From ‘Big Tech’ to ‘Small Tech’: Values, Norm-Building, and Open-Source

18 October 2023 By

Second INCA workshop

On 12 October 2023, the Alexander Von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) team of the INCA project organised the second INCA workshop: “From ‘Big Tech’ to ‘Small Tech’: Values, Norm-Building, and Open-Source”.

Alina Kontareva, senior researcher in the Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society research group at the HIIG, was the moderator of the discussion. The two main speakers were Christina Dinar, Junior Researcher for Platform Governance at Leibniz Institut for Media Research|Hans Bredow Institut and specialized in community-involved content moderation practices and user participation perspectives; and Martin Kenney, Distinguished Professor of Community and Regional Development at the University of California, Davis, and Senior Project Director at the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy.

They focused on how online platforms are shaping various aspects of our social, political and economic lives and how they have, on the one hand, become integral to our daily routines, and on the other, ignited critical discussions. As the focus shifts towards making platforms more socially responsible and accountable, we find ourselves at the crossroads of innovation and responsibility.

They discussed and came up with answers about what alternatives to digital platforms should be like, i.e., what these alternatives are and what they plan to replace them with. They also discussed the best practice alternatives and how they can be integrated into the way of Small Tech and Big Tech. They have adopted their view about some solutions instead of making arrangements for the digital platform we have today.

You can watch the full speech in the video below.