++++EVENT CANCELLATION ++++
(following the decision by the Berlin senate to cancel all public academia events as public health measure)
12-18 March 2020
Berlin Open Lab
Admission is free. Please register here: https://tickets.weizenbaum-institut.de/weizenbaum/PracSov/
Saturday, March 14, 11:00–13:00
Philipp Grunewald (King’s College London): Agency, Peace, and Digital Sovereignty
Sovereignty is linked to having a choice. That links to agency and links to consciousness. When our environments are designed (intentionally and unintentionally) to mediate our collective experiences in some way we will be conditioned to think, feel and behave in certain ways. That is where we as individuals loos a degree of agency and at a social system level loose sovereignty. Our collective consciousness and conscience has a large impact on the societies we create for ourselves which includes peacefulness (as set out in some theoretical foundations we worked on in the Isooko project).
Saturday, March 14, 14:00–16:00
Tech Workers Coalition: Digital Economy and Work
It could be the physical dimensions of the tower, the fact that it is standing right next to a half-empty shopping mall… Or is it because of the street protests and strikes of Amazon workers fighting for wages and basic safety conditions? Amazon is expanding its presence in Berlin, and neighborhood residents are fighting back. In this workshop we want to create a space where we can ask ourselves, what it is we are fighting for? On the margins of labor rights, gentrification, tech-lash and activism, what are the strategies that will bring us forward when it comes to creating a long lasting and livable city for all?
Saturday, March 14, 17:00–19:00
Denisa Kera: Prototyping Blockchain Futures & Governance by Algorithms
We will use a ‘fairytale with code’ to explore issues of algo-governance and automation.
You will prototype smart contracts with the help of templates (with code readable in English) to probe issues of bias, justice, code, and law, and experiment with various ways to bring together regulations and code. The workshop is useful for learning the basics of blockchain service design and for discussing governance of emerging technology.
In the theory part we will cover some basic concepts of permissioned x permissionless, open and closed blockchains and DLTs (distributed/decentralized ledger technologies), and policy issues involved in automation (relation between computer codes, regulations, contracts). The prototyping part is friendly to complete beginners: You will learns the basics of Hyperledger Fabric/Composer open source blockchain platform for smart contracts (chaincode), push some extreme scenarios of data governance (to prevent evil smart contracts), and then deliberate how to regulate code (or with code). We will use also Node RED framework to connect the blockchain services with satellite data and IoTs or other open APIs. The story is about an imaginary Lithopia smart village where people use satellite data to trigger blockchain transactions – github.com/anonette/lithopia
To become Lithopian, please bring your laptop, no need to install anything or know how to code.
Tuesday, March 17, 18:00-20:00
Bündnis Digitale Stadt: Digital Stategy Berlin – Sovereign and sustainable for the common good?
The Berlin Digital Strategy: The Berlin Senate for Economy, Energy and Public Enterprises is developing a digital strategy for the city of Berlin. In reaction to the strategy process, a network of individuals and institutions from civil society and academia have founded the „Digital City Alliance Berlin“, working to make the digital political and debatable and to ensure that the development of the digital strategy is designed together with the residents of Berlin and that it serves the common good. Workshop lead: Bündnis digitale Stadt (Digital City Alliance Berlin).