Tag Archives: VALA2022

VALA2022 Keynote 5 McGovern

The need for a digital clean-up day

VALA2022 KEYNOTE SESSION 5
Thursday 16 June 2022, 11:00 – 12:00

Gerry McGovern
  • Writer, speaker, developer of Top Tasks
  • Author of World Wide Waste

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala2022 #k5

View the presentation recording and slides here:

 

Icon
VALA Keynote 5 McGovern Slides 8,100 KB
Abstract

Humans produce enough electronic waste (e-waste) every year to build a Great Wall of China. And with the way e-waste is growing, in thirty years we’ll be able to build two Great Walls of China every year with e-waste. This is highly toxic waste and more than 80% of it is not properly recycled.

Much of the demand for technology is driven by the absolute tsunami of data that is flooding the world. By 2035, it’s estimated there will be more than 2,000 zettabytes produced. To print out just one single zettabyte would require paper from 20 trillion trees. (There are only 3.5 trillion trees on the planet.) 90% of data is not used. It’s trash.

Digital waste is invisible to millions. People think it’s all “in the Cloud”. There is an absolutely huge need for education. Libraries can help educate and train people in why it is so important to hold onto their devices for as long as possible and how to do that. Libraries could organize digital clean-up days, where people are trained in how to delete emails, images, social media posts, etc.

Biography

A highly regarded speaker, Gerry McGovern has spoken about designing simpler digital experiences in more than 40 countries. He has published eight books; his latest, World Wide Waste, examines the impact digital is having on the environment. He developed Top Tasks, a research method which helps identify what truly matters to people.

The Irish Times has described Gerry as one of five visionaries who have had a major impact on the development of the Web.

Gerry has appeared on BBC, CNN and CNBC television, partaken in various radio shows, and featured in numerous print media publications.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

VALA2022 Keynote 4 Reid

Data, decisions and dynamics: What libraries need to know to realise the promise and avoid the pitfalls of AI

VALA2022 KEYNOTE SESSION 4
Wednesday 15 June 2022, 13:00 – 14:00

Kathy Reid
  • Leader, learner, creator, developer

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala2022 #k4

View the presentation recording and slides here:

 

Icon
VALA2022 Keynote 4 Reid Slides 4,286 KB
Abstract

The prescient words of William Gibson – “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed” – ring true for libraries – where AI capabilities are already being incorporated into the data, decisions and dynamics of collections, curation and communities. This keynote address goes beyond the hype. It equips library technologists to ask critical questions and make informed judgements around why, how and where AI should be used, and exactly who benefits in the process.

The talk begins with a gentle introduction to AI and machine learning, placing data at the centre of capabilities such as predictive analytics, automated decision making, cyber-physical systems, and new methods of interaction such as chatbots and voice assistants. It then moves on to understanding the promises and pitfalls of these capabilities, with a focus on fairness, accountability and power structures. Salient examples from libraries around the world are presented. The talk concludes by presenting concrete, tangible actions that can be taken to actively and conscientiously shape AI to strengthen the communities libraries serve.

Biography

Kathy Reid works at the intersection of technology, people and possibility. Over the last 20 years, she has held several technical and community leadership positions, Deakin University, Mycroft AI, and Linux Australia. More recently she has worked in voice and conversational AI at Mozilla and NVIDIA, helping to create speech technology that works well for everyone.

Kathy holds Arts and Science undergraduate degrees, an MBA (Computing), and a Masters in Applied Cybernetics (MAppCyber).

In 2019, she was one of 16 people from across the world chosen to co-create a new branch of engineering at the Australian National University’s School of Cybernetics, where she is now a PhD Candidate.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

VALA2022 Keynote 3 Macrina

Pandemic privacy: preserving and protecting our digital rights when we’re all trapped on the internet

VALA2022 KEYNOTE SESSION 3
Wednesday 15 June 2022, 11:00 – 12:00

Alison Macrina
  • Librarian, internet activist
  • Founder and director of Library Freedom Project

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala2022 #k3

View the presentation recording and presentation slides here:

 

Icon
VALA2022 Keynote 3 Macrina Slides 4.4 MB
Abstract

Thanks to the ongoing global public health crisis, we are way more online than many of us ever wanted to be. In addition to the Zoom fatigue, the technology woes, and the connectivity issues, our digital privacy has been sacrificed to the online platform gods in order to make sure we are all being productive enough at work and school as we try to survive a deadly pandemic. Unsurprisingly, many people are fed up with this new normal, but lack the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and fight back against these incursions on their rights.

That’s where libraries come in.

