Maggio, 2022

Irene Jay Liu leads Google News Lab, part of the Google News Initiative, in the Asia Pacific region. An experienced political, investigative and data journalist, she was a 2017 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting as part of the Reuters team that documented widespread cheating in U.S. college admissions.

Now, with News Lab, Irene promotes innovation and the use of technology in newsrooms. We talked to her about the dizzying pace of change in Asia, building a united front against misinformation and why journalists in the region are so willing to experiment.

What did you do before you came to Google?

My first full-time reporting job, in 2007, was eliminated by budget cuts before my first day. That was my introduction to the industry. Luckily, I landed a job in Albany, New York covering politics. It was a perfect introduction to modern reporting: I filed for the newspaper, ran the political blog, did radio bits for NPR and was an on-air reporter for the local PBS station.

In 2010, I moved to Hong Kong to work for the South China Morning Post. There was something about Asia, and Hong Kong in particular, that drew me to the region — we didn’t know how the story would end. The intervening 12 years have proved that out. History took a very different turn than anyone could have predicted. So it’s really been an education.

Later I moved to Reuters, where I led development of Connected China, an immersive data-driven app, and then worked as an investigative reporter on their enterprise team. So I’ve also had the luxury of being part of ambitious, innovative data projects.

What are some challenges journalists face in the Asia Pacific region?

Change is the only constant in Asia Pacific. We’re seeing more and more pressure on journalists and the erosion of press freedom, not only in Asia, but globally. Despite this, there’s a strong sense of mission and purpose — that the work needs to be done. What has always amazed me is how newsrooms here are willing to collaborate with Google — and each other — to problem-solve and innovate. There’s this agility that’s really inspiring.

What do you think fuels that willingness to experiment?

I think it’s that history is moving at such a fast clip here. Journalists in the field can see the connection between freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the stability of their democracies and societies, because they remember a time when things were very, very different. They’ve seen the threat of misinformation and how it can be a matter of life and death, especially in the pandemic.

So there’s this visceral need to make it work, a sense that “we don’t have a choice, we have to figure it out as an industry.” Otherwise, the trajectory of history can change very quickly.

Can you give an example?

CekFakta in Indonesia launched ahead of the presidential election in 2019. It was really just a few journalists and folks from the nonprofit sector who came together and said, “We have an election coming, misinformation really affected thelast one. We need to take a stand.”

Because of their hard work, on top of everything else they’re doing, they convinced 24 news organizations — top publications that are constantly competing — to work out of the same room, collaboratively fact-checking presidential debates, and again on election day, to counter misinformation as it appeared.

What are some other ways News Lab works with journalists in the region to address misinformation?

Misinformation is top of mind almost everywhere in the region, and journalists feel as if it’s their cross to bear.

One project we recently supported in the Philippines is #FactsFirstPH, a project to connect journalism with the rest of the society ahead of their national elections. A coalition of news organizations came together to collaborate on fact-checking, working in tandem with researchers who analyzed patterns of misinformation, and then partnering with civil society organizations to amplify those fact checks, and with the legal community to hold candidates accountable.

We’re seeing more of this multi-sector collaboration. That’s what’s encouraging: experimentation, collaboration and the embrace of technology to tackle these issues.

Are we better equipped to address misinformation than we were a few years ago?

There’s greater awareness, but it hasn’t translated into institutions gaining trust. People are just more skeptical. That’s the challenge newsrooms face.

What’s interesting in Asia is that you have people coming online for the first time, so there’s an opportunity to develop awareness and resistance to misinformation from the start.

In India, we’ve piloted this approach through FactShala, which teaches news and information literacy to first-time internet users. Employing a curriculum designed from a baseline study of first-time internet users, Factshala partners with trusted sources — civil society organizations, nonprofits, community workers, educators, journalists — to get the word out in multiple languages.

Are you optimistic about the future of journalism?

I am. I miss being a reporter every day, and I’m constantly humbled and inspired by the journalists I have the privilege to work with here. Their ingenuity and tenacity, in the face of sometimes overwhelming adversity, is the reason I believe journalism will thrive.

And there’s so much that we at Google can do to support this work. As long as we listen to the journalism community and respond to what they need, there’s a lot we can achieve together.

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Path to Google,” where we talk to Googlers, interns, apprentices and alumni about how they got to Google, what they do in their roles and how they prepared for their interviews.

In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, today’s post features Unni Nair, a senior research strategist on Google’s Responsible Innovation team. As a second-generation Indian American, Unni’s background has helped shape his passion for sustainability and responsible artificial intelligence (AI).

What’s your role at Google?

