As part of the exhibition Digital Dilemma – The Architecture of Trust, prof. Sally Wyatt from Maastricht University in conversation with curators Vincent Thornhill and Guillemette Legrand discuss the currency of personal data in the Big Data era and the Self as a collective in the Internet of Things.
Your personal data, from your physical and mental health to how you identify and profile yourself online, can be used in all sorts of ways without you necessarily knowing. However, data doesn't represent objective truth: truth derives from a complex process of interpretation, circulation, and social acceptance. It’s no wonder our suspicion is increasing.
What are the implications of Amazon uses biased algorithms to hire new staff, of Cambridge Analytica using our social media-gathered data for political purposes, of sending our DNA and to have it tested by 23andME? Do such technologies have any advantages? Do they deserve our trust? Which regulations protect our rights, our freedoms, and us? Moreover, are the beliefs and alternative interpretations of suspicious online communities as radical as we think?
Sally Wyatt
After completing Economics Studies at McGill University, Canada and Sussex University in England, Sally Wyatt gained a PhD in Science and Technology Studies (STS) from Maastricht University in 1989. Her expertise is in the social aspects of digital technologies, with a particular interest in social isolation and people using the internet to research their health.
Vincent Thornhill and Guillemette Legrand both graduated as designers at the Design Academy Eindhoven and are now also practiing as curators.
The evening is moderated by Saskia van Stein, director of Bureau Europa.
Date: Wednesday, May 29, 20:00 – 23:00
Location: Bureau Europa, platform for architecture and design
Language: English
Admission: free, advance registration required via info@bureau-europa.nl stating ‘lezing 29 May’
Image: Sally Wyatt, Maastricht University