In November 2023 we had the pleasure of holding a public event discussing and demonstrating some of the emerging ideas and tech associated with sociodigital futures. Having recently joined the Centre as Senior Communications Officer, I was fascinated to hear how speakers would communicate their sometimes-complex ideas to a public audience.
Speakers including academics from across the Centre and representatives from our strategic partner organisations each provided a short provocation on an aspect of the research they are engaged in with the Centre. A wide set of topics were covered, from community tech ownership, the environmental impacts of tech and applications of swarm robotics. It was interesting to hear different takes on sociodigital futures research from such a diverse set of research areas. Seeing their work presented together really highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the Centre and sociodigital futures research in general.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the evening was an interactive section where, after hearing from the speakers, we asked the audience to anonymously submit words telling us about their hopes, fears and feelings of personal influence over sociodigital futures.
One of the things that stood out in their answers was the importance of engaging with people and empowering communities to influence their futures. Hopes included collaboration, community-centred, people-led, shared ownership, equity, intimacy and voice. Fears included inequality, privacy, ethics, loss of empathy, justice, loss of control, agency and isolation.
In a world where digital tech is dominated by large organisations, often based in different countries, moving fast and operating ahead of or at the limit of existing legislation, it’s perhaps easy to see why people are concerned about losing their voice and hope for a more individualised future.
Look online and you’ll find lots of articles describing how digital tech influences consumer or community behaviours, but not much about the reverse. Yet this is a two-way process. Communities can and do have opportunities to shape the future, whether through their choices as consumers, by contributing to policy development or simply by standing up and speaking about their concerns and needs.
Exploring this two-way process, of digital technology and society shaping each other as they evolve, and finding ways to have a positive impact leading to fairer and more sustainable societies, is the focus of the Centre.
Many of our current research projects are already looking at how communities can be engaged to influence policy and the direction of change. As our research continues, the importance of community involvement is no doubt something we’ll continue to address. Similarly, we look forward to engaging with the public through sharing updates on our work at future public events.
For more information on the work of the Centre for Sociodigital Futures, follow us on X. LinkedIn or visit our webpage.