Keynote speakers
 

Keynote talk by Trine Syvertsen

''Resilience and resistance: Disconnecting from the digital attention economy''

About Trine Syvertsen
Professor Trine Syvertsen (University of Oslo) works in the fields of media history, media policy, television and digital media. She is the author of Digital Detox: The Politics of Disconnecting (Emerald 2020), Media Resistance: Dislike, Protest, Abstention (Palgrave Pivot, open access) and co-author of The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era (University of Michigan Press, 2014). For more information, click here. 

Abstract from the keynote
As digitalisation intensifies, many citizens find the constant attention to smartphones and digital media intrusive. While a ‘digital detox’ initially meant to be offline for a longer period, users now find it increasingly difficult to take even a temporary break. This keynote discusses the role of digital connection and disconnection in the lives of individuals and society. Why do users want to disconnect, what methods do they use, and how do digital detox activists try to resist the attention economy? And why is the responsibility for a balanced media diet placed on the users’ shoulders rather than on the agenda of politicians or platforms?

 

 

Keynote talk by Tina Comes

''Resilience and safety in the digital era''

About Tina Comes
Tina Comes is Professor on Decision Theory & Information Technology for Resilience at the TU Delft and at the University of Maastricht and a Visiting Professor at the Université Dauphine, France. Dr. Comes’ research focuses on AI and decision sciences for (disaster) resilience. In her research, she explores how digital technologies impact decision-making behaviour, and how we can improve decision support based on these behavioural insights to improve societal resilience. Dr. Comes is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Technological Sciences and the Academia Europaea. She serves as the Scientific Director of the 4TU.Centre for Resilience Engineering, and Director of the TPM Resilience Lab, and she leads the Disaster Resilience Theme for the Delft Global Initiative. Currently, she chairs the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) Working Group on the Future of the EU’s Strategic Crisis Management. 

Abstract from the keynote
Resilience has rapidly risen to the top of the research and policy agenda to foster sustainable development and combat climate change. As the world is confronted with a range of crises and risks - from Covid19 to the war in Ukraine - this trend is expected to continue. With the turn to digitalization, increasingly smart cities and infrastructures, new opportunities to improve resilience via better planning and decision-making arise. However, this increasing interconnectedness increases complexity and thereby creates new pitfalls and challenges. Major challenges remain in (rapidly) identifying and analysing data and from there develop ans share meaningful and actionable information.

Through case studies ranging from Covid19 logistics to urban planning, I will outline key resilience principles and related research traditions, and highlight how digital technologies can be used to improve both the rapid response to disasters and longer-term adaptation. Further, I will discuss the intersection of methods and problems in resilience with the digital societies, and will highlight potential avenues for future work.