DIGHUM lectures: The Military-Digital Complex: Digital Technologies and the New World (dis)Order

The initiative DIGHUM lectures started with regular online events to discuss the different aspects of Digital Humanism. The bidt and the TU Wien are cooperation partners for DIGHUM lecture series.

Speaker: Dario Guarascio, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Moderator: Susan Winter, University of Maryland, College of Information Studies, USA

This lecture focuses on the mutual dependence linking large digital platforms, i.e., ‘Big Tech’, and the military apparatus. Three main elements are brought at center stage: an ‘originary linkage’ binding the development of digital platforms with governments’ military R&D efforts; the critical nature of infrastructures and technologies controlled by platforms; and their role as their government’s ‘eyes and ears’(both at home and abroad). Focusing on the US and China, this lecture will document the growing relevance of Big Tech as military contractors, as well as key actors in war scenarios. In so doing, the main facets of a new military-digital complex will be highlighted, showing how the intertwining of Big Tech’s surveillance-based strategies aimed at monopolizing markets and those directed at the political-military hegemony of nation states (i.e., the US, China and their vassals) constitute a threat to humanity whose integrated character is essential to grasp.

About the Series
A roughly bi-weekly seminar offers presentations and panels from worldwide thought leaders. It is typically held on Tuesday afternoons at 17:00 CET. The bidt and the TU Wien are cooperation partners for the DIGHUM lecture series. Digital Humanism deals with the complex relationship between man and machine. It acknowledges the potential of Informatics and IT. At the same time, it points to related apparent threats such as privacy violations, ethical concerns with AI, automation, loss of jobs, and the ongoing monopolisation on the Web. For this reason, a new initiative — DIGHUM lectures — started with regular online events to discuss the different aspects of Digital Humanism. We will have one or more speakers on a specific topic followed by a discussion, or panel discussions, depending on the topic and speakers. The exact dates will be announced at least two weeks before.

Participate via Zoom
Zoom | meeting: 9638 9928 143, password: 0dzqxqiy

Participate VIA YouTube
Talk will be live-streamed and recorded via YouTube Archive and Resources of Lecture Series Abstracts, Recordings, and Slides from Previous Talks