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Winter School on Technology and Society

A six-day Winter School on Technology and Society  was conducted by HSRG (Human Science Research Group) as part of TechSoc from 5 – 10 November. The Winter School covered diverse topics such as the history, economy, philosophy, democracy, culture, and policy of technology, with a focus on the Indian context. 

Day 1: Participants discussed the history of digital technologies in India, the technology-society-culture interface, and the debates on technological determinism and social construction. They also watched a film on Chile’s Cybersyn project and learned about the Smart Cities project in India. 

 Day 2: Participants learned about the digital economy, the role of data, and the features of digital capitalism. They also discussed the national level economic development strategies in the digital era, and the challenges and strategies of collective action for gig workers in India. 

 Day 3: Participants were introduced to the field of philosophy of technology and the philosophical questions concerning technology, such as conceptualising ‘technology’, the various perspectives on technology, the debates in contemporary philosophy of technology, and the moral significance of artefacts. They also watched a documentary on artificial intelligence and discussed its ethical and political issues. 

 Day 4: Participants explored the topics of digital democracy, digitization of property and expression, and representation and citizenship in the digital age. They were introduced to various concepts and debates related to cyberspace, identity, privacy, data, electronic proofs, free speech, and digital elections. 

 Day 5: Participants focused on the theme of culture and technology, or technology as culture. They discussed how networked digital technology mediates our social and cultural spheres, such as identity, relationships, and leisure. 

 Day 6: The session concluded with two public events. The morning session had two keynote lectures by external speakers on the history and policy of artificial intelligence. The afternoon session had a panel discussion on the topic of Digital Technology and Society: Overcoming the Curricular Deficit, with Anupam Guha, Balaji Parthasarathy, Usha Raman, and Anirban Dasgupta. 

The session was well-received by the participants, who expressed their appreciation for the resource persons and the organisers. 

  

December 2023