WebSci21 – Video Vault No 11 – The Future of the Web and Society

Chair, Wendy Hall leads panellists, Sinan Aral, Azeem Azhar, Noshir Contractor and Jaime Teevan in a discussion no less ambitious than to summarise what we learned from the last 15 years of Web Science and to predict what the next 15 years may hold.

Keynote 5

Abstract

Web Science, as an interdiscipline, is celebrating its 15th year of interrogating how the Web has shaped Society and how Society, in turn, has shaped the Web. During this period, we have witnessed avalanches of disruptive “exponential” technologies emerge from tectonic shifts between four (or more!) Internets with their various sensibilities and sensitivities concerning openness, commerce, authoritarianism and human rights. The closing panel reflects on how all of these socio-cultural-political developments (re)shape the agenda for Web Science over the next 15 years and beyond. Specifically, panelists will consider the future of Web Science research and what it means for practitioners, policy makers and publics.

Summary


Chair, Wendy Hall leads panellists in a discussion to summarise what we learned from the last 15 years of Web Science and to predict what the next 15 years may hold.

About the Video Vault Series

In partnership with the ACM we are pleased to be able to release a series of videos from the most recent Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci’21) that were previously only available to attendees of the conference.

The series will be released fortnightly and will include a selection of Keynote talks and Spotlight panel discussions.

Copyright / Links

This video is (c) 2021 provided under license from the ACM.

 

WebSci21 – Video Vault No 10 – The Post-API Age Reconsidered

In this talk, Deen Freelon talks about research data sourced from social media platforms to support computational research approaches in social science .

Keynote 5

Notes

Despite its brevity, the essay “Computational research in the post-API age” (Freelon, 2018) sparked an interdisciplinary discussion about options for collecting and analyzing social media data at a time when platforms were imposing tight restrictions on their formerly open APIs or closing them altogether. This keynote will explore some of what has and has not changed in the ensuing three years for computational researchers interested in social media data. In particular, it will focus on three key issues that have increased greatly in prominence since 2018: (1) the process of collaborating directly with social media companies on research projects, (2) the ethics of hacked and leaked datasets, and (3) ethno-racial and gender inequities in web- and computational social science.

Freelon, D. (2018). Computational research in the post-API age. Political Communication, 35(4), 665-668.

Summary


Deen Freelon talks about research data sourced from social media platforms to support computational research approaches in social science and whether both accessibility and representation have changed in the intervening period since his influential 2018 paper.

About the Video Vault Series

In partnership with the ACM we are pleased to be able to release a series of videos from the most recent Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci’21) that were previously only available to attendees of the conference.

The series will be released fortnightly and will include a selection of Keynote talks and Spotlight panel discussions.

Copyright / Links

This video is (c) 2021 provided under license from the ACM.

 

WebSci21 – Video Vault No 9 – Global Digital Infrastructure in a Post-Pandemic World

In this talk, Jennifer Zhu Scott talks about the need to create global inclusive data infrastructures and processes to address global issue

Keynote 4

Notes

Technology has become a transformative force in almost every aspect of our lives. It permeates our personal, economic, and political life. However, large for-profit tech companies or a handful of tech-savvy governments dominate the vast majority of digital services and solutions. Such a reality of our current data economy means highly concentrated data control and ownership.

The global pandemic is both a global public health and economic crisis. However, it also exposes the painful absence of a global digital infrastructure to provide critical services such as COVID-related data interoperability between countries to accelerate safe reopening. Billions of people are being vaccinated and tested for COVID. How should they prove and record their testing and vaccination data? Who should have access to and control such data? As the world reflects on a more responsible and inclusive data economy, how can we take the opportunity to build a global digital infrastructure that belongs to people from all countries?

This talk discusses the technical as well as the governance considerations for a viable global solution, and what might be the future implications to the global data economy.

