Gerfried Stocker: "Humanizing Technology Through Arts"

Gerfried Stocker is the Artistic Director of Ars Electronica, Linz/Austria
Where are we and how did we get here? What kind of digital society do we want? How can we get there? And how can we make good on the biggest mistake of the last forty years: How can we wrest control of our futures from a handful of corporations that make billions in profits. It's time for us to resign our roles as mere consumers and data-generating machines. We must take responsibility for our futures. Europe is set to play a key role in this process.
How should Europe respond to the "data capitalism" of the IT monopolists and the "data totalitarianism" of authoritarian regimes? Or, in other words: Is it possible to create a digital society that fosters competition and generates value while also reflecting European values? With the success of new services increasingly depending on the credibility of their providers and the trust placed in them by users, there is good reason to believe that this vision could be made reality. In light of this, a large number of EU projects and initiatives have embraced the goal of expanding the roles of art, creativity, and education in the development of technology in order to develop new concepts and alternative options for action. Gerfried Stocker will talk about such projects which have been also shown at this year´s Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.