Techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci visited the College for a discussion with聽Krebs Center Executive Director Davis Schneiderman about a world rapidly adjusting to everything from ChatGPT to big data to the power of the algorithm鈥攁nd how the humanities might be the key to the future.
Techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci is an internationally recognized authority on the interactions between technology and social, cultural, and political dynamics. She has special expertise in how social change movements are using social media and on the social and moral implications of how we use big data and algorithms to make decisions.
The author of Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protests, Tufekci is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, and a monthly contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and is a regular contributor to The Atlantic. Tufekci is also a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and an affiliate appointment in the Department of Sociology at UNC. She has given two TED talks and is an Andrew Carnegie Fellow.
About Tufekci's book ‘Twitter and Tear Gas’
Tufekci has witnessed firsthand the power of social media as a tool for organizing large numbers of people —and she’s seen the weaknesses unfold when this is how you organize. In her landmark book , she takes you inside these movements as no one else can and at the same time offers an essential critique, not just of these new tools and their impact, but more broadly, of the emerging intersections between authority, technology, and culture.
Development underway on Krebs Center for the Humanities
The new Krebs Center will be a nexus for humanities activities located in the Italianate Lake Forest home and surrounding property donated to the College in early 2023. The home and its contents, which include a museum-grade art collection, is located within walking distance of the College. Professor of English Davis Schneiderman is the Center's founding executive director.