Together, We Are Super-Human: Cory Doctorow Speaks at Georgetown

Posted in Events

On February 25, 2013, science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger Cory Doctorow joined the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor and the Georgetown University Lecture Fund for a talk titled, “Together, We Are Super-Human: How Technology Gives Communities Super Powers.”

Doctorow spoke about how technology creates powerful new opportunities for organizing, but as the technological landscape around us changes, it is equally important to be smart and informed about how we allow policy regulating technology to be shaped. He pointed out that many laws and regulations are either poorly understood or outdated, leading to unforeseen consequences that can result in abuses of civil liberties.

He warned, “Computers and networks have given us the power to be superhuman. Computers and networks have given us the power to take away our superhuman-ness. And while the state plays a huge role in this, in the way that it regulates it, computers and networks are our best hope for organizing to force the state to take this stuff seriously and regulate it with the kind of gravitas that it deserves.”

As we begin to think about new models of organizing, the role of the internet and the networks that connect us can no longer be separated from the conversation. Click here to view more event photos.

The Kalmanovitz Initiative’s Labor Lab series brings scholars, writers, activists, and artists to Georgetown’s campus to reframe, rethink, and reenergize conversations about the future of workers and the labor movement.