Keynote talk by Cory Doctorow, A.D. White Professor-at-Large 

“The Enshittification of Everything (and what to do about it)”
Friday, Sept. 12, at 3:00pm
Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium (Rm. 132)
Goldwin Smith Hall
Open to all. Book signing and light reception to follow.

Register here to livestream

Abstract: It’s not your imagination: the internet *suuuucks* now. The enshittification of our digital world isn’t the result of great historical forces or iron laws of economics – it’s caused by specific policy choices, made in living memory, by named individuals. The bad news is, *everything* is getting enshittified. The good news is: we are not prisoners to the depraved foolishness of early 21st century policymakers. We can – we must – break free of the prison they built for us, consigning their terrible ideas to history’s scrapheap so we can create a new, good internet that is fit to serve as the digital nervous system of this fraught century.

Doctorow visits both the Ithaca (Sept. 12-18) and Cornell Tech (Sept. 19) campuses as part of the A.D. White Professor-at-Large Program.

Cosponsored by Dept. of History and Dept. of Science & Technology Studies.

Bio: Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES) and THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. Other recent books include RED TEAM BLUES, a science fiction crime thriller; CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the LITTLE BROTHER series for young adults; IN REAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. 

Photo credit: Copyright Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud (JUCO), www.jucophoto.com/, Creative Commons Attribution