The Tech Coup

In her book The Tech Coup, Marietje Schaake offers a behind-the-scenes account of how technology companies crept into nearly every corner of our lives and our governments. She shows how technologies have gone from being heralded as utopian to undermining the pillars of our democracies. To reverse this existential power imbalance, Schaake outlines game-changing solutions to empower elected officials and citizens alike. Democratic leaders can—and must—resist the influence of corporate lobbying and reinvent themselves as dynamic, flexible guardians of our digital world.  This evening, together with experts from academia and industry, we will explore what the tech coup means for our democracy and how this power can be reclaimed. We will delve into the challenges and actionable solutions around power, market dominance, and alternative infrastructures. Joining the discussion will be Natali Helberger, University Professor of Law and Digital Technology with a focus on AI at the University of Amsterdam; Wladimir Mufti, Program Manager Public Values at SURF; and a professional from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).  The session will be moderated by Claes de Vreese, University Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Society at the University of Amsterdam.
 
This talk is part of the AlgoSoc Speaker Series.

Over de sprekers

Marietje Schaake is a non-resident Fellow at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center and at the Institute for Human-Centered AI. She is a columnist for the Financial Times and serves on a number of not-for-profit Boards as well as the UN’s High Level Advisory Body on AI. Between 2009-2019 she served as a Member of European Parliament where she worked on trade-, foreign- and tech policy. She is the author of The Tech Coup.

Natali Helberger is Distinguished University Professor of Law and Digital Technology with a special focus on AI at the University of Amsterdam and member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). She is a member of the executive board of the Institute for Information Law (IViR), scientific director of the gravitation program ‘The Algorithmic Society’ (AlgoSoc) and co-director of the AI, Media & Democracy Lab. Her research over the past five years has focused on how AI and ADS are transforming society and their implications for law and governance.

Wladimir Mufty, a program manager at SURF, drives innovation at the crossroads of education, technology, and public values. He inspires leaders and IT directors to embrace values-based decision-making and goes beyond just discussing the need of digital sovereignty. Collaborating with the education sector, he demonstrates practical alternatives to big tech, addressing platformization risks while showcasing opportunities for transformative change.

David Korteweg is team manager at the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) focusing on the enforcement of the Digital Services Act. The ACM is appointed as the Digital Services Coordinator in the Netherlands. He previously worked as a policy advisor at the digital rights organization Bits of Freedom and was an IT-lawyer at Kennedy Van der Laan.

Claes de Vreese (moderator) is Distinguished University Professor of AI & Society at the University of Amsterdam with a special focus on AI, media and democracy. He also holds the Chair of Political Communication at The Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam and co-directs the AlgoSoc national research program and the AI, Media & Democracy Lab.