Face to Face(book) with Christopher Wylie
2019, Summit Confronting the Disinformation Age, Media + Information
The New Yorker calls him “a pink-haired, nose-ringed oracle sent from the future". Best known for his role in setting up – and then taking down – the cyberwarfare firm Cambridge Analytica, Chris has been listed in TIME100 Most Influential People in the World, Forbes’ 30 Under 30, Politico’s 50 Most Influential People in Politics and Business Insider’s 100 Coolest People in Tech.
Named as “the millennials’ first great whistleblower,” his revelations exposing the rampant misuse of data rocked Silicon Valley and forced numerous Fortune 500 companies to overhaul cybersecurity and user privacy practices. Congress held its first ever hearings on the impact of social media on democracy and Facebook experienced the largest single-day share value drop in American corporate history – twice.
See Christopher Wylie in conversation on cybersecurity, misinformation, and threats to our democracy. Then, ask your questions using Slido.
12:00 p.m. (PT)
Vancouver Public Library - Central Branch
Alice MacKay Room - Lower Level
350 West Georgia St.
Vancouver, B.C
We respectfully acknowledge that this event takes place on the Unceded, Traditional, Ancestral Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm First Nations.
About Confronting the Disinformation Age
SFU Public Square’s 2019 Community Summit considered how the proliferation of disinformation is impacting society and challenging our capacity to make informed decisions about our economic, social, and political lives. Together, we co-created strategies to ensure stronger and healthier information ecosystems and stimulate more connected and resilient communities.
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The Disinformation Age
Information is fundamental to our existence. Without it, we cannot understand or effectively respond to the events that shape our world. Throughout history, campaigns to deliberately spread false information to influence public opinion or obscure the truth have been launched by individuals, organizations, and governments. But today, we’re living in a new age of information facilitated primarily by digital technology. These advancements offer us extraordinary access to facts and data but also allow for harmful, inaccurate, and manipulated information to be created and disseminated at an unprecedented speed, scope, and scale. Falsehoods are pitted against facts in competition for our attention and technology is used to exploit our cognitive functioning without repercussion. In what is being called the “post-truth” era, the distortion of our information landscape is eroding our trust in institutions, political systems, the media, and each other.
Christopher Wylie
With his neon hair and brutally honest candour, Chris engages audiences around the world and makes AI understandable, disturbing – and yet somehow compelling. His mind-bending stories about the power of weaponised algorithms and information warfare have garnered audiences of over 15,000 people at some of the leading global events, including Web Summit, the Royal Institute for International Affairs (‘Chatham House’), the European Commission and Forbes 30 Under 30.
His evidence also exposed the deep links between the Alt-Right and Russian intelligence networks, leading to major ongoing FBI and NCA investigations in the US and UK.
When Chris speaks out about the future of technology, governments around the world take note – he has testified before the United States Congress five times, as well as at the parliaments of the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada.
Splitting his time between London, New York, LA and Stockholm, Chris is currently the Director of Research for Hennes & Mauritz (‘H&M’), the largest global fashion brand. His work on quantifying fashion style with AI systems is already having a major impact on the fashion sector. A recognised expert in cultural trend forecasting, Chris also writes for the youth culture and fashion magazine Dazed and has been featured in Vogue, GQ, Esquire and PAPER.
In a previous life, Chris worked inside the highest levels of the British government and is a graduate of the London School of Economics.
Moderator
Anita Bathe
Anita Bathe is both co-host and front-line investigative reporter with CBC VANCOUVER NEWS’ flagship supper hour program at 6 p.m. A passionate journalist known for chasing breaking news and giving citizens a voice, Bathe is part of a committed team dedicated to bringing viewers not only the news of the day but also fresh perspectives on community stories that matter to them through all media platforms.
A multiple RTDNA (The Radio Television Digital News Association) winner, Bathe was awarded the Jack Webster Fellowship in 2015 and has won several BCAB (British Columbia Association of Broadcasters) awards for her in-depth reporting on breaking news stories, such as Vancouver Port fire and Yaletown Science World shootings. She believes wholeheartedly in getting the answers and accountability viewers want and need.
Emcee
Sabrina Smai
Sabrina is a serial hacker and multi-hyphenate born and previously lived in Vancouver, BC. She started over 8 technology ventures, one of which Placed 1st at the Princeton University’s Annual Hackathon. Sabrina is the Founder of CLAIR, a cloud-based evaluation platform that utilizes Artificial Intelligence to eliminate phone screen interviews portion of recruitment for large corporations (advisors from Dropbox, AirBnB, LinkedIn, and Wish). Sabrina was featured on famous mediums, such as Hanselminutes, FutureSharks, the Varsity, and Huffington Post.
In addition, Sabrina is a Machine Learning engineer at Microsoft, where she helps Fortune 500 companies to solve their most complex technical business problems using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. In her current role, she deals with a lot of sensitive company data that she must comply with data regulation and apply data privacy techniques. Sabrina is always looking to speak about disability and mental health, entrepreneurship, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, and microwavable pizza pockets.
Confronting the Disinformation Age | Trailer
Data Diviner Christopher Wylie—of Cambridge Analytica Fame—Decries Online Segregation — Kate Wilson, The Georgia Straight (May 8, 2019)
Beware the ‘Weaponized’ Web, Says Guy Who Helped Elect Trump — Zoë Ducklow, The Tyee (April 19, 2019)
Confronting the Disinformation Age | Resources
Books, articles, videos and other resources on disinformation.
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Face to Face(book) with Christopher Wylie
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