As trusted spaces for information and technology help, we are well-positioned to assist our communities in understanding and responding to threats to their privacy. In this keynote, Alison Macrina, director of Library Freedom Project, will talk about how librarians can respond to the privacy crisis through education and advocacy, building trust and practical skills among our patrons to fight for a better future.

Biography

Alison Macrina is passionate about fighting surveillance and connecting privacy issues to other struggles for justice and an analysis of power.

Alison founded the Library Freedom Project in 2015, an initiative to help non-techie people learn to protect their privacy online, and to teach librarians and their local communities about surveillance threats, privacy rights and law, and privacy-protecting technology tools to help safeguard digital freedoms.

She is vocal in her opposition to digital surveillance, and was a core contributor and Community Team Lead on the Tor Project (The Onion Router) a free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication.

Alison was the recipient of the 2020 LITA/Library Hi Tech Award.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

VALA2022 Keynote 2 Terras

Digital Humanities and GLAM Digitisation: the need to build a virtuous circle

VALA2022 KEYNOTE SESSION 2
Tuesday 14 June 2022, 13:00 – 14:00

Melissa Terras

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala2022 #k2

View the presentation recording here:

 

Abstract

Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums have been digitising material at scale for over thirty years. The Digital Humanities community has engaged with this primarily by using the products of the digitisation process for research, teaching and public outreach. Digital Humanities projects have computationally mined digitised historical content, but have also built corpora, infrastructure, tools, and undertaken experimental interventions with digital cultural heritage.

However, very few of those in the Digital Humanities have engaged with the digitisation process, as well as its product. This talk sketches out an agenda for the Digital Humanities and library communities in considering digitisation in the round, while also reflecting on how best to create a feedback loop to undertake activities and produce research that will be of interest to, and engage fully with, memory institutions, digitisation providers and academic researchers. This should result in inclusive digital heritage datasets that are useful, reusable, and point to the benefits of user engagement with our digitised past, influencing the wider Digital Scholarship landscape.

Biography

Melissa Terras is a leading international figure in the field of Digital Humanities. She is currently the Professor of Digital Cultural Heritage at the University of Edinburgh‘s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and Director of Research in the Edinburgh Futures Institute. She is a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute, and Trustee of the National Library of Scotland.

Melissa will address the latest developments in Digital Humanities, exploring the lived experience of the last two years. She will share success stories and adventures in the Digital Humanities and perhaps provide us with a glimpse of the future through her eyes.

You can generally find her on twitter @melissaterras.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

VALA2022 Keynote 1 Future Crunch

Intelligent Optimism

This session is sponsored by Brill

VALA2022 KEYNOTE SESSION 1
Tuesday 14 June 2022, 11:00 – 12:00

Future Crunch

Presenters: Dr Shasta Henry and Will Tait 

Please tag your comments, tweets, and blog posts about this session: #vala2022 #k1

View the presentation recording and the slides here:

 

Icon
VALA2022 Keynote 1 Future Crunch Slides 28,140
Biography

As our kick-off, kick-arse Keynotes, Melbourne-based intelligent optimists, Future Crunch, will set the scene – and our expectations – for the 3-days to come. Bringing their unique approach to technology trends, human skills, adaptability, data and hope for the future, Future Crunch is more a production than a presentation. You’ve not seen anything like them before.

Future Crunch is so closely aligned with the values that VALA and our community espouses that they are a natural fit. Their work is transformative, insightful and thought-provoking. Rocket fuel for the brain. And importantly, crafted with “intelligent optimism”.

You can meet them at VALA2022, but the introduction starts HERE.

Click the image above to view a short ‘teaser’ on how Future Crunch will bring their blend of technology and “intelligent optimism” to VALA2022.

Dr Shasta Henry

Shasta is a scientist and science communicator; a passionate adventurer, entomologist and educator. She has named beetles from the Amazon (and has one species named after her), guided white water rafts in Canada and once crocheted a hot air balloon. She’s worked at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, and is currently completing her PhD at the University of Tasmania, investigating the impact of fire on invertebrate communities in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Will Tait

Will is a songsmith, MC and presenter with a passion for inspiring wonder and revealing the hidden potential in situations and gatherings. He has 17 years experience as an educational presenter in the sustainability sector, and is the lead singer of 8Foot Felix, a theatrical multi-genre festival band touring in Australia and overseas. He is motivated by the idea that our modern global culture is reaching out for a new story about the workings of the world, a story of potential and abundance in which we see ourselves as integrally connected to each other and our universe. Through music, theatre, whole-heartedness and humour he creates moments of sharing, inspiration and joy that give this new story a meaningful, tangible presence in our everyday lives.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.