#rpDetroit Speaker Eric Williams: Access means opportunity

Eric Williams is a senior staff attorney in the Detroit Justice Center’s Economic Equity Practice. A native Detroiter, Eric is a transactional attorney with an emphasis on the legal needs of Detroit’s entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits. Eric is a frequent speaker on community development and government surveillance. He currently serves on the board of directors for Ponyride, the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the Little Caesar’s Arena, and the Lawyers Committee for the Michigan ACLU.

What message do you want to share at re:publica Detroit?
Technology’s greatest threat to society isn’t a monster behind some newly discovered door.  We should fear freeing the old monsters we know so intimately that we’ve forgotten the horrors they bring.

In one word, what does access mean to you?
Opportunity.

What are you looking forward to most at re:publica Detroit?
American jurisprudence largely fails to account for the impact of technology on existing systems and only dimly sees the new horizons. In poor and brown communities, those shortcomings are complete. I’m looking forward to crowd sourcing solutions.