Digital Humanism: Capstone Lecture by danah boyd
Date:
Wednesday, 29 January 2025 @ 16:45–18:15 CET
Location:
BIG Lecture Hall
Main Building of the University of Vienna
Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna
danah boyd
Repairing the Social Fabric
Abstract:
From the early days of online communities, many pundits envisioned a world where people could be more connected around the globe thanks to new technology. And yet, this is not the world that social media brought forth. After years of struggling with misinformation, political polarization, and rampant distrust in institutions, many have begun to wonder if social media might be fundamentally malevolent. Lost in conversations about algorithms is a discussion about the health of the social fabric itself. Building and sustaining relationships takes work. Rearranging the structural conditions in pursuit of equity cannot be automated. In this talk, danah will explore what is necessary to repair our collective social fabric and the role that networked technologies can play.
Lecture series "Foundations and Methods of Digital Humanism"
Winter semester 2024/25, University of Vienna
This lecture series examines "Digital Humanism" and its societal impact, offering multidisciplinary insights and featuring leaders of nine WWTF-funded projects from 2020. The lecture is a cooperation between the University of Vienna and the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF).
CS Talk by danah boyd
Date:
Thursday, 30 January 2025 @ 15:00–16:00 CET
Location:
HS 02 (2nd floor) @ Währinger Straße 29
CS Building, University of Vienna
Währinger Straße 29, 1090 Vienna
danah boyd
In Pursuit of Responsible AI
Abstract:
Over the last decade, a range of practices have emerged as scholars, practitioners, and regulators attempt to ensure that AI investments don't go off the rails. Practices like red-teaming marry earlier approaches to content moderation and security, but others are being developed specifically for the Generative AI space. Many of these fit under the broader rubric of "responsible AI." How sociotechnical systems are designed, developed, and deployed is not inevitable. It behooves us all to grapple with known pitfalls, minimize risks, and nudge the systems towards constructive ends. In this talk, danah will explore the range of traps that those seeking to minimize harm have, are, and will face as they attempt to ground fast-moving developments and offer frameworks for thinking about the present moment.
About danah boyd:
danah boyd is a Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on the intersection of technology and society, with an eye to how structural inequities shape and are shaped by technologies. She is currently conducting a multi-year ethnographic study of the US census to understand how data are made legitimate. Her previous studies have focused on media manipulation, algorithmic bias, privacy practices, social media, and teen culture. Her monograph "It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens" has received widespread praise. She founded the research institute Data & Society, where she currently serves as an advisor. She is also a trustee of the Computer History Museum, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and on the advisory board of Electronic Privacy Information Center. She received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Brown University, a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD in Information from the University of California, Berkeley.
danah boyd's website danah.org
danah boyd on Bluesky @zephoria.bsky.social
