IDES annual conference: Resistance and Agency in the Digital Society: Beyond Literacy, Transparency, and Risk Assessment

15 décembre 2025, 9h-18h

Dre Christelle Molima, UNIL; Dre Marie Alauzen (Université Paris Dauphine), Prof. Sofia Ranchordas (Tilburg University), Prof. Eléonore Lépinard (University of Lausanne), Prof. Martino Maggetti (University of Lausanne), Prof. Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (University of Lusanne), Prof. Josef Philipp Trein (University of Lausanne), Dre Clarissa Valli-Buttow (University of Lausanne), Prof. Sophie Weerts (University of Lausanne)

Attendance is free of charge.

If you wish to attend, please complete the registration form by December 8, 2025, here: 2025 Annual Conference - IDES UNIL.

The program is available : here. 

The use of social media platforms, algorithms, and AI systems is widely spread in our daily lives. They make life easier for some people, while adding new mediations, changing habits and introducing new challenges. They are attractive tools for governments and public administrations. In particular, they are perceived as tools to make the state more efficient, for example, for assisting law-making or beyond decision-making in areas such as police, justice, immigration, military defense, health, welfare, and education. Nonetheless, the advancement and ownership of digital technologies are mainly in the hands of a few global tech companies, whereas their development, deployment and use have adverse effects on individuals and specific groups (e.g., hate speech, cyberbullying, discrimination, loss of skills), on the environment (energy consumption, digital capitalism, ecocide), on democracy (misinformation, deepfakes) and on the relationship between state authorities and individuals (datafication, surveillance, digital divide). In this context, governments in liberal democracies have developed a set of legal and normative responses, ranging from developing data and AI literacy to transparency and risk assessment requirements. These responses are expected to empower citizens and prevent risk damage to individuals, the environment, and democracy. They also generally imply limited intervention by the state, which is confined to a supervisory role in the 

relationship between individuals and companies.

In this context, this conference intends to explore the following questions: 

• What are the ontological assumptions underlying such technologies, and their legal and normative responses? 

• How does the current regulatory setup respond to the need to protect individuals, the environment, and democracy in the context of digital transformation? 

• What happens when public authorities design and use such technologies?

• What are the implications of this regulatory setup for social uses, government, democracy and the environment? 

• How do these technologies and regulatory settings empower people differently? How do they contribute to the creation or exacerbation of inequalities? 

• How does the regulatory setup limit, contribute or reshape the 'disciplinary power' of 

such technologies? 

• How are digital technologies and their legal and normative responses implemented in different geographical and sectorial contexts by state or economic actors? 

• What alternatives are developed by citizens, workers, minority groups, social movement organisations, or even politicians, and bureaucrats in such a regulatory setup?

University of Lausanne, Room 2 (Learning Lab), IDHEAP Building (Rue de la Mouline 28, 1022 Chavannes-près-Renens, Vaud, Switzerland)

Attendance is free of charge.

If you wish to attend, please complete the registration form by December 8, 2025, here: 2025 Annual Conference - IDES UNIL.

Lunch and beverages will be provided for all registered participants and speakers.

For additional dining options on campus, the Cafeteria at the Géopolis Building offers a variety of meals and beverages and is conveniently located near the conference venue. More information is available here:
https://www.unil.ch/unil/fr/home/menuinst/campus/restaurants-et-commerces/restaurants/self-service-de-geopolis.html

L'ensemble des frais des doctorant.e.s CUSO, ou leur majeure partie, sont pris en charge dans la limite des plafonds budgétaires de la CUSO. Une désinscription tardive d'un.e doctorant.e qui engendrerait des frais pour la CUSO est susceptible de donner lieu à une demande de remboursement de la CUSO directement au doctorant.e.

Le remboursement des trajets se fait directement sur le compte MyCUSO (onglets: profile/travel costs) de chaque doctorant.e pour une prise en charge informatique pour le prix d'un billet de train, 2e classe, demi-tarif, entre l'université de rattachement et le lieu de l'activité.

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