Wendy Michener Memorial Lecture
Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It with author Cory Doctorow
The Wendy Michener Memorial Lecture, named in commemoration of the Canadian arts critic and journalist, was established at York University in 1986 to provide a forum for discussion of vital issues and developments in culture and the arts. Some of the past presenters of the lecture include journalist Anna Maria Tremonti, artists Matthew Ritchie and Wafaa Bilal, and creative industries executive Hael Kobayashi.
In partnership with Connected Minds, IP Innovation Clinic, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Society, Bakka-Phoenix Books, Sensorium and the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design.
DATE: Friday, March 22, 2024
TIME: 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
(Talk 5:30-6:45pm, followed by Connected Minds book reception until 8:00 pm)
LOCATION: Friends House (60 Lowther Ave, Toronto, ON M5R 1C7)
FREE
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His latest novels are THE BEZZLE (a followup to RED TEAM BLUES) and THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. He is the author of the international young adult LITTLE BROTHER series. He is also the author of CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM (with Rebecca Giblin), about creative labor markets and monopoly; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about conspiracies and monopolies; and of RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE; and other young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA. His first picture book was POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER (Aug 2020). His next novel is THE BEZZLE (February 2024). He maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2022, he earned the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Awardee for lifetime achievement. York University (Canada) made him an Honourary Doctor of Laws; and the Open University (UK) made him an Honourary Doctor of Computer Science.
