Some debates on technology

As the day of Zürich’s first general and open debate on the politics of technology arrives, I think it’s time to list some of the possible debates at stake.

I said some of the possible, and even that sounds too ambitious when it comes to compile what’s being discussed today about Internet and its derived technologies from a political perspective. But hey, we have to start somewhere.

After all, most about this first Civic Technology Day is probably either too ambitious or too risky. Or both. But hey…

This list is not based on the program you’ll be submitted to if you dare to come. Rather, it’s a mental note on some of the debates to come.

Or just another “open debate” if you will. Both are the same thing after all.

An open possibility to act up on our reality. A possibility that becomes more and more real, as we become aware of our human capacity to act on our reality.

Poster for The Civic Technology Day

Some political debates:

• Regulation of algorithms as political agents that increase inequalities and reinforce stereotypes, and for their ability to manipulate political consultations through misinformation, “fake-news” and “filter bubbles”.
• Political property of our private data to avoid situations of unauthorized surveillance by governments and corporations. From “nudging” with civic coexistence purposes, to the citizen surveillance by security/defense agencies, or the profiling of citizens for commercial and marketing purposes.
• Political ownership of our private data to avoid transforming it into merchandise, in order to build public-owned and managed AI systems, as an investment in public welfare and social protection infrastructures.
• Regulation of the working conditions of the workers of the sharing economy platforms.
• Regulation of the working conditions of workers in hardware production sites.
• Revision of the concept of “free social labor”, understood as the monetization of citizen generated content by third parties.

Some economic debates:

• Regulation of GAFA monopolies to promote free competition that benefits both content providers and creators, and advertisers and ad intermediaries. From the revision of current copyright regulations to the revision of the economic role of platforms as de facto monopolies of the advertising market, to the dangers of geopolitical inequalities due to the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a few North American corporations and institutions.
• Regulation of conditions of access to the network and therefore of the mobile telephony providers, also called the struggle for “net neutrality”.
• Regulation of monopolies of AI infrastructure services to promote free competition between AI system suppliers.
• Regulation of the ownership of the citizens’ private data due to condition of merchandise, aimed at sharing the benefits derived from its exploitation.
• Regulation of financial speculation algorithms.

Some healthcare debates:

• Regulation of so-called “persuasive technologies” that induce addictive behaviors.
• Review of the effects of social alienation and psychological damage derived from the intensive use of certain social platforms and videogames.

Some philosophical debates:

• Questioning of the very concept of AI as a system to delegate human agency to intelligent technologies.
• Questioning of the idea of “Progress”, understood as an “autonomous technical progress”, unavoidably advancing regardless to the collective will of the people.
• Questioning of new forms of identity creation and the creation of cultural meanings, understood as well as identities created and related through a telematic network as well as through interfaces that mediate between the individual and the information.

The Civic Technology Day will take place next March 30 at Karl der Grosse, Zürich.