BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:27400@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:The AI Blow-up. How the “Technology of the Future” turned into a po litical battleground DTSTAMP:20260915T230953Z DTSTART:20261006T150000Z DESCRIPTION:Until recently\, AI was to be found everywhere except for polit ical debates.\nAlmost everyone agreed that AI was the key to future prospe rity\, and that a\nthriving society needed more of it. That has changed. T hese days\, concerned\ncitizens protest against data centres build-out. AI ’s massive water and\nelectricity footprint links tech policy to issues pe ople worry about\, like\nenergy security\, housing policy and climate chan ge. AI-generated misinformation\nand slop disrupts elections\, raising ala rm. Algorithmic surveillance\, too\, is no\nlonger a niche issue but one t hat more and more people push back against.\n\nIn this event\, we trace AI ’s journey from a topic for techies and technocrats to\nthe centre of the political spotlight. Whence this shift during the past years?\nWill the pu sh-back against AI-build-out and policy actually make a difference?\nAnd s hould we expect AI and tech more generally to remain high on the political \nagenda\, or will it recede back into the realm of quiet politics? During this\nevening we explore different facets of how AI has become a politica l issue. Have\nwe reached the moment at which society takes back control o ver tech? Or is that\nan illusion\, given the complexity of the issue\, th e global reach of tech\, and\nthe enormous amounts of money at stake?\n\nS peakers\n\nLisa Sophie Fenner is a postdoctoral researcher in the Departme nt of Political\nScience\, University of Amsterdam. Her research examines the role of civil\nsociety and social movements in shaping EU AI regulatio n. She holds a PhD from\nthe University of Cambridge and is the author of The Mechanisms of Protest\nImpact in the EU (Palgrave\, 2026).\n\nElske va n den Hoogen is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Political\nCommu nication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). Her\nr esearch explores how citizens make sense of European politics amid\nmisinf ormation\, democratic challenges\, and changing media environments. Her wo rk\nbrings together research on euroscepticism\, European elections\, poli tical\ndisinformation\, and AI in political communication.\n\nKimon Kiesli ch is a postdoctoral researcher in the programme group\nCommunication\, Or ganisations and Society at the Amsterdam School of\nCommunication Research (ASCoR). His research focuses on the social and political\nimplications o f data-driven technologies\, with a particular focus on AI ethics\,\npubli c perceptions of algorithms\, and the societal impacts of automated\ndecis ion-making. In his research\, he examines how these technologies are\ndesi gned\, governed\, and experienced in practice\, especially in contexts sha ped\nby inequality and global power relations.\n\nThéophile Lenoir is a po stdoctoral researcher in the Research Priority Area AI &\nPolitics at the University of Amsterdam and a Senior Fellow at the AI and\nSociety Institu te at Ecole normale supérieure in Paris. His work focuses on the\npolitica l and environmental consequences of AI\, studying how evidence about AI’s\ nenvironmental footprint is produced and circulated. He has policy experie nce\,\nincluding as co-lead of Luminate’s French Election Project and head of Institut\nMontaigne’s digital research programme.\n\nDaniel Mügge (mod erator) is Professor of Political Arithmetic at the University\nof Amsterd am (UvA). He leads the NWO Vici project RegulAite that investigates EU\ngo vernance of AI and how that links to global geopolitics and economic\ncomp etition. At the UvA\, he has co-founded the research priority area AI &\nP olitics. Daniel has been a visiting researcher at Harvard’s Center for Eur opean\nStudies\, the London School of Economics and the Freie Universität Berlin\, his\nalma mater. His more recent research focuses on the governan ce of\nneurotechnologies. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/the-ai-blow-up-how-the-technology-of-th e-future-turned-into-a-political-battleground GEO:52.3685931;4.8896879 LOCATION:SPUI25 - Spui 25-27\, 1012 WX Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,spui X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Until recently, AI was to be found everywhe re except for political debates. Almost everyone agreed that AI was the ke y to future prosperity, and that a thriving society needed more of it. Tha t has changed. These days, concerned citizens protest against data centres build-out. AI’s massive water and electricity footprint links tech policy to issues people worry about, like energy security, housing policy and cl imate change. AI-generated misinformation and slop disrupts elections, rai sing alarm. Algorithmic surveillance, too, is no longer a niche issue but one that more and more people push back against.

In this ev ent, we trace AI’s journey from a topic for techies and technocrats to the centre of the political spotlight. Whence this shift during the past year s? Will the push-back against AI-build-out and policy actually make a diff erence? And should we expect AI and tech more generally to remain high on the political agenda, or will it recede back into the realm of quiet polit ics? During this evening we explore different facets of how AI has become a political issue. Have we reached the moment at which society takes back control over tech? Or is that an illusion, given the complexity of the iss ue, the global reach of tech, and the enormous amounts of money at stake?< /p>

Speakers

Lisa Sophie Fenner is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Political Sci ence, University of Amsterdam. Her research examines the role of civil soc iety and social movements in shaping EU AI regulation. She holds a PhD fro m the University of Cambridge and is the author of The Mechanisms of Prote st Impact in the EU (Palgrave, 2026).

Elske van den Hoo gen is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Political C ommunication at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). He r research explores how citizens make sense of European politics amid misi nformation, democratic challenges, and changing media environments. Her wo rk brings together research on euroscepticism, European elections, politic al disinformation, and AI in political communication.

K imon Kieslich is a postdoctoral researcher in the programme group Communication, Organisations and Society at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR). His research focuses on the social and pol itical implications of data-driven technologies, with a particular focus o n AI ethics, public perceptions of algorithms, and the societal impacts of automated decision-making. In his research, he examines how these technol ogies are designed, governed, and experienced in practice, especially in c ontexts shaped by inequality and global power relations.

Théophile Lenoir is a postdoctoral researcher in the Resea rch Priority Area AI & Politics at the University of Amsterdam and a S enior Fellow at the AI and Society Institute at Ecole normale supérieure i n Paris. His work focuses on the political and environmental consequences of AI, studying how evidence about AI’s environmental footprint is produce d and circulated. He has policy experience, including as co-lead of Lumina te’s French Election Project and head of Institut Montaigne’s digital rese arch programme.

Daniel Mügge (moderator) is Professor of Political Arithmetic at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He leads the NWO Vici project RegulAite that investigates EU governance o f AI and how that links to global geopolitics and economic competition. At the UvA, he has co-founded the research priority area AI & Politics. Daniel has been a visiting researcher at Harvard’s Center for European Stu dies, the London School of Economics and the Freie Universität Berlin, his alma mater. His more recent research focuses on the governance of neurote chnologies.

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