14/05 | Technology, Decent Living, and Ecosocial Crisis: What transformation scenarios are imaginable?

Next May 14 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. we will have the second session of the seminar “Technology, decent living and ecosocial crisis”, a series of conferences designed to reflect on the necessary transformation of our current tools and systems.

The seminar can be followed online through the link: ONLINE

The session titled “What transformation scenarios are imaginable?” will feature the initial intervention by Luca Ferrari, who will address the notions of development and sustainability based on his contribution to Thematic Notebook 9, focusing on the tensions between growth, ecological limits and social justice, as well as the implications of these debates for rethinking contemporary economic models.

After his presentation, we will have the intervention of Andoni Alonso, who will delve into the concepts of “poverty”, “needs” and “planning” based on his contributions to the Development Dictionary, offering a critical reflection on how these categories have been constructed and used, and proposing keys to reinterpret them from a more plural and situated perspective.

About the speakers:

Andoni Alonso (UC3M). Andoni Alonso holds a PhD in Philosophy (1996) and specialises in the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein and the philosophy of technology (with a focus on Science, Technology, and Society). He has worked with thinkers such as Ivan Illich and Carl Mitcham, and since 2000, he has regularly organised courses and conferences on computing and cyberculture, focusing on the social impact of these technologies. He is a founding member of the Free Knowledge Foundation, affiliated with the Free Software Foundation, and has researched free software and open knowledge, as reflected in La quinta columna digital (VII Epson Award for Technoethics). Since 2021, he has been a professor in the Faculty of Humanities at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. His notable works include La nueva ciudad de Dios (Siruela, 2002), Carta al homo ciberneticus (Edaf, 2003), and El desencanto del progreso. Para una crítica luddita de la tecnología (Dykinson, 2021). His areas of expertise include ethics of technology, cyberculture, and philosophy of telecommunications.

Luca Ferrari (UNAM). Doctor in Earth Sciences from the University of Milan. Currently Senior Researcher C at the UNAM Geosciences Center, Juriquilla campus. He is a Level III National Researcher, member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the Geological Society of America. He has been president of the Mexican Geophysical Union. In 2015 he obtained the National University Award in the category of Research in Exact Sciences. He is currently co-coordinator of the National Strategic Program on Energy and Climate Change of CONACYT. His main research topic has been the geology of Mexico with applications for exploration for geothermal and mineral resources. Since 2005 he has also been dedicated to the analysis of the national and global energy system and the implications for the future and sustainability. On these topics he has given more than 150 invited conferences at universities and public and private research centers throughout the country and a hundred popular articles. His academic production consists of 128 refereed articles in indexed journals, which have been cited more than 8,000 times. He is a professor in the Postgraduate Program in Earth Sciences and Sustainability Sciences and in different Bachelor’s Degrees at UNAM.

Bibliography:

(1) Ferrari, L., et al. (septiembre 2024). Cuaderno temático 9. Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECIHTI). https://secihti.mx/cuaderno-tematico-9/

(2)  Alonso, A. (2021). Pobreza; necesidades; planificación. En W. Sachs (Ed.), Diccionario del desarrollo: Una guía del conocimiento como poder. Icaria.

Upcoming session:

• May 28 | What Policies Do We Need to Advance Toward New Technologies? With Paulina Isabel Silva Rubio and Jorge Martinez Crespo. Time: 17:00 – 19:00

In this series, researchers from both the Global North and South will gather to discuss how our technical systems must transform to achieve two primary goals: first, a decent life for the entire global population; and second, a sharp halt to current trajectories toward ecosocial collapse.

Over the course of four sessions, we will open a broad terminological and political debate aimed at building a shared body of thought, a “seed”, for a future practice that is both more coherent and more capable.