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UID:20260921T1524Z-1790004242.664-EO-790984-1@10.73.0.19
STATUS:CONFIRMED
DTSTAMP:20260921T112402Z
CREATED:20260921T130846Z
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260930T193000
SUMMARY: Running Harder\, Falling Faster: The Paradox of Enshittification a
 nd Reverse Centaurs
DESCRIPTION: AI and digital platforms promise a friction-free future\, yet 
 the systems taking shape around us depend on hidden human labor\, powerful 
 corporate interests\, and business models that demand more and more of thos
 e they purport to serve. In Cory Doctorow’s formulation\, the defining meta
 phor may not be the centaur—a human enhanced by a machine—but the […]
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: <p>AI and digital platforms promise a frictio
 n-free future\, yet the systems taking shape around us depend on hidden hum
 an labor\, powerful corporate interests\, and business models that demand m
 ore and more of those they purport to serve. In Cory Doctorow’s formulation
 \, the defining metaphor may not be the centaur—a human enhanced by a machi
 ne—but the “reverse centaur”: a person driven by the force of an an automat
 ed system.</p><p>Join author and activist <a href="https://craphound.com/">
 Cory Doctorow</a> and <a href="https://www.khoury.northeastern.edu/people/e
 lizabeth-mynatt/">Dr. Elizabeth Mynatt\,</a> Dean of Northeastern Universit
 y’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences\, for a conversation about the stru
 ctural\, economic\, and human stakes of this reversal. Drawing on his work 
 on platform “enshittification” fostered by corporate monopoly\, Doctorow as
 ks us to focus not only on what technology <em>does</em>\, but whom it is d
 one <em>to</em>\, who benefits\, and who bears its costs. Mynatt brings a h
 uman-centered computing perspective\, considering how technologies can inst
 ead be designed around human needs\, agency\, and care.</p><p>Together\, th
 ey will explore a central challenge for AI development and governance: what
  legal\, economic\, and design choices can keep technology accountable to t
 he people whose lives it shapes? What would it take to ensure that humans r
 emain its beneficiaries\, not its infrastructure?</p><p>Copies of <a href="
 https://bookshop.org/p/books/enshittification-why-everything-suddenly-got-w
 orse-and-what-to-do-about-it-cory-doctorow/d3f8483b158906ce?ean=97803746193
 29&next=t&next=t&affiliate=86831"><em>Enshittification: Why Everything Sudd
 enly Got Worse and What To Do About It</em> </a>and <a href="https://booksh
 op.org/p/books/the-reverse-centaur-s-guide-to-life-after-ai-how-to-think-ab
 out-artificial-intelligence-before-it-s-too-late-cory-doctorow/ac86987834ee
 96c2"><em>The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About 
 Artificial Intelligence—Before It's Too Late</em></a> will be available for
  purchase.</p>
CATEGORIES:Book Talk
LOCATION:Lewis Hall\, 5th floor at the Berkman Klein Center's Multi-Purpose Room 515
GEO:0.000000;0.000000
ORGANIZER;CN="Matt Kristoffersen":MAILTO:mkristoffersen@jd27.law.harvard.ed
 u
URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/running-harder-falling-faster-
 the-paradox-of-enshittification-and-reverse-centaurs/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://hls.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-18-at-3.09.04-PM.png
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TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
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DTSTART:20260308T070000
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