[Air-L] Announcing the Keynote speaker for #AoIR2024 - Dr. Seeta Peña Gangadharan

[Michelle, Association of Internet Researchers]

We are very excited to announce that our keynote speaker for #AoIR2024:
Industry <https://aoir.org/aoir2024/keynote-plenary/>
is *Dr. Seeta Peña Gangadharan from the London School of Economics. *

Dr. Gangadharan is an associate professor in media and communications at
LSE. Her work focuses on inclusion, exclusion, and marginalization, as well
as questions of democracy, social justice, and technological governance.
She co-leads two projects: Our Data Bodies, which examines the impact of
data collection and data-driven technologies on U.S. marginalized
communities, and Justice, Equity, and Technology, which studies data-driven
technologies and infrastructures in European civil society.

Dr. Gangadharan’s talk is titled* Timeliness and technological refusal:
Reflections on quantum-mania and industry’s power*

>From tech worker walkouts and increased union drives, to coordinated
withdrawals by advertisers from platforms, to protests against Big Tech and
tech infrastructure, people and institutions everywhere are expressing
their discontent with the business of technology. To some, these actions
serve as evidence that technological refusal is a practicable form of
politicizing technology and technology governance, even if it doesn’t
conspicuously reimagine or transform the institutions under critique. To
others, these events represent “too little, too late,” arguing that they
occur at a time when path dependencies have congealed, and industrial
policies and industry power are already sunk into the foundations of
social, economic, and political life.

These competing interpretations raise the question: when is technological
refusal most timely? To answer this question, I explore timeliness through
the lens of the quantum internet, a so-called “frontier” technology in its
pre-commercial stage. I use insights from common sets of objections arising
from social movements and other ad hoc efforts to ban, interrupt, or
transform automated technologies to speculate: Who might push back on
quantum internet? Why? How? And with what effect? In fact, timely refusal
in the early stages of industrial development and innovation requires new,
daunting kinds of engagement and forms of institutional support.

Dr. Gangadharan will deliver her talk at 17:30 UTC on Wednesday, 30 October
2024 at Sheffield City Hall.

The event will be live streamed. Details to follow via the usual channels
and here: https://aoir.org/aoir2024/aoir2024keynoteplenary.

If you are not registered for AoIR2024 yet, registration is open here:
https://members.aoir.org/event-5743782

Be sure you are logged in as a member to get member discounts.
Remember too that for the first time we are offering remote registration
for free to members.

Once you’ve registered, you can book a hotel room at reduced rates
here: https://book.passkey.com/event/50712166/owner/9279439/home

We look forward to seeing you in Sheffield!
#AoIR2024 Conference Committee