Simon Denny: Tech and Distributed Governance?

From the rise of blockchain (the distributed ledger behind Bitcoin) to the development of management methodology 'Holacracy' at Zappos in Las Vegas and the intelligence agencies of the UK, the lecture will map some of the technology industry’s disruptive forces as they alter the conditions of governance.

From dreams of alternatives to hyper-liberalism, and more recently affinities with the far right, the discussion and presentation will touch on various interconnected case studies and unpack the changes being rolled out between the state and extra-state forces extending the tech community’s infrastructure, culture and influence today. As the Silicon Valley community builds and maintains what has become the interfaces for global communications, the tensions between politically nationalist governing systems and global financial and information streams continue to intensify.

Drawing on his work over the last 5 years Denny will unpack moments in this trajectory.