Conference/BOOKS (Polity Press): asking critical questions about digital futures

I really like this series of short books, asking critical questions about Digital Futures, one question per book: Is AI good for the planet? How green is your smartphone? Should Robots replace teachers? Are filer bubbles real? Will the Internet fragment? Is technology good for education?

This is a great way to bring up key debates about the present and future of digital society, politics and culture. Coincidentally, one of my most favorite modules that I have developed 6 hears ago, and update regularly - "Digital Living". The latest makeover transformed the course into a series of similar provocative questions - both introductory and provocative. What is Platform Society? Is there an App for everything? Do algorithms discriminate? Who owns your data? Do digital technologies remember for us? How will AI transform politics?

"Digital Living" was initially developed as a module for undergraduates interested in social media and digital communication, and was then excitedly taken up by Masters students on several programmes. At present, I teach it on postgraduate programmes only: it is one of the options on the MA in International Relations and Global Communications, and will be one of core modules on our new MSc in Digital Society (with a pathway in Digital Politics) opening its doors in September 2022!

.. I am going to update the module again soon, introducing a new topic and question: will digital technologies save or destroy the planet? It's also the theme of my current research and of our many events this year - watch this space for more posts on the topic.