Priscilla Chomba Kinywa (CTO, Greenpeace International)
Priscilla Chomba Kinywa is Chief Technology Office (CTO) at Greenpeace and a TED Speaker. A Technology expert with experience spanning over two decades, 6 continents and 70 countries.
Priscilla loves working in sectors that do good, and prides herself in enabling others to do good better through the capabilities that technological advancements provide us. She feels very strongly about giving young people every opportunity to thrive.
Her career has spanned the UN World Food Programme, UNICEF, DanChurchAid, ActionAid International and Greenpeace International.
While Priscilla doesn’t have any past formal involvement with the Wikimedia movement, she strongly connects with its values and has for example spoken about “Why a free and fair internet is more vital than ever” in a 2021 TED Talk, which garnered over 2 million views and is featured as a TED Podcast.
When she's not thinking about how people and technology can make the world better, you will find her spending time with her family as they toggle between their two homes of Kenya and Zambia.
Session
Technological innovation is key to solving humanity’s greatest challenges. But Tech revolutions like Artificial Intelligence are double-edged swords, especially in addressing existential threats such as climate change. AI’s soaring energy demands strain power grids and risk deepening reliance on fossil fuels.
Greenpeace International and its Technology Department face the challenge of aligning their mission and the values of millions of supporters with Tech choices that can advance their cause.
How can a mission-driven organization harness cutting-edge technologies in a landscape dominated by Big Tech, whose interests often clash with its own? How do we ensure that biodiversity loss, community impacts, and excessive energy use don’t undo progress toward renewables, and that biases in AI don’t worsen the digital divide?
Greenpeace International’s Chief Technology Officer reflects on confronting AI’s dark sides while leveraging its potential to accelerate climate action and movement goals.