The SRI Seminar Series welcomes Wendy H. Wong, professor of political science at the University of Toronto and research lead with the Schwartz Reisman Institute. Wong’s research focuses on the crossroads of international relations and comparative politics. She is also a Canada Research Chair in Global Governance and Civil Society. Wong received her PhD in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Her current projects focus on human rights in the digital age of datafication, functional governance, and NGO data concerning the Global Register of Nonprofit Data Sources.
Talk title
“Rebooting human rights in a datafied world”
Abstract
Human rights are one of the major innovations of the 20th century. Their emergence after World War II and global uptake promised a new world of universalized humanity in which human dignity would be protected, and individuals would have agency and flourish. The proliferation of digital data (i.e. datafication) and its intertwining with our lives, coupled with the growth of AI, signals a fundamental shift in the human experience. To date, human rights have not yet grappled fully with the implications of datafication. Yet, they remain our best hope for ensuring human autonomy and dignity, if they can be rebooted to take into account the “stickiness" of data. The talk will discuss how international human rights are structured, introduce the notion of Data You, why Data You is here to stay, and the challenges Data You poses to how human rights work.
Recommended readings
W.H. Wong, “Facebook is stepping in where governments won’t on free expression.” The Conversation, March 19, 2021.
W.H. Wong, “As U.S. Capitol investigators use facial recognition, it begs the question: Who owns our faces?” The Conversation, January 20, 2021.
R. J. Deibert, Reset. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2020.
About Wendy H. Wong
Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science, Canada Research Chair in Global Governance and Civil Society, and a Research Lead at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society at the University of Toronto. She served as the Director of the Trudeau Center for Peace, Conflict, and Justice at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy from 2012-2017. She earned her PhD from the University of California, San Diego.
She has published in a variety of academic venues, primarily about the contours of international human rights, the political effects of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and how variations in organizational structure change the effectiveness of non-state actors in global affairs. Both of her previous books were recognized with the top prize from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. Wong is currently working on a book that explores how datafication affects human rights, and why we need to reboot human rights now more than ever as our lives become increasingly defined by data.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Wendy H. Wong