Summary


Jennifer Zhu Scott talks about the need to create global inclusive data infrastructures and processes to address global issues such as Pandemics and future global opportunities. She notes that whilst individual businesses and governments must necessarily be part of solution, the benefits of such global systems should lie with the public (humanity) at large rather than only privately to a small number of mega-corps.

About the Video Vault Series

In partnership with the ACM we are pleased to be able to release a series of videos from the most recent Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci’21) that were previously only available to attendees of the conference.

The series will be released fortnightly and will include a selection of Keynote talks and Spotlight panel discussions.

Copyright / Links

This video is (c) 2021 provided under license from the ACM.

 

WebSci21 – Video Vault No 8 – Directions in Digital Government

This panel will tackle the ambitious challenge of examining the intersection of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the production of news media in an online environment.

Spotlight Panel 5

Notes

Worldwide, there are vast disparities in the ways in which digital government is enacted. The ‘splinternet’, or Balkanisation of the internet, heralds deep shifts in how people in different regions can engage digitally (see: O’Hara and Hall, The Four Internets). At the same time, approaches may vary quite drastically even within smaller regions, i.e. Estonia’s digital-first approach as compared with other European countries. This panel brings together practitioners from industry and government to share their expertise and experiences with digital transformation. Topics will include best and worst practices, what exactly the web enables for government, and, of course, the impact of Covid. We encourage audience participation in this panel, which promises to highlight opportunities as well as challenges as digital government continues to evolve.

Summary


Chair, Jay (Clare) Hooper, leads panellists, Honey Dacanay, Cyd Harrell, Gordon Ross, and Nigel Shadbolt in a discussion around the impact of diversity in regional government policy concerning access to the Web for their constituents and in delivering government via the Web.

About the Video Vault Series

In partnership with the ACM we are pleased to be able to release a series of videos from the most recent Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci’21) that were previously only available to attendees of the conference.

The series will be released fortnightly and will include a selection of Keynote talks and Spotlight panel discussions.

Copyright / Links

This video is (c) 2021 provided under license from the ACM.

 

WebSci21 – Video Vault No 7 – The Future of News on the Web

This panel will tackle the ambitious challenge of examining the intersection of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the production of news media in an online environment.

Spotlight Panel 4

Notes

The assembled panellists represent a diverse range of perspectives, from industry to academia, and an array of professional backgrounds. The speakers on this panel will address critical questions about how tools for automation and AI impact the production of news media, how an increasing reliance on technology has affected the battle against misinformation, and how COVID-19 and shifts to alternative work arrangements has impacted news media production in this context. Panellists will also examine the specific technologies that are changing the production of news today, delving into the technical challenges facing modern newsrooms.

Summary

Chair, Matthew Weber will lead panellists, Andrea GuzmanCameron HickeyRory Cellan-Jones, and Amanda Stent to discuss the new affordances and capabilities as well as new risks and challenges that are confronting news media through the increasing levels of automation, filtering, and the use of AI in a modern Web context.

About the Video Vault Series

In partnership with the ACM we are pleased to be able to release a series of videos from the most recent Web Science Conference (ACM WebSci’21) that were previously only available to attendees of the conference.

The series will be released fortnightly and will include a selection of Keynote talks and Spotlight panel discussions.

Copyright / Links

This video is (c) 2021 provided under license from the ACM.

 

UTW Episode 35: Tim Berners-Lee

Inventing - and transforming - the World Wide Web

In this season finale, our guest is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. Tim is a professorial fellow of computer science at the University of Oxford and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He directs the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which oversees the continued development of the web. He also co-founded the World Wide Web Foundation and founded the Open Data Institute and the Web Science Trust. In 2004, Sir Tim Berners-Lee was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to the global development of the Internet. 

In this episode, Tim talks about the interdisciplinary nature of web science and the future of the web. He discusses misuse of the web, including the production of fake news and violent discourse, and hypothesizes ways to encourage more collaborative and democratic processes on the web and to hold social networks accountable. Finally, Tim discusses his efforts to decentralize the web – again – and his role in helping to create an ecosystem of institutions that nurture the growth of the web.