The Spring 2021 Research Sprint, hosted by the Digital Asia Hub in collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center and the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers, explores the evolving normative concept of “digital self-determination” as an enabler of - or at least contributor - to the exercise of autonomy and agency in the face of shrinking choices. In a world that is increasingly constructed, mediated and at times even dominated by digital technologies and digital media, including the underlying infrastructures, questions of control, power and equity become more critical .

In contemporary ethics debates, the notion of digital self-determination is invoked as a term to describe the possibility and realization of human flourishing as it relates to the use of digital technologies and their affordances. In policy debates, the concept has gained prominence in broader discussions about digital autonomy and digital sovereignty. Several efforts by governments and civil society organizations are underway to examine how civic and economic participation in the digital space can be enhanced based on the value of digital self-determination.

During the sprint, we will be hosting weekly two-hour sessions where students will discuss the social contexts and conditions surrounding the notion of digital self-determination and see it in interaction with values such as digital solidarity and realizations of collective embeddedness that are in contrast to individualistic accounts of human flourishing. While the challenges and roadblocks to digital self-determination have taken center stage in public discourse, the Sprint will pay equal attention to the manifestations of and future opportunities for self-determination across digital spaces and contexts, including efforts aimed at creating “trustworthy” data spaces, data cooperatives, and related models.

Blending theoretical and practical perspectives and bringing together participants and experts from many disciplines and across the globe, the Research Sprint is intended as a “global classroom” for mutual learning and open exchange. The goal of the collaboration is to create and populate an evolving repository of readings, case studies, examples, and narratives that together provide a thick description of the evolving notion of digital self-determination and its normative context.

The Sprint will start in the week of March 15, 2021 and end the week of May 15, 2021.

Image by by Trey Ratcliff / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0