Questions That Matter: Data and Democracy
On January 29th, 2019, The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz presented the fifth installment of its signature Questions That Matter series— Data and Democracy— at Kuumbwa Jazz Center in downtown Santa Cruz. This discussion featured Pranav Anand, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Lise Getoor, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and was moderated by Nathaniel Deutsch, Director of the Humanities Institute. As our society navigates shifting definitions of fake news, targeted ad programs, and compromised voting systems, it is essential that we work to understand the complex and often obscured relationship between data and democracy. As technology increasingly shapes our habits and defines our access to knowledge, it is more important than ever that we understand how we got here and work to imagine a more inclusive, open, and transparent future. The event is part of the THI series exploring on Data and Democracy.
Scott Rappaport covered Questions That Matter for UC Santa Cruz News.
You can also stay engaged by watching our video of the event or looking through our photos below.
Event photos by Crystal Birns:
Questions That Matter is a public humanities series developed by UCSC Humanities Institute and the community of Santa Cruz. It brings together, in conversation, two or more UC Santa Cruz scholars with community residents and students to explore questions that matter to all of us. The series is a part of a strategic initiative of The Humanities Institute to champion the role and value of the humanities in contemporary life. At the University of California Santa Cruz, we understand that the humanities are a crucial element of any first-rate liberal arts education. Indeed, what distinguishes the best universities in the United States is the fact that the humanities are an integral part of their core curriculum, along with the arts and sciences.