Events

This talk is canceled and will be rescheduled in the academic year of 2025-2026. Please stay tuned for more information! Abstract Through the critical case study of Ethiopia, this book project identifies three core mechanisms of China’s image-making in Africa: tangible enticement through material and experiential offerings, ideational promotion of values and governance practices, and […]

Abstract In the context of unprecedented U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) budgets, this talk examines the recent history of DoD funding for academic research in algorithmically based warfighting. I draw from a corpus of DoD grant solicitations from 2007 to 2023, focusing on those addressed to researchers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Considering […]

Abstract This panel brings together key voices in infrastructure as broadly imagined, data sovereignty and decolonial perspectives to critically explore the history, present, and future of the indigenous Internet. The conversation will showcase how Indigenous knowledge has and will continue to shape data worlds by bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives on emerging technologies—ranging from computer science, […]

Dr. Cara Wallis will launch her new book, Social Media and Ordinary Life: Affect, Ethics, and Aspiration in Contemporary China on April 24, 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm at NQ Space 2435. She will be in conversation with Dr. Silvia Lindtner and Dr. Yi-Li Wu. Please mark the date and join us! Light refreshments and book […]

Talk Abstract In this talk, Neda Atanasoski and Nassim Parvin will discuss their recent book and edited volume, Technocreep and the Politics of Things Not Seen, published by Duke University Press in May 2025. New and emerging technologies, especially ones that infiltrate intimate spaces, relations, homes, and bodies, are often referred to as creepy in media […]

Please register here if you plan to attend in person or via Zoom. Search History is a student-led zine publication from the University of Michigan community, hosted by Search Engines: Art, Tech, Justice. Search Engines is funded by the U-M Arts Initiative and the DISCO Network, housed in the Digital Studies Institute. In the last year, […]

The Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing invites all ESC researchers and an ESC-curious guests to our Fall mixer for the ESC Community at Bløm Meadworks 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., Monday, October 13, 2025. This includes food, drink, and cozy fall weather. Please RSVP here as soon as possible. RSVP once for yourself and once […]

Karen Hao will give a book talk on Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI in Rackham Auditorium on October 20th, 5 pm. Prior to the talk, ESC will co-host a book reading event for folks who would like to read and discuss the book together on the evening of October 14th (Tuesday). A virtual pre-event discussion […]

Talk Abstract As Artificial Intelligence claims increasing influence over our lives, it’s easy to believe AI’s creeping dominance is inevitable. But is it? Join award-winning journalist Karen Hao and Patrick Barry, clinical assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School, for an eye-opening discussion on Hao’s best-selling book, “Empire of AI.” Please use the link here to register […]

Abstract A digital revolution is reshaping Cuba. Despite restrictions on free speech and assembly, a new generation is using social media to debate, inform, and challenge the authoritarian status quo. From animal rights campaigns to the mass July 2021 protests, these movements have been organized and documented through independent digital platforms. Young people, intellectuals, and […]