Programme

speakers: Joanna Murzyn, Alicja Kupiec, Julia Flgołuszka

In the space between 0 and 1, where code meets rituals, we gather to open the gates of possibility of this year's SICT edition. This will not be a typical conference opening. This will be a shared moment to acknowledge the collective intention that binds us here. This week, we explore how to build resilient futures in a world of technological contradictions, but resilience doesn't begin in systems or infrastructure, it begins in our bodies, in our relationships, in the connections we forge with each other. Through this opening ceremony, we'll plant the seeds of that resilience together. Come as you are. Bring your questions, your hopes, your rebellion. We'll open the code of this gathering together, creating sacred space where technology remembers it has a soul, where every voice holds equal power, and where the resilience we seek to build in our futures is first cultivated in the present moment, in this room, in these bodies, in this shared breath.

speakers: Adrien Tournier

Mobile networks are in continual evolution—constantly updated in order to remain the same, to borrow Wendy Chun’s formulation. Habits shift, or  mostly persist; new networks and new terminals promise transformation while often delivering more of the familiar, wrapped in recurring narratives of revolution. The ongoing deployment of 5G invites us to interrogate the temporalities and trajectories of mobile networks at both local and global scales. Revisiting changes in market structures, mobile practices, and consumption patterns in Europe since the 1990s can help us clarify what, precisely, constitutes “change” in mobile networks—and how these infrastructures both reshape and reproduce existing sociotechnical arrangements.

speakers: Paola Tubaro

This presentation highlights the commonalities and interdependencies between the different impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on the natural and social surroundings that supply resources for its production and use. Mapping the classical tripartite division of land, labour and capital, the analysis highlights the persistence of inherited inequalities in the globalised production of AI. The countries that drive AI development generate a massive demand for inputs and trigger social costs that they shift to more peripheral regions. The unbalanced flows of resources from poorer to richer areas of the world reveal how the arrangements in place result are unsustainable and constitute a concrete manifestation of the concept of digital extractivism.

speakers: Antoine Hardy

This presentation is based on five years of qualitative research in scientific communities in France. Drawing on data from around 100 interviews and numerous observations, it shows how scientists are undergoing a “moral change” in which scientific activities are being questioned, and sometimes redifined, in light of their effects on the environment. This talks will show the consequences of this change, which have led to initiatives by a group of French scientists to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from laboratories, changes in personal practices, and even “exit” from research.

speakers: Anne Baillot

I think I can speak for all the participants of the winter school when I write the following: We work in fields where it is impossible not to be aware of the extent of the polycrisis, and appalled at how slowly academic structures move towards sustainability. We find ourselves in a situation of profound contradiction, as our research keeps proving that the way we act, and this includes the context in which we conduct our research and teaching, is not compatible with a livable future. And even if we try our best: all institutional victories, while demanding a lot of energy and effort, remain marginal in the big picture.

In this session, I propose to discuss concretely how to address this contradiction. In a short presentation, I will give an input on sufficiency approaches and on civil disobedience options. We will then split into 3 to 5 groups for 40 minutes, discussing prospective scenarios for higher education and research, and proposing concrete steps to address them (identification of leverages, actors, measures, implementation steps). I will suggest scenarios based on the discussions of the first days of the winter school, the participants will have the possibility to contribute to defining them as well. When reconvening, each group will be given the opportunity to present findings as well as blockers. The goal of this collaborative session is to empower the participants to identify potential allies and targets in their respective contexts. I will then show how these action points can be supported by existing organisations and structures that bring an activist experience and emotional resilience we are lacking in the academic context.

speakers: Joanna Murzyn, Alicja Kupiec, Julia Flgołuszka

We have gathered knowledge and woven connections. We have held the contradictions of technology in our heads and hearts. Now, we must harvest what we've grown and carry it forward into the world. This will not be a conference closing you can expect. This will be a Slavic blessing ceremony, an ancient practice of honoring what was, acknowledging what is, and releasing what will be. In Slavic tradition, nothing truly ends. It only transforms, cycles, and returns in new forms. The resilience we've cultivated in our bodies this week, in our relationships, in our shared presence, all this doesn't stay in Brussels! It travels with you and multiplies through you. Each of you will receive a blessing for the path ahead, you leave with protection and purpose, and with the knowing that you don't walk alone. The circle might close, but the work continues.