We’re just a few weeks into 2022, and believe it or not, we will move from a pandemic world to an endemic world. As we do that, there are five big picture topics I’m focused on this year – technology, supply chain, workforce, climate change, and the changing face of America. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my candid thoughts and predictions for these five topics in a “2022 Trends” blog series – beginning today with technology, in general, and Big Tech specifically.

Will government regulators’ understanding of technology catch up to the rapid advances of technology? Consider Senator Blumenthal’s question during a Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee earlier this year: “Will you commit to ending finsta?” If so, will regulators impose further regulation on Big Tech given its impact on finance (cryptocurrency), as well as the power of algorithms to guide information on democracy and public health to us through social media platforms? What would those regulations look like? Better understanding the societal and ethical implications of platform algorithms and the need to balance further regulation against rights to free speech are of high interest to me in 2022. With United States midterm elections occurring in 2022, things are about to get REALLY interesting.

Loretto recently received grant money to offer digital literacy training to its employees. It covers digital basics—how to identify high quality data, how to search for multiple sources of data, as well as skills training to ensure all of our employees are utilizing the technologies available to them. This program not only improves the expertise of our staff, but their mobility in an increasingly digital world.

What opportunities could you pursue for yourself or on behalf of your organization related to technological advancements in 2022?

Ready for more? Check out my blog post on supply chain next.