Debating Europe

At Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president, there were some new faces in the front row—the Tech Bros. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg were among the key players from Silicon Valley welcoming the returning president. Since then, this small band of extremely wealthy tech entrepreneurs has played an outsized role in fashioning the future direction of US communications networks and its military research and development programs. Deeply involved in the race to beat China in the development of AI superintelligence, their influence extends well beyond America’s borders, impacting billions of lives in Europe and around the world.

In this debate, we bring together some of Europe’s leading experts on the politics of digitalization to discuss whether the Tech Bros are going to save the world or destroy it.

With

Francesca Bria – Italian innovation economist, digital policy expert, former Chief Digital Officer for the City of Barcelona, and president of the Italian National Innovation Fund.

Marietje Schaake – Dutch politician, internet and privacy expert, and Stanford-based academic known for her work on technology, trade, and foreign policy.

Helga Nowotny – professor emerita in social studies of science at ETH Zurich and a leading voice in science and technology studies (STS) and international research policy.

Beeban Kidron OBE – Crossbench Peer in the UK House of Lords and Founder and Chair of the 5Rights Foundation, advocating for digital regulation and children’s rights.

Misha Glenny – IWM Rector, will moderate the debate. 

Tickets and further information: Europa im Diskurs – Debating Europe | Burgtheater

Debating Europe – Europa im Diskurs
This series of public morning debates brings leading politicians, scientists and intellectuals on to the stage of Vienna’s Burgtheater to discuss topical issues of political and social relevance. This long-standing event is a collaborative production of  Burg, ERSTE Foundation, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) and Der Standard.