Professor Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo, Director of CUI (Computer Science Centre), Institute of Information Services, University of Geneva

Our daily world, lives and routines have been radically transformed, during the last 30 years, and more recently, they have been exacerbated by the performances of Artificial Technologies (AI) that are pervading many services. 

We are witnessing a digital transformation that is disrupting every domain. To name of few, we can mention: education with digital technologies or information available on-line provided by advanced AI disrupting traditional teaching; finance with the advent of cryptocurrencies and NFT; medicine with personalized connected health; or journalism with automated writing or the need to provide novel ways to provide news and engage medias with the public; public and private transport with automated vehicles. Every domain, every sector, and ultimately everybody feels the impact of the digital technology, be it to facilitate or disrupt our lives, or to provide resilience to unexpected factors (e.g. the recent pandemic).

This conference brings together various researchers in academia or industry, in different fields, sociologists, journalists, computer scientists, communication specialists, psychologists, from all over the world. Gathering in Geneva, in presence and remotely, for two days, they will discuss their research and share their results on the digital transformation of services and social media and how it can empower businesses, supports innovations and how it relates with durability and societal issues.

This event is placed under the leadership of the Strasbourg Chaire Unesco on “Pratiques journalistiques et médiatiques, entre mondialisation et diversité culturelle”. The Computer Science Center of the University of Geneva is proud to host this event that is in line with its interdisciplinary activities in research, education and innovation, aiming at stimulating the digitisation of services in order to promote the progress of society, while keeping in mind key elements and important values such as: digital responsibility, respect for users and a view centered on users or ethics.

We are warmly grateful to all our sponsors for their support to this conference, a clear sign that the theme of this symposium is a topic of high interest.

Professor Philippe Viallon, Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the University of Strasbourg, Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair of Strasbourg

C’est un plaisir pour la chaire Unesco « Pratiques journalistiques et médiatiques » que je préside que de pouvoir initier avec l’Université de Genève et la professeure Giovanna Di Marzo ce colloque consacré aux médias sociaux et aux services numériques. Je tiens à les remercier pour leur soutien dès le début de ce projet. La thématique s’inscrit dans la droite ligne de la recherche de la chaire depuis bientôt neuf ans et dans une actualité toujours renouvelée. Que ce soit les technologies qui sont à l’œuvre, les lois économiques qui régissent le numérique ou les usages qu’en ont les entreprises, leurs salarié.es et les consommateurs- et consommatrices, le domaine est en constante évolution et nécessite une approche à la fois théorique et pratique des chercheurs.es et chercheuses d’une part et des acteurs et actrices du monde économique d’autre part. C’est l’objectif de ce colloque que de faire le point au niveau international de la recherche tout en croisant les perspectives académiques et professionnelles. D’autres institutions et structures (Ville de Genève, République et canton de Genève, Confédération helvétique) se sont associées à ce projet. Qu’elles en soient ici sincèrement remerciées. Mais cette belle réalisation n’aurait pas été possible sans une cheville ouvrière, Dr. Viola Krebs, membre de la Chaire Unesco qui a de fortes attaches à Genève. A elle aussi vont tous nos remerciements.

Dr. Viola Krebs, Member of the UNESCO Chair of the University of Strasbourg

Without any doubt, the advent of the Internet and subsequently the World Wide Web has fundamentally changed the world we live in. Online technologies and digital services have transformed our social interactions, the way we educate our children and conduct business. Globally speaking, they have impacted the way we perceive, approach and document the world and its people.

Tim Berners Lee’s initial http project was centered around democratic values. Open and free software emerged as a tool developed with a strong underlying philosophy and values from the early 80s. There has also been a sense that the Web is an amazingly diverse repository and reflection of world societies, their cultures and languages.

Since the early stages of the Web, big business has developed major digital markets, changing the initial dynamics. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the big winners were online outlets that saw their revenues skyrocket. Cryptocurrencies are challenging traditional financial markets. Artificial intelligence and tools such as ChatGPT are bringing new challenges to academic and educational institutions. Simultaneously, privacy and cybersecurity issues have become top priorities for states and other actors. 

This conference aims to look at two fundamental elements of today’s information society: Social Media and Digital Services. Speakers come from different backgrounds: academic institutions, companies, public organizations and they represent different geographical regions. The conference aims to tackle how these technologies are transforming business, stimulating innovation and offering potential bridges for one of our next major challenges: replacing growth at any cost with sustainability. Education is at the heart of the conference as well, looking at different types of technologies, including mobile phones and how these are impacting young people. This comes paired with an urgent need to address climate change, as well as systemic constraints, combined with the realization that downsizing or doing things differently may not just be a nice thing to have, but a necessity in a world in constant transition and more populated than ever.