Channel Title: Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford Channel Description: The Oxford Internet Institute is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department of the University of Oxford, dedicated to the social science of the Internet. Or put more simply, to 'understanding life online'. Since our founding in 2001, the Internet has exploded. Digital connections are now embedded in almost every aspect of our daily lives, so research on individual and collective behaviour online is crucial to understanding our social, economic and political world. As researchers we have unprecedented access to a huge volume of rich social data, and are developing new theories, concepts and methods to analyse it. We are able to provide the empirical data and conceptual analysis that is so needed to design policy solutions to societal problems. Our Masters and doctoral programmes bring students from all over the world, to work with our faculty at the cutting-edge of their fields. Together, we aim to positively shape the development of our digital world for the public good. <video> How is AI shaping the future of Digital Democracy? Description: "How is AI shaping the future of Digital Democracy?" with Elaine Ford. Join us for an interesting talk where Elaine builds off of her previous research and experience to explore how digital democracy is being transformed by emerging technologies, especially through the development and use of generative AI. While AI may have numerous positive impacts for society, it may also undermine trust. This poses serious questions for the future of democracy. During the talk, Elaine will explore three primary areas. 1) Citizenship and digital rights, 2) Elections and political parties, and 3) Government and public policies. By focusing on these three primary areas, attendees of the talk will come away with a new understanding of where we are going, what challenges we might face, and what the future holds for digital democracy. Elaine Ford is a Visiting Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute and is the founder and director of Democracia Digital in Peru. In 2019, Elaine wrote her first book “The Challenge of Digital Democracy” which explored her interests in the relationship between technology and democracy. </video> <video> The role of digital tools in low-income women’s economic empowerment Description: "The role of digital tools in low-income women’s economic empowerment: Insights from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" with Leesa Shrader. The Gender Equality (GE) Division at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was established in November 2020, with the focus on breaking down barriers facing women and girls, including the barriers to income generation, agency and livelihoods. Within the GE division, the Digital Connectivity (DC) and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) teams collaborate on a shared digital learning agenda to understand how digital tools can contribute to improving women’s lives and livelihoods. The learning agenda outlines how factors such as affordability, access, literacy, relevance, safety and security, and social norms influence meaningful digital connectivity. We will structure this talk in the following way. First, we outline the GE-DC & WEE strategy and learning agenda, highlighting the ways we are learning and refining our strategy through partnerships and research. Second, we will delve into two key topics: (1) the role of digital tools in supporting flexible work and contribution to income generation and social norms change, and (2) best practices for digital skilling initiatives targeting low-income women, including the use of Generative AI. For both, we will draw inferences from initial explorations with our partners including Karya, M-KOPA and Turn.IO. The session will conclude with a brief discussion on measurement frameworks for tracking the impact of digital tools on gender equality. Leesa Shrader leads implementation of the foundation’s Women's Economic Empowerment programs across seven countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Senegal. Before joining the foundation, Leesa worked at the intersection of digital innovation, financial inclusion, agriculture, market systems development, and women’s livelihoods in 55 countries. She launched and managed two commercial banks that serve low-income markets, as well as a number of microfinance institutions, and she worked for institutions including the World Bank, CGAP, GIZ, Mercy Corps, and Women’s World Banking. Leesa has a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in international studies and Russian from Reed College. </video> <video> Living with Digital Surveillance in China. Citizens’ Narratives on Technology, Privacy & Governance Description: Digital surveillance is a daily and all-encompassing reality of life in China. This book explores how Chinese citizens make sense of digital surveillance and live with it. It investigates their imaginaries about surveillance and privacy from within the Chinese socio-political system. Based on in-depth qualitative research interviews, detailed diary notes, and extensive documentation, Ariane Ollier-Malaterre strives to ‘de-Westernize’ the internet and surveillance literature. She shows how the research participants weave a cohesive system of anguishing narratives on China’s moral shortcomings and redeeming narratives on the government and technology as civilizing forces. Although many participants cast digital surveillance as indispensable in China, their misgivings, objections, and the mental tactics they employ to dissociate themselves from surveillance convey the mental and emotional weight associated with such surveillance exposure. The author also reflects on fieldwork in China as a foreign researcher. She discusses the choices she has made to reduce her Eurocentric biases and what she has learned about interviewing in a context of political censorship. Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Ph.D., is a Management Professor and the Canada Research Chair in Digital Regulation at Work at the University of Quebec in Montreal (ESG-UQAM). Her research examines digital technologies and the boundaries between work and life across different national contexts. She has co-authored over 75 chapters and articles in management, sociology, psychology, and information systems journals. She co-chairs the Technology, Work and Family research community of the Work and Family Researchers Network and has received the Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. </video> <video> Bio-algorithmic Entanglements: Crafting our Pluriversal Future Description: "Bio-algorithmic Entanglements: Crafting our Pluriversal Future" with Prof Paola Ricuarte. This talk explores the entanglements between bio-socio-algorithmic assemblages. It contends that alternative models of the world require alternative approaches to technological development grounded in an ontology of care. Drawing upon the onto-epistemologies of indigenous thinkers, the talk acknowledges the diverse pathways being forged by indigenous communities in the territory of Abya Yala towards a future that embraces pluriversality and communality. It underscores the imperative of nurturing and preserving the intricate web of interdependencies constituting life on Earth. Paola Ricaurte is an associate professor in the Department of Media and Digital Culture at Tecnológico de Monterrey and faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Alongside Nick Couldry and Ulises Mejías, she co-founded Tierra Común, a network of academics, practitioners and activists interested in decolonizing data. She is a member of the Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms and leads the Latin American and Caribbean hub of the Feminist AI Research Network. In addition to her academic work, she participates in civil society initiatives to promote digital rights, the development of public interest technologies, and the dissemination of the ecosocial impacts of technological development. </video> <video> Evaluating the Internet Governance Forum in a broader digital governance landscape Description: "Evaluating the Internet Governance Forum in a broader digital governance landscape" with Emily Taylor, Georgia Osborn and Dorottya Zsiborács. DNS Research Federation has recently released a comprehensive report assessing the impact of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in anticipation of the WSIS+20 review. The report was commissioned and funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This event aims to bring together experts and students in the field of Internet governance and digital policy for an engaging and interactive experience. Presentation by DNSRF Emily Taylor, CEO of DNSRF, Georgia Osborn, Senior Research Analyst, and Dorottya Zsiboracs, Research and Policy Analyst, will present the findings and insights from the report, highlighting the achievements and impact of the IGF - such as the growth of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), the development of an ecosystem of National and Regional IGFs, the cultivation of the next generation of Global South leaders, and the facilitation of IANA transition- over the past decade. The report holds significant importance as it offers a data-driven analysis of the IGF's accomplishments over the past two decades and underscores the necessity of renewing its mandate to prevent internet fragmentation and sustain global collaboration on internet-related issues. Q&A Following the short presentation by the DNSRF team, we hope to have engaging discussions on the context of this report leading up to the WSIS+20 review, and in a broader context the implications of multistakeholder governance and the evolving role of organisations like ICANN and IETF in shaping internet policies, their strengths / achievements and areas of improvement. In addition, we hope to explore the implications of the recent Zero Draft of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) on the future of the IGF. This could involve discussing potential adjustments in focus, priorities, or operational strategies for the IGF to remain effective in the changing digital landscape. </video> <video> Professor Andrew Przybylski, Oxford Internet Institute talks about internet use and wellbeing. Description: Watch Prof Przybylski as he shares key insights from his latest study on internet use and wellbeing. In the video, Prof Przybylski explains why links between internet adoption and wellbeing are likely to be positive, despite popular concerns to the contrary. Download the full paper peer-reviewed published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behaviour: https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/a2exdqgg/release/1 </video> <video> From tribes to tropes: Network polarisation and false consensus around COVID-19 science Description: From tribes to tropes: Network polarisation and false consensus around COVID-19 science with Dr Alexandros Efstratiou. The COVID-19 pandemic was marked by a slew of misinformation around vaccine efficacy, non-pharmaceutical interventions, appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic treatments, and more. Though much of this misinformation has been attributed to low-quality sources, scientific findings themselves may have been weaponised to this end. In this talk, we cover recent work showing that COVID-19 science was vastly misrepresented on the Twitter platform, owing mostly to a large misinformation cluster that engaged in selective citation of scientific papers. Alongside this false consensus, we analyze the temporal prominence of the pro- and anti-science clusters, and we uncover the adaptation