ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures
Exploring sociodigital futures in the making
By Lisa May Thomas
It’s a cold day in February and we’re here on the banks of the river Avon in Bristol thinking about all the different ways it’s possible to know a river.
With us is a group of interdisciplinary academics, artists, environmental professionals and community organisations. We’ve come together through a project exploring river futures. Over the next few hours we’ll be experimenting with different methods to understand the river in new ways.
By Ash Watson
How we imagine the future has impacts on our everyday lives and societies. To research these impacts, we need to grapple with speculation, uncertainty and multiple possibilities. How can we study people’s imaginations and the effects of things that haven’t happened yet? One avenue involves taking seriously speculative fiction. (more…)
By Francesco Amato
Have you ever wondered about the social implications of automated decision-making systems?
In recent years, automated decision-making systems powered by artificial intelligence have become increasingly widespread. These systems have the power to make choices that affect various aspects of our lives, from job applications to loan approvals. It is therefore essential to examine and evaluate their social impact to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability. (more…)
by Aline Stehrenberger
Inspiration comes in many forms, but few things are as motivating and heartening as taking time to discuss a text with colleagues. In academic life, where we often find ourselves working alone, reading groups are an easy way to join a community.
by Helen Manchester
In early November I had the pleasure of presenting at the national Locality Convention. Locality, one of the Centre’s strategic partners, is a member organisation with over 1500 members, many of them community anchor organisations who work with minoritised communities across the UK.
I had the pleasure of presenting alongside inspiring speakers LaKisha Williams, David Nugent, Afka Ray and Makala Cheung.
Through my research I come in to contact with many community-sector leaders. When I ask them about how they feel about the future they tell me they work in the immediate present, reactive to the communities that they serve in real time, dealing with complex issues immediately – not 6 or even 3 months down the line.
So why do we, in the Centre for Sociodigital Futures, think futures matter? (more…)
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. (more…)
by Lisa May Thomas and Debbie Watson
In late October 2023 Lisa May Thomas and Debbie Watson took a VR workshop to the Situated Caring Ecologies conference at Portsmouth University. This was part of a themed section / series of talks, for which the title was ‘sticking with the dance, caring over time’. The two workshops were short, twenty minutes long, with up to eight participants in each. (more…)