Facebook CEO plans 2019 forums on tech´s role in society

(New York) – Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his personal goal for 2019, convening a series of public forums on how technology can better serve society.

“My challenge for 2019 is to host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society — the opportunities, the challenges, the hopes and the anxieties,” Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook.

The announcement follows a difficult period for the social media company, which has come under fire for its handling of private consumer data and its brass-knuckles approach to company critics, among other issues.

Zuckerberg, without directly acknowledging the criticism, said he recognized the need to get out of his comfort zone.

“I´m an engineer, and I used to just build out my ideas and hope they´d mostly speak for themselves,” he wrote.

“But given the importance of what we do, that doesn´t cut it anymore. So I´m going to put myself out there more than I´ve been comfortable with and engage more in some of these debates about the future, the tradeoffs we face, and where we want to go.”

Zuckerberg plans a series of forums that will be broadcast on Facebook, Facebook-owned Instagram or other media.