This Friday kicks off the South by South West (SXSW) international conference in the United States, the annual event of enormous magnitude on technology, film and music. In addition to all the creative opportunities offered by new digital technology, this should include a focus on addressing potential societal risks internationally. Because digital technologies not only enrich our lives, they can put pressure on our autonomy, among other things.
From 8 to 16 March, the annual SXSW event is in Austin, Texas. Attending from the Netherlands will include Alexandra van Huffelen, outgoing State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation.
During the event, much attention will be paid to the creative possibilities of digital technology. It is precisely where new ideas and collaborations arise that social risks that may go hand in hand with technology capable of completely immersing users in (partly) virtual experiences must also be discussed. This so-called immersive technology, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, leads, for example, to new types of data being collected from users.
In a recent study by the Rathenau Institute, we map out the risks that can arise from this. These include, for example, extensive data collection by technology companies and increasing personalisation of perceptions.
It is important that during the conference international researchers, policymakers and developers discuss how values such as autonomy and privacy can be monitored in the development and application of new, immersive technology. If you wait with this until the technology is widely adopted, you will be too late.
