EHUM Speaker: Jacob Siegel

Jacob Siegel speaks about "The Information State" on Thurs, Oct. 15 at Nanovic 1030 A&B.

We’re often told that disinformation is everywhere and that it’s endangering our democracy. But what if the war on disinformation itself is really just a weapon to squash legitimate dissent? Jacob Siegel’s THE INFORMATION STATE is an incisive examination of how we reached the point where anything that contradicts the dominant narrative can be labeled dangerous disinformation. Siegel charts how the technological infrastructure built to make society safer and more rational has steadily replaced democratic freedoms with systems of digital control.

THE INFORMATION STATE is an urgent, necessary book that sounds the alarm on where society is headed in the age of AI if we don’t relearn how to think for ourselves and ask searching questions about whether information can ever be a substitute for truth.

Jacob Siegel is a journalist who writes for Tablet and a US military veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jacob Siegel will be joined in conversation by Tim Weninger, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, and Roy Scranton, Professor, English.

This event is supported by the Democracy Initiative, the Reilly Center, PAIDEIA, the Environmental Humanities Initiative, the O'Brien Notre Dame International Security Center, Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, the IBM Tech Ethics Lab, and the Franco Family Institute.

Originally published at reilly.nd.edu.