SG - An Internet Revolution

About An Internet Revolution

Knowing that Big-Tech is deeply involved in all our lives, and that our online existences are fueling their business models, what alternatives are there? Tonight Dr. Simone van der Burg (WAAG) talks to us about the fundamental values underpinning global digital tech systems. Our guest, who is no stranger to Wageningen, dares us to consider what it would mean to realise an online infrastructure based on public values. Tonight she outlines why and how this could become a reality – revolutionising the internet. But just how realistic are the inherent design, regulation (governance) and policy considerations needed to arrive at more fair and safer technology landscapes? Explore together, the digital tech choices in the political and social landscape of ‘the possible’. What options are there for a collective response to make technology fairer and prevent the extreme power concentrations? And what socially relevant action does this entail? What if we could be the change we want to see in the world? What kinds of technologies, infrastructures and transitions would this imply? What if the future was now?

About series Big-Tech Broligarchies & New World Order

At the global level we see a scramble to redefine world order. Amidst destruction and upheaval, new dynamics of power are emerging on a stage previously dominated only by states. Big-Tech billionaires, whose services, products, platforms and infrastructure permeate our lives, have taken up position in this mix; even at the heart of the disruption. What does their oligarchical, techno-political power mean for world order, the future of democracy and our own personal choices? This series traces the long shadow cast by the ‘tech-bro’s’ and unpacks what is going on and what is at stake for the future of democratic societies, pluralist political stability and personal freedoms.

About Simone van der Burg

Simone van der Burg is Head of Programme of the Group Code at Waag Futurelab. The group Code is dedicated to technological design research which attunes digital technology to human (public) values. The goal is to realise a more responsible shaping of that technology, which enhances human (social) wellbeing and relationship to the environment. In previous positions, Simone developed as a responsible research and innovation scholar and was co-founder of the high impact Journal of Responsible Innovation.

She specialised in research projects on societal and ethical aspects of genomics as an assistant professor and senior researcher at RadboudUMC (Nijmegen) and was programme leader responsible digitalisation in agriculture at Wageningen University and Research. She has a PhD from the Free University in Amsterdam in moral philosophy and started her research work at Twente University. She contributed to policy advice regarding ethical and societal aspects of genetic modification by Cogem (between 2012 and 2022) and was a member of various committees, such the ethics review of the European Committee (between 2011-2018), of the Medical Research Ethics Committee at Radboud UMC (between 2014-2018), Ethical advisor of AgriConnect (2019-2022), FairShare (2018-2022), Desira (2018-2022). She taught classes to students in philosophy, PhD’s in responsible research and innovation, medical students and numerous students in (electric, biophysical) engineering.