The conference “The Future of Digital Well-Being” took place in Amsterdam on February 1-2, and it focused on how interdisciplinary insights into digital well-being can improve the design of future online technologies.
Co-organized by KNAW, TU/e, and ESDiT, the conference gathered academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers to share academic insights with industry & DWB practitioners while integrating non-Western conceptions of well-being into technology design.
The two-day event kicked off on 1 February with a pre-conference Workshop, during which global Digital Wellbeing experts discussed digital well-being with the audience.
The Conference took place on 2 February. The programme featured an Academic Impact Workshop, followed by an Industry Panel and two keynote sessions: “‘Disconnect to Reconnect? The Science Behind Digital Well-being and Digital Disconnection” by Prof. Mariek Vanden Abeele and “The Metaverse & Well-Being” by Prof. Philip Brey, ESDiT Programme Lead.
-
- Dr. Matthew Dennis
-
- Lyanne Uhlhorn hosting the Academic Impact Workshop
-
- Prof Dr, Philip Brey keynote
-
- Prof. Dr. Mariek Vanden Abeele
-
- Industry Panel
Programme
Pre-conference Workshop (1 February)
13:30-15:15 – Designing for Digital Well-Being
- Asia J. Biega (Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy)
- Christopher Burr (Alan Turing Institute)
- Dorian Peters (University of Cambridge)
- Closing remarks: Anna Puzio (University of Twente)
15:30-17:30 – Digital Well-Being for Diverse Users, moderated by Gunter Bombaerts (TU/e)
- Laura Moradbakhti (Imperial College London)
- Titiksha Vashist & Shyam Krishnakumar (Pranava Institute)
- Susanne Baumgartner, Cynthia Dekker, Sindy Sumter (University of Amsterdam)
- Closing remarks: Anastasia Dedyukhina (Consciously Digital)
Conference (2 February)
10:00-12:00 Academic Impact Workshop (in-person only), led by Matthew Dennis (TU/e)
- Lyanne Uhlhorn (TU/e)
- Daan Annemans (Altrüis)
13:00-14:30 Industry Panel (live-streamed), moderated by Iliana Grosse-Buening (Quiet Social Club)
- Johnny Hartz Søraker (AI Ethics, Google)
- Anastasia Dedyukhina (Consciously Digital)
- Kenneth Schlenker (CEO of Opal)
15:00-16:00 Keynote 1: ‘Disconnect to Reconnect? The Science Behind Digital Well-being and Digital Disconnection.’
Prof. Mariek Vanden Abeele (Associate Professor in Digital Culture at Ghent University)
16:15-17:15 – Keynote 2 ‘The Metaverse & Well-Being’
Prof. Philip Brey (Full Professor in Philosophy & Ethics of Technology at Twente University & ESDiT Programme Leader)
17:30 onwards – Networking Reception
Practical Information
Venue
Both the Pre-Conference Workshop and the Conference were held at at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Trippenhaus venue in Amsterdam (Kloveniersburgwal 29, 1011 JV).
Acknowledgements
This event was made possible by the following organisations & individuals:
- KNAW for the Early Career Partnership Award (‘Interdisciplinary Approaches to Reimagining Digital Well-Being’), which provides the venue and some additional funding.
- The Philosophy & Ethics Group at TU/e for faculty research time, logistical support, and top-up funding.
- The ESDiT Research Programme for their contribution by key researchers.
- Special thanks to Iliana Grosse-Buening, Peter Königs, Wijnand IJsselsteijn (& other STEM researchers), Gunter Bombaerts, Fernanda Maio, Lyanne Uhlhorn, Kate Raaijmakers, and Daan Annemans.