of decades-long anti-vaccination tropes to the COVID-19 context. Alexandros Efstratiou is an incoming Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (UW CIP). His doctoral work examined the dynamics of intergroup and intragroup polarisation on online social media, with a focus on how these relate to the propagation of misinformation and hostility in these spaces. As part of his research agenda, he also examines social psychological phenomena at scale, as well as metascience and science communication, using computational social science tools. His current research focuses on outgroup misperceptions and outgroup-directed misinformation. </video> <video> The Oxford Science of Startups Initiative Launch Event Description: The Big Launch event of the Oxford Science of Startups Initiative with Prof Paul X.McCarthy, Dr Fabian Braesemann, Clara Durodié and Guy Gadney. The event begins with a keynote speech titled "Startup Synergy: How Founders' Unique Perspectives and Insights Drive Success " from Professor Paul X. McCarthy. In this talk we explore the results of a groundbreaking research study that examined how founder personalities contribute to startup success. Analyzing data from over 21,000 startups globally, the researchers shed light on key personality traits and the combinations of unique perspectives that propel high-performing teams. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the role of founder personalities in startup success, equipping them with valuable lessons on assembling balanced teams that can thrive amid uncertainty and navigate toward sustainable growth. Next, we have a short presentation by Dr Fabian Braesemann, who presents the Oxford Science of Startups Initiative: The team, first milestones and planned research Partnership agreements with globally leading startup repositories Crunchbase and Harmonic AI A sneak preview of the “What is your founder personality?” Quiz, which will allow everyone to understand their own founder personality Finally, we have a panel discussion on the role of personality in entrepreneurship with Clara Durodié and Guy Gadney. </video> <video> OII Pride Lecture "AI in Media: Impact on LGBTQ+ Lives" Description: Generative AI is uprooting the media around the globe, changing what we watch, who we trust and what we pay for. This pride month we are zooming in on the impact on LGBTQ+ lives from growing representation and affirmation in popular media, to issues like biases and security threats. Join us for an engaging session followed by a discussion and lunch. Andreas worked for TV networks like Paramount and Nickelodeon before moving to the tech side to help streaming services like Netflix sell advertising. He holds an MBA from Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford and a BA in Media Management from Breda University AS. Since moving to the UK in 2021, Andreas has become an enthusiastic rower. </video> <video> Museologies for and in more-than-human worlds Description: "Museologies for and in more-than-human worlds" with Prof Fiona Cameron. Current ways of thinking and living in the western world, and the value judgements and actions that are borne out of modern humanism, capital growth, and extraction – in which museums are complicit – are contributing to the devastating consequences of global warming and related more-than-human disasters. It is increasingly apparent that all things are interconnected, and human agency is just one among many others in complex and often unruly processes. Such circumstances require a rethinking of the new museology, curatorial practices, and the anthropocentric conception of strong human agency foundational to museum epistemologies. In this presentation and drawing on her monographs, Museums and the posthumanities: Curating for planetary habitability and The future of digital data, heritage and curation in a more-than human world (Routledge 2023, 2021), Prof Cameron refigures the new museology and curatorial practices as more-than-human, as ecological, embedded, enmeshed, and embodied. Using the example of former President Donald Trump’s tweets that incited the storming of the Capitol on January 6th 2021, she extends the notion of the curatorial beyond the human and machine to embrace the agential and more-than and non-human worlds previously rendered invisible or lacking agency as eco-curating processes of planetary depth and extent. Drawing on the Boulton and Watt steam engine in the Science Museum London collection and its embodied register of carbon emissions, she highlights ways of thinking and acting through more-than-human curatorial interpretative practices that has the potential to engender recuperative measures attentive to earth others, and how such figurations can attune audiences to the reality of material entanglement and accountability, and the more-than-human futures on which we our future prospects depend. Fiona R Cameron is Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Contemporary Museologies at the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, Australia and visiting scholar, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, and visiting professor, the Rachel Carson Center, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany and Linkӧping University, Sweden. Fiona is a pioneering figure in digital heritage philosophy, museums’ engagement with social and political issues and climate action, and the posthumanities taking critical museology in new directions. She has 8 Australian Research Council grants, was an investigator on 11 international grants with 6 European universities, 62 European, American, Australasian/Pacific museums and peak bodies advancing climate policy.  