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From: OII Newsletter [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tue 29/05/2007 12:50
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OII News [2007.05.29]: News and events for June (also: Union Debate: 'Democratization and the Internet')
Dear friends and colleagues,
1. Oxford Union Debate
2. Too many lawyers?
3. OpenNet Initiative Conference
4. Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS)
5. Events Diary
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1. Oxford Union Debate
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'This House believes that the Internet is the greatest force for democratization in the World'
Well...apparently it isn't!
At an Oxford Union Debate on 18 May, the motion 'This House believes that the Internet is the greatest force for democratization in the World' was narrowly defeated. Speaking in favour of the Internet as a democratizing force were Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Ron Deibert (University of Toronto), Bo Aung Din (Burma PDP), and in opposition: Jonathan Zittrain (OII), Robert Amsterdam (Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Lawyer), and John Palfrey (Berkman Center).
You can watch the webcast at:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/index.cfm?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_189
Our intrepid DPhil reporter Tobias Escher was present in the debating chamber, blogging through the night. Brief extracts from his blog:
[9.10pm]
Ron Deibert made a great defence of the Internet: it is a force of democracy, but only for a particular type of democracy.
[9.20pm]
John Palfrey even managed to top Ron Deibert's already brilliant rhetoric performance: He thinks that only geeks might use the Internet in favour of democracy: 'geeks are a force for democracy'
[9.50pm]
Support (by Peter Gabriel - yes, it's him. This can only happen to you in Oxford...): he knows from his own work that Internet gives disadvantaged and oppressed people a forum to voice their opinion
[10.00pm]
Support (by Bo Aung Din)
[10.20pm]
Opposition (Robert Amsterdam) 'How much democracy has occurred in China since so many people have computers?'
[10.30pm]
Support (Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia) despite all the threats, the activists are still doing it because despite all its dangers the Internet is still the most effective tool for democratization
[10.39pm]
OK, we are well 2 hours in the debate and so far we haven't seen any female members voicing an opinion...
[10.40pm]
Opposition (Jonathan Zittrain, Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute, who again delivered a brilliant speech): notes agreement that the Internet is the greatest force for something in the World, but for what? 'Wikipedia works in practice but not in theory' 'Internet can be the greatest force for community, even for humanity, but not for democracy'
[10.50pm]
Well, that was fun. Still not sure whether the motion has passed
[11.30pm]
Ok, now it is official: The Internet is not the greatest force for democracy in the world (folks at the simultaneous Personal Democracy Forum would probably beg to differ). Apparently the closest vote this year so far, the 'ayes' get around 80 votes, the 'noes' got more than a hundred.
Tobias's blog:
http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/escher/
Webcast available at:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/index.cfm?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_189
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2. Too may lawyers?
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From Visiting Fellow Wendy Seltzer's blog:
http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/
Friday's OpenNet Initiative Conference concluded with a debate in the stately halls of the Oxford Union: "This House believes that the Internet is the greatest force for Democratisation in the World." [...] In proof that lawyers are perhaps the greatest force against democratisation, the Noes carried (lawyer/lawprofs Palfrey, Zittrain, and Amsterdam against Jimbo "Wikipedia" Wales, Ron "Psiphon" Deibert, and Chairman Bo Aung Din of the Burma PDP).
And Jonathan Zittrain comments on the night:
Ed: So Jonathan; you were on the winning side - but the Internet lost out on the night...how do you feel?
JZ: I think the Internet won, too! To me, the starting point is the majesty of Wikipedia. Yes, it has its well-documented shortcomings and issues, but I think nearly everyone at the debate appreciated it for the astounding resource that it is -- and the symbol of confidence in community that it represents for countless other Web projects that aspire to something other than the classic .com model. Part of its success is that it isn't a traditional democracy: there is no obsession with the vote, and thus with associated activities like stacking the room with one's allies just to win a tally. So -- a vote for Jimbo and Wikipedia was really best cast on the 'no' side of the ledger.
And Jimmy Wales responds:
JW: Well, I had to walk out the 'yea' door to support my team, but really I thought that the argument that carried the day was one that convinced me in the end as well. JZ argued that the Internet might be the greatest force in the world today for human rights, for freedom of expression, for good of various kinds, but the proposition, narrowly considered, was specifically about democracy. Democracy is obviously related to those things, but so far, we haven't seen the Internet play as big a role in fostering democracy as some other technologies. It was a rousing good time, and very educational for everyone involved, I think.
Webcast available at:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/index.cfm?view=Webcast&ID=20070518_189
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3. OpenNet Initiative Conference
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The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) held its first public conference at the OII on 18 May to discuss the current state of play of Internet filtering worldwide. The ONI has produced reports on state-mandated filtering in, among others, China, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia and Iran.
A webcast of the discussion will be available on the webcasting site this week:
http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/
OpenNet Initiative:
http://www.opennetinitiative.net/
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4. Oxford Internet Surveys (OxIS)
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The launch of the 2007 Report is currently scheduled for July in London: details will be made available soon (you can register in advance by emailing: [log in to unmask]). Sneak previews of the data will be provided in the OxIS newsletter. You can sign up at:
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/mailinglist/
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5. Events Diary
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Title: World Wide Science: The Promise of e-Research Across the Disciplines
Date: Thursday 31 May 2007 17:00 - 18:30
Speakers: Profs Denis Noble, Martin Kemp and Jonathan Zittrain
Focus: Oxford Professors Denis Noble, Martin Kemp and Jonathan Zittrain illustrate, through their own work, how e-research can enable new forms of collaboration, visualization and data collection in the sciences and humanities. Is e-research presenting the sciences, law and the humanities with new opportunities? What are they?
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=146
Title: The Management of Identity and Personal Information on the Internet: Public and Private Initiatives for Addressing the Problems
Date: Thursday 7 June 2007 16:30 - 18:00 (Headley Lecture Theatre, Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH)
Speakers: Sir David Normington (Keynote Speaker), Prof. Brian Collins, Dr Stefan Brands, Jonathan Bamford (Assistant Information Commissioner)
Focus: There is much debate, and a number of competing initiatives, but the problems of identity and personal-information management over the Internet remain unsolved. The Oxford Internet Institute has organized a public panel to discuss this topic.
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=148
Title: Political Mobilization via the Internet: A Case Study of MoveOn.org
Date: Tuesday 12 June 2007 10:00 - 11:30
Speaker: Noriko Hara, Assistant Professor of Information Science, Indiana University
Focus: Since 2000, the Internet has been used extensively for US presidential election campaigns. In 2004, Internet campaigning became more interactive, generating questions over whether the Internet is making a difference in the outcomes of elections. Among various campaign forces, activities organized by the online grassroots activist group called MoveOn.org were prominent. This presentation reports on the perspectives of people who participated in political activities coordinated by MoveOn.
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=149
Title: Cyberintimacies/Cybersolitudes
Date: Thursday 25 October 2007 17:00 - 18:30
Focus: Sherry Turckle (MIT) comments on the emerging role of 'computational entities' (eg robots or software agents) that present themselves as having states of mind that are affected by their interactions with human beings. What is their emerging role in our psychological, spiritual and moral lives? What kinds of relationships are appropriate to have with machines?' And more generally: 'What is a relationship?'
http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/details.cfm?id=150
You can register for all OII events by emailing:
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Editor: David Sutcliffe]
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