Why has the online public square become a place of torment?About this Event
Many of the frustrations of being online today—harassment, surveillance, misinformation, and the general sense of dysfunction—are not defects, but chosen outcomes of major platforms. As Cory Doctorow argues, large tech companies tend to lure users in, monetize their participation, and then squeeze both users and workers once alternatives have disappeared. The result is an internet organized around extraction rather than connection. Doctorow calls us to confront the outsized power of a handful of firms and strengthen the capacity of workers and regulators to push back.
Doctorow will be in conversation with , Professor of English at the University of Utah.
A book-signing with will follow the event.
Reviews
- “The Age of Enshittification” — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker
- “A Powerhouse Writer Found One Word to Change the Debate About Tech” — Joseph Bernstein, The New York Times
- “Why the Internet Is Turning to Shit” — Alex Skopic, Current Affairs
- Interview by Amy Goodman — Democracy Now
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His nonfiction books include The Internet Con and Chokepoint Capitalism. He has received the Arthur C. Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Award and the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.
Doctorow has also been an activist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He co-founded the UK Open Rights Group and holds visiting appointments at the Open University, MIT, Cornell, and the University of North Carolina. His website is .
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Views expressed in Tanner Humanities Center events do not reflect the official views of the Center or the University of Utah.
Event Venue
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City, United States
USD 0.00
