Frequently Asked Questions

The Technology and Society Committee (TASC) is a group of engineers, scientists, computer professionals, other workers in technology related fields, and other citizens in the Santa Clara Valley, who share a common concern about the social consequences of technology. TASC engages in activities to raise social awareness among technical people, and in the community-at-large, about critical issues of technology and society. It also seeks to promote a greater public accountability and responsibility for social impacts of technology and technological change.

TASC's main activity is its luncheon speaker series, held every 2nd Tuesday from 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM at the Golden Wok restaurant at 895 Villa Street in Downtown Mountain View. Speaker topics range from social issues such as global warming to occupational issues such as balancing work and family life. Attendance ranges from 15-30, mostly people who work in local high technology industries.

Contact Bob Kirby at (650) 969-7215. It helps a lot if you have a specific speaker name and contact info.

There is usually one vegetarian dish. You can get a vegetarian lunch by special request if you ask when you sign in. The guy handling the money is the guy in charge of telling the kitchen what we want. I've seen it done. Another alternative is to bring a bag lunch. There is no charge for listening to the speaker if you do that, but you can't sit at one of the tables where they serve food. Several people who come on an onging basis don't eat at the meeting, another way to handle it.

TASC is an outgrowth of efforts in the early 1980's to bring together people in community groups, people from technology and technology related fields, and organized labor so that each group could benefit from the experiences of the others. The effort was directed by a Mountain View based organization then called the Mid-Peninsula Conversion Project (MPCP) and now called the Center for Economic Conversion (CEC) under a one year grant from the National Science Foundation. The specific goal of the grant was to get the groups meeting informally, making connections and finding ways to work together, and also to meet together in public forums to affirm their existence and show support for working with the other groups. Three such forums were held. The NSF grant was not extended past the first year and the connections between the groups were not able to be strengthened further. TASC grew out of the effort to organize technologists to be part of the process and has continued to provide a forum for discussions on the impact of technology on society.

Members of TASC help pay for the group's activities with their dues of $15.00 per year ($8.00 per year for students and low or fixed income members). For their dues, members get a subscription to TASC's newsletter and a discount on the luncheon. A newsletter only subscription is $5.00 per year. TASC's total membership hovers around 150.

If you would like to learn more about TASC, or want to find out how you can get involved, please write: