CANCELLED: Protecting our Information Environment: Digital Ethics, Social Justice &...

Protecting our Information Environment: Digital Ethics, Social Justice & Refusing the Poisons of Bigotry & Manipulation

A Talk by Professor Whitney Phillips, Syracuse University

Just as the natural world is besieged by the climate crisis, our digital world is besieged by the network crisis. Polarization is at a fever-pitch. Polluted information floods social media. Harms transcend borders. Responding effectively to the problem—and to all the people actively working to make things worse—means thinking differently about the problem. An ecological framework allows us to cultivate a more robust ethics, to appraise the social justice consequences of mis- and disinformation, and perhaps most important, to resist the conclusion that it’s the bigots’ and manipulators’ world now, we’re just living in it. It’s not; it’s all of ours. Emphasizing reciprocity, connectedness, and our responsibilities towards our neighbors and our neighbors’ neighbors is how we cultivate that land so that healthier fruits may grow.

A lecture and discussion for Middlebury ID holders only.