I’m a senior research strategist on the Responsible Innovation team. In this role, I use Google’s AI Principles to help our teams build products that are both helpful and socially responsible. More specifically, I’m passionate about how we can proactively incorporate responsible AI into emerging technologies to drive sustainable development priorities. For example, I’ve been working with the Google Earth Engine team to align their work with our AI Principles, which we spoke about in a workshop at Google I/O. I helped the team develop a data set — used by governments, companies and researchers — to efficiently display information related to conservation, biodiversity, agriculture and forest management efforts.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but I lived in many different parts of the U.S., and often traveled internationally, throughout my childhood. Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to live in and learn from so many different communities at such a young age. As a child of Indian immigrants, I was exposed to diverse ways of life and various forms of inequity. These experiences gave me a unique perspective on the world, helping me see the potential in every human being and nurturing a sense of duty to uplift others. It took dabbling in fields from social work to philosophy, and making lots of mistakes along the way, to figure out how to turn this passion into impact.

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, how else has your background influenced your work?

I’m grateful for having roots in the 5,000+ year-old Indian civilization and am constantly reminded of its value working in Silicon Valley. One notable example that’s influenced my professional life is the concept of Ahimsa — the ethical principle of not causing harm to other living things. While its historical definition has been more spiritually related, in modern day practice I’ve found it’s nurtured a respect for nature and a passion for sustainability and human rights in business. This contemporary interpretation of Ahimsa also encourages me to consider the far-reaching impacts — for better or for worse — that technology can have on people, the environment or society at large.

How did you ultimately end up at Google?

I was itching to work on more technology-driven solutions to global sustainability issues. I started to see that many of the world’s challenges are in part driven by macro forces like rapid globalization and technology growth. However, the sustainability field and development sector were slow to adapt from analog problem solving. I wanted to explore unconventional solutions like artificial intelligence, which is why I taught myself the Python programming language and learned more about AI. I started hearing about Google’s AI-first approach to help users and society, with an emphasis on the need to develop that technology responsibly. So I applied to the Responsible Innovation team for the chance to create helpful technology with social benefit in mind.

Any advice for aspiring Googlers?

Google is one of those rare places where the impact you’re making isn’t just on a narrow band of users — it’s on society at large. So, take the time to reflect on what sort of impact you want to make in the world. Knowing your answer to that question will allow you to weave your past experiences into a cohesive narrative during the interview process. And more importantly, it will also serve as your personal guide when making important decisions throughout your career.

I remember clearly the palpable sense of excitement at the Google for Startups Campus in London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ when I first visited in 2012. My first startup, back in Krakow Poland, had shut down after three years of solid early traction, and I moved to London in pursuit of bigger opportunities, a community and capital to fuel growth. The UK quickly became home, and my London Campus experience was so positive I ended up joining Google six years later.

As we celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Google for Startups UK, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the entrepreneurs and teams who have blazed a trail, and looking ahead to ensure we’re helping create the right conditions for future founders.

The industry has grown exponentially since Google for Startups UK launched 10 years ago – this year, we’ve already seen UK tech startups and scaleups cumulatively valued at more than $1 trillion (£794bn); up from $53.6 billion (£46bn), ten years ago.

One area of the UK tech startup community that has flourished in particular is impact tech – defined as companies founded to help address global challenges like climate change and help transform health, education and financial inclusion. Our new report created in partnership with Tech Nation, A Decade of UK Tech, shows that funding for impact tech startups has soared. In fact, since 2011, funding for impact tech companies addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals has risen 43-fold from just $74 million (£59 million) to $3.5 billion (£2.8 billion).

Graph: Investment into impact tech scaleups (2011-2021)

Startups are helping to solve global challenges, like climate change, education, health, food and sanitation, with agility, innovation and determination. And at Google for Startups, we’re proud to be supporting these businesses along the way by connecting founders with the right people, products and practices to help them grow. Because their continued success is vital not just for the UK’s future, but that of the world.

Google for Startups was launched in the UK with a mission to support a thriving, diverse and inclusive startup community. Here’s where we are a decade later:

• Startups in our community have created more than 24,000 jobs
• Startups in our network have raised £358 million
• We supported 20 UK-based Black-led startups with the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Europe. Last year’s European cohort went on to raise £64 million in subsequent funding and increase their headcount by 21%

Our work at Google for Startups is far from over. We’re committed to levelling the playing field for all founders, and closing the disproportionate gap in access to capital and support networks for underrepresented communities. For the impact tech sector to continue to grow and succeed, we must ensure funding is channeled towards the most innovative startups – no matter their valuation, funding stage or background.

Find out more at Google for Startups.