years ago

Coding an Immersive Copilot using Unity / .NET and Azure OpenAI!

Zaid Zaim

Building a diverse tech company: The power of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging thumbnail
29:43
about 2 years ago

Building a diverse tech company: The power of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Sue Quackenbush

Dapr in Practice thumbnail
24:08
about 2 years ago

Dapr in Practice

marcklefter

Minimising the Carbon Footprint of Workloads thumbnail
27:46
about 2 years ago

Minimising the Carbon Footprint of Workloads

Michael Mueller

Upcoming sessions on this topic

Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 16:10–16:40

Outdoor Stage

When Humans Stop Writing Code: Rethinking Languages, Compilers, and Responsibility

Simon Auer

Organizer of flutter vienna meetup and CEO of marqably

Simon Auer
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 12:55–13:25

Stage 7

The spectrum of agentic coding: From vibe coding to high-quality software engineering

YK Sugi

Developer Experience Manager at Eventual

YK Sugi
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 16:50–17:20

Outdoor Stage

Beyond the Code: Human-AI Synergies in Product Development

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth

Staff Technical Program Manager at Google

Ajita Kanchivakam Ananth
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 24, 2026 · 15:30–16:00

Mainstage

Our Brains in the AI Era

Cassidy Williams

Senior Director of Developer Advocacy, GitHub

Cassidy Williams
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 14:10–14:40

Stage 1

The Broken Rung: How AI is Rebuilding Software Development from the Ground Up

Tomislav Tipurić

Chief Technology Officer, Nephos

Tomislav Tipurić
Open session

World Congress 2026 North America

September 25, 2026 · 12:55–13:25

Outdoor Stage

Building the AI Era Through Developer Communities: A Competitive Advantage for Engineers & Teams

John Komarnicki

National Executive Advisor at Code & Coffee | Engineering & AI Community Leader

John Komarnicki

Related videos

Coding for Good: Achieving social change with an app thumbnail
22:35
World Congress 2025 • about 1 year ago

Coding for Good: Achieving social change with an app

Chris Ward

The Impact of Technology on Democracy thumbnail
30:23
World Congress 2024 • about 2 years ago

The Impact of Technology on Democracy

Constantijn van Oranje, David Simas, Fanny Jimenez, Vera Futorjanski

Five Things in Tech that Matter Now - WeAreDevelopers World Congress 2026 Closing Keynote thumbnail
19:41
World Congress 2026 Europe • 2 months ago

Five Things in Tech that Matter Now - WeAreDevelopers World Congress 2026 Closing Keynote

Christian Heilmann

Responsibility Beyond Code - Build with Societal Impact In Mind thumbnail
10:58
World Congress 2026 Europe • 2 months ago

Responsibility Beyond Code - Build with Societal Impact In Mind

Yiyang Lu

The Power of Developer Communities thumbnail
31:15
World Congress 2024 • about 2 years ago

The Power of Developer Communities

Angie Jones, Rajeev Rajan, Scott Hanselman, Sead Ahmetovic

Official Opening of WeAreDevelopers World Congress thumbnail
14:01
World Congress 2024 • about 2 years ago

Official Opening of WeAreDevelopers World Congress

Chris Heilmann

Related articles

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.