Technochauvinism: A discussion with Jennifer Cobbe (on Zoom)

Technochauvinism: A discussion with Jennifer Cobbe

This is a registration link for those attending the Zoom conference. For those who wish to come in person, please use the other link provided.

The Chair will have the pleasure to welcome Jennifer Cobbe, Researcher in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge, who will present her policy brief titled “Technochauvinism”.

The term describes ways of thinking about digital technologies which involve beliefs that they are the solution to a wide range of social problems. This policy brief adresses technochauvinism directly by discussing core assumptions that underpin technochauvinist and other utopian perspectives on digital technologies. First, by challenging the technochauvinist belief in the power of technology over and above humans to solve human problems, arguing that the idea that technologies can be ‘better’ than humans at particular tasks is a subjective one that should be critically examined. Second, by discussing whether technologies are suited to solving human problems that originate in social and economic causes; arguing that, given the social nature of technologies, many technological solutions will be a product of the same social and economic circumstances that produced the problems they are supposedly to solve.

These and other issues will be discussed at this upcoming event “Technochauvinism- A discussion with Jennifer Cobbe”.

This event is taking place within the framework of the Sciences Po Law School’s 10th Graduate Conference on the theme of Law & Technology and whose full programme can be found here.

The conference will be chaired by Daniel Andler, Professor emeritus at Sorbonne University, member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques and of the Department of Cognitive Studies at the École normale supérieure.

Speakers

• Jennifer COBBE, Senior Research Associate and Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge

• Hubert ETIENNE (discussant), Ph.D candidate in philosophy at Ecole Normale Supérieure, visiting fellow at Harvard University, lecturer at Sciences Po

Moderator

• Daniel ANDLER, Professor emeritus at Sorbonne University, member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, of the” UMR Sciences, normes, démocratie” at Sorbonne University and of the Department of Cognitive Studies at the École normale supérieure.