HASS Great Debate: The Tech Bros Killed Democracy

Presented by the UQ Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Research Team as part of UQ Research and Innovation Week.

Come along to an in-person light-hearted debate about tech culture, social media, and whether democracy can survive the age of disruption.

They disrupted taxis, dating, and dinner reservations—why not democracy too? Have the Tech Bros gone too far? The affirmatives may argue that democracy didn’t stand a chance once it met the algorithm; the negatives might suggest that blaming billionaires in hoodies is just a convenient distraction from deeper issues.

It’s a showcase of humanities, arts, and social science expertise: expect sharp takes, big laughs, and a few metaphors that definitely weren’t written by ChatGPT. There’s no app for fixing democracy—but there is a winner’s certificate, and it’s not going to be decided by an algorithm.

2-4pm AEST, Monday 8 Sep, Room 273, Global Change Institute Building (20), UQ St Lucia
Please be advised, this debate will run from 2-3pm, with afternoon team provided 3-4pm.

The Teams:
Affirmative:

• Dr Sarah Ball (School of Political Science and International Studies)

• Dr Lujain Shafeeq (School of Communication and Arts)

• Prof Nicholas Carah (Centre for Digital Cultures & Societies)

Negative:

• Prof Alastair Blanshard (School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry)

• Dr Adriana Diaz (School of Languages and Cultures)

• Mr Pierce Wilcox (PhD Candidate)