
The future of the tech industry is in infrastructure, not data. This means that those companies that control key infrastructure, like chips and cloud computing, hold sway. Companies like ASML, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), rather than X or Meta, will become the most powerful players. Is it their choices that will influence what our collective futures look like? Do we need to adapt our understanding of power in the tech sector to this new reality?
This afternoon, we bring together two expert academics to discuss the importance of these often invisible infrastructure providers: Dr. Michael Veale of University College London will talk about how data is increasingly unimportant due to large firms’ investments in confidential computing technologies; and Dr. Corinne Cath of the University of Delft will talk about the role of cloud computing companies as the driving force behind the tech industry. Sjoera Nas, senior privacy consultant at Privacy Company, will be leading the conversation. Collectively, they will draw out what new research avenues, legislation, and advocacy require an update–following this shift in focus from data to infrastructure, as the locus of power in the tech industry.
Meer info: https://www.spui25.nl/programma/data-is-dead