Up/Root Democracy

Framer Framed and Network Democracy present Up/Root Democracy, an online public program focused on extractive systems undermining human/non-human rights. Looking for a potential balance for legitimate, ethical and sustainable systems in the Anthropocene, we need to consider new forms of political representation, legislation and re-politicise data and technology.
Up/Root Democracy showcases the work of researchers, artists and activists; amidst an intersection of crisis, this program delves into how systems of extraction – digital, mineral, etc. – can be a force for or against democratisation.

Session 1— Resisting Data Extraction 

As societies across the globe face lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we find solace in the connection provided by social media accessed through handy digital devices. However, our online environment is just as, if not more surveilled, than ‘real-life’. Personal information is gathered, processed by algorithms and used to influence everything from personal shopping recommendations to the targeting of vulnerable groups and the spread of misinformation. 

The first session of Up/Root Democracy takes the form of a reading room led by Data Justice researcher Fieke Jansen and privacy activist Susana Sanz. The reading room will start with an exercise on data profiling designed by Sanz, followed by a close reading of excerpts from The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, in which author Shoshana Zuboff sets out how tech companies have created a new type of marketplace where predictions about our behaviour are bought and sold. The danger, she argues, is that this new economic sector which is focused on altering our behavior touches us at the core of our freedom and threatens our human nature. Zuboff therefore calls for a new set of elementary rights that should protect us from the extraction of our emotions and behaviours and reclaim our autonomy. 

This online event is FREE and in English and will be recorded.
Up/Root Democracy is a collaboration of Framer Framed and Network Democracy.

There are limited spots for the reading room. To receive reading materials and the zoom link for the session please register through reserveren@framerframed.nl