The Tsunami of Technology and Democracy

We are honored to host Professor Moshe Vardi, Rice University to celebrate the award of his honorary doctor degree at the University of Gothenburg in 2020. Prof Vardi is renowned for his contributions to logic in Computer Science, which were recognized by, e.g., the Gödel prize, the Paris Kanellakis award, and the Alonzo Church award. He is a member of the US national academy of sciences and engineering and the European Academy of Sciences. In recent years he has been a prominent speaker on the responsibility of Computer Science and Technology.

Abstract

U.S. society is in the throes of deep societal polarization that not only leads to political paralysis but also threatens the very foundations of democracy. The phrase "The Disunited States of America" is often mentioned. Other countries are displaying similar polarization. How did we get here? What went wrong? Historians will spend the next 50 years trying to answer such questions, but the crisis is upon us. We need some answers now!

In this talk, Professor Moshe Vardi argues that the current state of affairs is the result of the confluence of two tsunamis that have unfolded over the past 40 years. On the one hand, there was the tsunami of technology from the introduction of the IBM PC in 1981 to the current domination of public discourse by social media. On the other hand, there was a tsunami of neoliberal economic policies, including privatization, deregulation, globalization, free trade, monetarism, austerity, and reductions in government spending. Moshe Vardi will show that the combination of these two tsunamis led to both economic and cognitive polarization.
He will conclude with a discussion of the ethical responsibility of computing professionals.