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In the early 2000s, Jon Gosier is working as a music producer for artists including Jeezy and Andre 3000 (Outkast), and the then-unknown film director, Tyler Perry. Though the work is lucrative, Jon decides to leave the entertainment industry behind. What follows is a one-of-a-kind journey through the worlds of technology, entrepreneurship, and African politics.
In Europe, Jon encounters a sprawling and vibrant hacking community, where he becomes familiar with emerging GPS and data technologies. His travels eventually take him to East Africa. Leveraging the digital location and data skills he learned in Europe, Jon joins a group of Kenyan digital activists working on disaster and human crisis response. Their work is shortlisted for the Nobel Prize and honored by the Obama administration.
Jon's work with Kenyan digital activists sets the stage for a deepening relationship with the African continent. Over the subsequent years, he co-founds a network of tech hubs for African entrepreneurs that today spans 90 African cities and 30 countries. Eventually, he becomes so embedded with the country's youth politics that the US intelligence community ask him to support their counter-terrorism efforts in Africa, where the radicalization of the young presents a growing threat.
In 2014, Jon delivers a speech at the United Nations, in which he wrestles with the tensions between technology, capitalism and philanthropy. His expertise sees him go on to work with government agencies on data practices in policing, election integrity, and national defense.
Code Switch provides a rich and gritty account of this unique life story. Throughout, it casts new insight on how the nature of data technology has changed. Where once activists used these new tools to protect elections and drive activism, they are now being used to manipulate and target people with disinformation.
