Upcoming Events: Love the Processor, Hate the Process (4/2); The Black Box Society (4/7); Taking Back Power in the Age of Networks (4/14)

Love the Processor, Hate the Process: The Temptations of Clever Algorithms and When to Resist Them

Thursday, April 2, 5:00pm ET, Harvard Law School.

On the occasion of his appointment as the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School, Jonathan Zittrain will give a lecture entitled, “Love the Processor, Hate the Process: The Temptations of Clever Algorithms and When to Resist Them.”

Jonathan Zittrain is the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at the Harvard Law School Library, and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. more information on our website>

The Black Box Society

Tuesday, April 7, 12:00pm ET, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

Does the increasing velocity, variety, and volume of data make regulators' jobs harder or easier? Some say we are entering a "golden age of surveillance," enabling perfect enforcement of laws. But Frank Pasquale's book "The Black Box Society" argues that, at least in areas like privacy, antitrust, and financial regulation, big data can also enable obfuscation, stonewalling, and even fraud. At this talk, Pasquale will discuss the risks and opportunities that arise out of the new information environment.

Frank Pasquale’s research addresses the challenges posed to information law by rapidly changing technology, particularly in the health care, internet, and finance industries. He is a member of the NSF-funded Council for Big Data, Ethics, and Society, and an Affiliate Fellow of Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. He frequently presents on the ethical, legal, and social implications of information technology for attorneys, physicians, and other health professionals. His book The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information (Harvard University Press, 2015) develops a social theory of reputation, search, and finance. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Taking Back Power in the Age of Networks

Tuesday, April 14, 12:00pm ET, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor. This event will be webcast live.

The Internet is said to be a space of democratic expression and transformation, both culturally and politically. But how true is that claim? What are some of the economic, technical, and legal obstacles in place? Drawing from my recent book, The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, and my experience as an artist and an activist, this talk will address campaigns by musicians against streaming services and debtors against creditors to reflect on the larger question of how to organize and leverage change in an age of virtual networks—be they networks of cultural distribution or financial ones.

Astra Taylor is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer who was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Athens, Georgia. Her films include Zizek!, a feature documentary about the world’s most outrageous philosopher, and Examined Life, a series of excursions with contemporary thinkers including Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, Cornel West, Peter Singer and others. Taylor’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, the London Review of Books, Bookforum, n+1, and many other publications. RSVP Required. more information on our website>

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World

The Berkman Center celebrates the launch of Berkman Fellow Bruce Schneier's new book, Data and Goliath, with special guests Yochai Benkler, Joe Nye, Sara Watson, and Melissa Hathaway. Moderated by Jonathan Zittrain. video/audio on our website>