Fiona has 101 publications including 7 books with leading publishers, MIT Press, Duke UP, and Routledge on these topics. </video> <video> Sasquatch Distribution Modelling: Investigating patterns of Bigfoot sightings in North America Description: The annual OII Halloween Lecture by Prof Joss Wright. The nights grow ever closer. Streetlights flicker, shrouded in the mists, striving to pierce the gloom. The warm certainties of summer give way to the cold, dark ambiguities of autumn. Rumour, myth, and legend rise, primeval, from the shadowed recesses of our collective consciousness, undermining our faith in the fragile congruities that structure our lives. As summer surrenders to the inexorable tread of autumn, our resolve falters against the unknown horrors residing in the tenebrous peripheries of the world. As scientists, as scholars, our duty is to cling resolutely to our methods and our ideals in the face of encroaching darkness. Our tools may seem fragile in the face of the seething irrationality of the night, but we are called to peer, however tremulously, wherever our inquiries may lead us. Lights streak across the sky. Stories are woven of twisted faces in the darkness, half-glimpsed creatures in ancient forests, strange encounters in the wilderness. From the earliest stirrings of humanity, to the patterns of complex arcana that silently control our lives today, folklore and legend have long reported phenomena that rebel against mundane description or understanding. As our technologies evolve, and our ability to collate, scrutinise, and manipulate data spiral beyond all restraint, we are ever more capable, if not indeed obliged, to bring the lens of science to bear on these harrowing mysteries. To embrace this dark season, you are invited to the annual Oxford Internet Institute Halloween Lecture. This year we will pursue one of the world’s most notorious cryptozoological phenomena, investigating over a century of data regarding sightings of the Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, of North America. In which regions are these cryptic precursors of humanity most commonly observed? What factors, whether environmental or physical, create habitats most suitable for the Sasquatch to thrive, hidden from the encroaching pressures of humanity? Where, were we bold enough to look, might we seek other populations of these elusive creatures? In this lecture we will examine some of the history surrounding sightings of Bigfoot, and related cryptids. We will impetuously apply statistical methods to derive underlying patterns from reported sightings, and heedlessly strive to uncover their meaning and implications. What can we learn from the accumulated data about the habits of cryptic species living on the fringes of our world? Is the beast, as ever, closer to us than we wish to believe? The lecture will be a light-hearted presentation lasting around thirty minutes, openly welcoming informal tangents on any topics of paranormal interest, and followed by a short discussion. Following the lecture, we will reconvene at a nearby pub for those sufficiently brave, or tragically foolhardy, paranormal social scientists who wish to bare their minds and souls to the horrors that gnaw ceaselessly at the tattered fabric of our mundane reality. The slides can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pp6555-rW216_8LTOBNbQMpGunuFaMS9/view?usp=sharing </video> <video> Behind the Algorithmic Code: The Environmental Footprint of AI's Supply Chains Description: This talk presents insights from an 18-month investigation into the supply chains of AI, funded by a British Academy grant awarded to Dr Ana Valdivia. During this time, Ana conducted ethnographic research in Chile and México, which have emerged as key hubs for data centres in Latin America. Dr Valdivia's research introduces a theoretical framework called the ‘supply chain capitalism of AI,’ uncovering the minerals, commodities, and facilities that are crucial to AI development today. This study examines the interactions and controversies surrounding data centres, involving communities, governments, and private actors. By integrating digital methods and interviews, it proposes a transdisciplinary approach to analysing the political and environmental impacts of AI supply chains. This research aims to contribute to both global and local debates about the environmental impact of AI from critical data studies lens. </video> <video> Human Capabilities in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Learning Machines Description: Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly embedded within our societies and workplaces offering opportunities but also creating systemic skill gaps and demands for new, specialised capabilities. The systemic transformation brought about by AI poses challenges across multiple levels. For individuals, there is a need to enhance skills in order to thrive in today’s AI-mediated workplaces and in the labour market of the future, where AI will play an ever more prominent role. At the organisational level, the uptake of AI has been uneven, due to a shortage of specialised and managerial skills required to effectively identify and implement AI solutions. At a societal level, educational and training institutions and policymakers have struggled to keep pace with this rapid transformation, often producing fragmented, reactive responses that are poorly substantiated by empirical evidence.  