Much is said about tech’s negative impact on society. But what if, whilst GAFAM’s misdeeds continue, thousands of smaller enterprises were working away in the background to really make the world better, with tech?
This was our takeaway from changeNOW, the third edition of an ecology-focused conference which this year managed to fill Paris’ grandiose Grand Palais, principally with startups and associations set on using tech to help climate change, conservation, water quality, recycling and more.
The trend even seems so strong that TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher remarked: “20 years ago, an event like this would’ve been filled with hippies; now, it’s full of startups!” Indeed, Tech for Good France, an association exhibiting at changeNOW, says 500+ tech for good startups are currently active in France alone.