Rethinking collective decision-making in the age of social media

In her inaugural lecture, Anna De Liddo, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction and Director of Research at the Knowledge Media Institute of The Open University, will point out that the biggest problems of our time call for collective action. But how do we make sense of complex problems and collectively decide and act as a diverse group or community?

Can digital technologies help us go beyond our differences and disagreements to come together as a more democratic and inclusive society? Or do they - as many often argue - only lead to further polarisation and social division?

Abstract

Digital technology has made it easier than ever to communicate across distances. Its use and exploitation in decision making and democratic processes is, however, plagued with challenges and have often led to adverse effects.

Professor De Liddo will argue that it doesn't have to be this way.

In this lecture, she will guide us through her research that sheds light on the challenges of repurposing general communication tools to this process, and demonstrate how we can instead create intuitive digital technologies specifically designed towards helping people discuss, build shared understanding, and find common ground to collectively decide and act, even when they disagree.

She will illustrate the research that led to the emergence of the Intelligent Deliberation research team, fuelled by 20 research projects that have produced 10 novel deliberation technologies, and show how we can revolutionise the way we think, make sense, decide, and act as a more cohesive society. Deliberation Technologies are digital tools, such as blogs, wikis, chats, forums, Q&A and social media, that provide unprecedented opportunities to work together effectively through innovative methods of dialogue and deliberation.

Professor De Liddo will claim that Deliberation Technology has enormous potential to promote unity, collaboration and democratic action and, if co-created from the outset to embody these qualities, can produce transformative social impact at scale. Not convinced? Join Professor De Liddo to have your say.

Attendance

Registration

Watch the webinar online

Please take the opportunity to have your questions answered by our speakers LIVE during the event:

Email us your questions Use #OUtalks on X

Event programme