This talk will explore what we currently know - and what we still need to study -about the capabilities required in AI-mediated societies and workplaces. The talk will propose strategies for developing these vital capabilities at the individual, organisational, and societal levels. Anoush Margaryan is Full Professor and Endowed Chair in the Department of Digitalization at Copenhagen Business School. During the 2024-2025 academic year, she is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Professor Margaryan’s research explores how people learn and develop skills in the workplace and how digital technologies and learning practices are mutually shaped and reshaped within emergent forms of work, such as online labour platforms and AI-mediated work settings. Her work is grounded in learning sciences, psychology, sociology, and organisational studies, with a focus on the application of theories of human agency, self-direction and self-regulation, and the life course in learning and development in the workplace. Anoush has over 130 scientific publications, including 2 books, co-authored with over 55 collaborators internationally. She has led over 20 collaborative research projects spanning interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and international partnerships, funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Shell, BP, Energy Institute, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), Volkswagen Foundation, Carlsberg Foundation, and the World Bank. Professor Margaryan has earned several international awards for research excellence including Alexander von Humboldt Senior Fellowship (2016), Excellence in Research-to-Practice Award from the American Society for Training and Development (2005) and Shell Research Fellowship (2008), among others. She holds a PhD in Educational Science and Technology from University of Twente in the Netherlands (2006), an MSc in Educational and Training Systems Design (1998, University of Twente), and an MA in Romance-Germanic Philology (1997, Yerevan State University, Armenia). </video> <video> European Elections 2024: Examining Digital and Far-Right Dynamics Description: "European Elections 2024: Examining Digital and Far-Right Dynamics" with Sir Julian King, Dr Donatella Bonansinga, Licinia Güttel and Dr Keegan McBride. Between 06 and 09 June, the elections for the European Parliament will be held for the tenth time. With over 350 million European Union citizens eligible to vote, the European elections are one of the largest democratic elections in the world. Over the past years, the EU has established itself as an important player in the regulation of digital technologies. Much is at stake during this election, as the continuing support for far-right parties is likely to move the Parliament’s composition substantially to the right. We will discuss how digital technologies and the European elections intersect. Special attention will be dedicated to far-right and populist right actors, such as in the realm of campaigning, social media use, or their possible impact on Europe’s digital future. </video> <video> Digital knowledge exchange within Africa’s innovation ecosystem – What is happening in Lagos? Description: "Digital knowledge exchange within Africa’s innovation ecosystem – What is happening in Lagos?" with Dr Raymond Onuoha. Over the past few years, Africa has witnessed a proliferation of technology hubs. Nonetheless, while these fledgling technology ecosystems are potent for fostering the region’s socio-economic development, only a few of the technology startups emerging from within these have had the digital entrepreneurial capacity to scale into global enterprises. A critical missing gap is that the process of knowledge creation, adoption, and transmission within the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem remains unclear, with the need for more empirical studies in this developing context. Within this purview, digital ecosystem scholars have argued the importance of more in-depth research in unravelling the processes of learning and knowledge transfer, and the complementary interrelationships between critical stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem. This talk examines the knowledge development process concerning the Lagos digital innovation ecosystem. It explores, within this context, how indigenous and local knowledge can more effectively be integrated with foreign capabilities in the evolution of the region’s digital innovation ecosystem. Raymond Onuoha is a Technology Policy Scholar and Consultant. His research, consulting and teaching focuses on the institutional and policy challenges in the evolution of the digital economy and technology innovation in developing countries, with a specialization on Africa. He also works as a Research Consultant with regional ICT policy and regulation think-tanks – Research ICT Africa (RIA), South Africa, IT4Change (India), and The Portulans Institute (Washington D.C., USA) - conducting multidisciplinary research on digital governance, policy and regulation and the facilitation of evidence-base to inform policymaking for improved access, use and application of digital technologies for social and economic development in Africa. Raymond is currently an AfOx Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), South Africa - where he is assessing high-integrity and trust identification schemes across Africa. </video>

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The Oxford Internet Institute is a multidisciplinary research and teaching department of the University of Oxford, dedicated to the social science of the Internet. Or put more simply, to 'understanding life online'.

Since our founding in 2001, the Internet has exploded. Digital connections are now embedded in almost every aspect of our daily lives, so research on individual and collective behaviour online is crucial to understanding our social, economic and political world. As researchers we have unprecedented access to a huge volume of rich social data, and are developing new theories, concepts and methods to analyse it. We are able to provide the empirical data and conceptual analysis that is so needed to design policy solutions to societal problems. Our Masters and doctoral programmes bring students from all over the world, to work with our faculty at the cutting-edge of their fields. Together, we aim to positively shape the development of our digital world for the public good.

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