Hacking Big Tech
What Big Tech is doing to the world, and how to counter the harm.
A day of debates funded (without them realising) by the digital giants
The Big Tech companies constitute an immeasurable social, ecological and anti-democratic threat. In face of the power wielded by the digital giants in our contemporary world, Mediapart is organising a day of debates, with guest speakers, on the threat they pose, to be held in Paris on Saturday October 17th between 1pm and 7pm at the Espace Niemeyer, in the 19th arrondissement (district) of the capital.
The urgency and gravity of the situation call for a wide mobilisation and a greater awareness of what’s at stake. By rallying behind Donald Trump, and the public danger he represents, the Big Tech bosses have dramatically increased their power to cause harm. With their all-powerful creature that is artificial intelligence (AI), they have placed the planet on the edge of a cliff.
With the large-scale capture of personal information, the meddling in public opinions, aggravated attacks on the environment, threats against jobs and freedoms, and obstructions of the right to know, citizens are the principal victims of this predatory industry, whose agenda matches the interests of the most authoritarian and reactionary regimes.
Alerting, decoding, hacking, mobilising: the debates, chaired by Mediapart journalists, will demonstrate the impact on our lives of the ideological, political, ecological, eco-social and military enterprise of the digital giants. Because, to face up to them, we must thoroughly understand their projects, their organisational methods, and their alliances. We will also spotlight those who are engaged in challenging the power of the Big Tech, in individual and collective action, each to their own means.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
Date and times: Saturday October 17th, from 1pm to 7pm.
Venue: the Espace Niemeyer, 2 Place du Colonel Fabien, 75019 Paris.
Attendance is free, registration in advance is required.
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The programme and guest speakers
1pm:
An introduction from Carine Fouteau, president of Mediapart
Nadège Beausson-Diagne
Actrice
Adèle Haenel
Actrice
Nadège Beausson-Diagne
Actrice
Nadège Beausson-Diagne
Actrice
ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSIONS
The danger for democracy
- Joseph Confavreux, Mediapart journalist
- Olivier Alexandre, sociologist, researcher with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
- Anne Bellon, political scientist and senior lecturer in sociology at the Université Technologique de Compiègne, France.
- Dominique Cardon, sociologist and specialist in digital usage and culture, France.
Social and ecological struggles engaged by digital industry workers
- German Salazar, a Chilian activist campaigning to save water supplies in his native municipality of Quilicura in face of the implantation of AI data centres.
- Caroline Wambui Kinyua, a Kenyan founding member of the Data Labelers Association
- Antonio Casilli, professor of Sociology, Télécom Paris
AI : false threats, true dangers
- Jade Lindgaard, Mediapart journalist
- Emily M. Bender, linguist and professor at the University of Washington (US)
- Paris Marx, Canadian journalist, tech critic, author and podcaster
SPEAKERS
The political vertigo from AI
- Naomi Klein, Canadian social activist and writer (via video link)
The crypto crooks and me
- Zeke Faux, US journalist and author
Silicon Valley, the tech giants and the weapons
-
Laure de Roucy-Rochegonde, Director of the Geopolitics of Technology Centre at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI)
The danger of Elon Musk
- Sönke Iwersen, German investigative journalist and co-author of The Tesla Files
Carte blanche
-
Alain Damasio, French sci-fi and fantasy fiction author (via video link)
Concluding address by a representative of The Guardian, Global Media Organization.
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Librairie
Présence de la librairie indépendante et généraliste Utopia
Hacking Tech: an exceptional debate ...
... organised with Big Tech money!
On 17 October in Paris, Mediapart is inviting you to a major public event bringing together people from around the world who are mobilising to challenge the grip of the tech giants. In partnership with The Guardian and InfoLibre, the event will feature leading American tech critics Emily M. Bender and Paris Marx, data workers and some of the sharpest researchers in the field, with contributions from Naomi Klein and Alain Damasio.
Blog post by Carine Fouteau, President of Mediapart
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