Resistance and Imagination: A Reading Group for Hopeful Technologists
Thanks so much to everyone who came along to the first Reading Group for Hopeful Technologists. Once I stopped worrying so much about it, it was a really warm and generative experience.
Anyway, we’re going to do it again!
For edition #2 we’re going to revisit Ruha Benjamin’s Imagination: A Manifesto - not least because it’s now available in paperback, but also because it’s such an important and timely read. If you came along to Reading Group #1 and want to come again, please do! And if you signed up for the first one and didn’t make it, it would be great to see you this time. For edition #3, we’re going to be joined by Dan McQuillan for a Q&A about Resisting AI and then small group discussions.
Reading Group #2: Ruha Benjamin, Imagination: A Manifesto
When: Friday April 4, 1300-1400 BST
Where: Online
Buy the book at Bookshop.org.uk, Afrori Books, and your local independent bookseller; request from your local library.
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Reading Group #3: Dan McQuillan, Resisting AI
When: Friday May 9, 1300-1400 BST
Where: Online
Buy the paperback from Bookshop.org.uk, your favourite anti-fascist bookshop, or borrow it from your local library.
If you can’t make it to either of those but would like to come to the next one, you can sign up to this newsletter.
What to expect?
This is a gentle, shared space to come together as an act of hopeful resistance and solidarity building. It’s free, online, and intended as a space for collective reflection and network building.
Who's it for?
People who work in, make, study or just spend too much time thinking about technology, who want to build and shape equitable alternatives to the techno-optimistic AI brotopia.
What will we do?
The discussion groups operate on a principle of gentle self-organisation. I’ll share some possible discussion prompts and resources for each book, but you don’t need to overthink it or come prepared with a PhD proposal - on the day, the conversation will go where it goes. There’s more specific information for both events on their respective booking pages.
Code of Conduct
In attending this online reading group, you agree to:
- Act respectfully and inclusively towards others
- Share knowledge
- Respect one another's privacy
- Show self-awareness and make space for others
Cover images from Norton and Bristol University Press