29.10.2024Race to the Future? From Artificial Intelligence to Abundant Imagination

A world without prisons? Ridiculous. Schools that foster the genius of every child? Naïve. Work that is fulfilling and fairly compensated? Impossible. A society where everyone has food, shelter…love? In your dreams. Exactly.
In this talk, Ruha Benjamin takes us into the liberating power of the imagination. Deadly systems shaped by white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, and eugenics emerged from the human imagination, and have real-world, often deadly impacts. To fight harmful systems and create a world in which everyone can thrive, we will have to imagine things differently. Drawing on work that critically examines tech-mediated inequities and her engagement with grassroots approaches to viral justice, she invites each of us to consider the role we play in maintaining or transforming the oppressive status quo.