Freedom Games 2017 „RE:volution / Digital Reality”; Łódź, Poland (October19–21, 2017)

This year’s leading theme of Freedom Games shall be devoted to the influence of technology on societies, democracies and labor market. The technological advancement of the previous decade resulted in an increasing integration of digital reality and every-day experiences. Social media have not only influenced the way in which people interact with one anothe, but have also had a significant impact on culture, politics and social relations. Automatization and computerization have changed the methods of gathering information, ways of accessing culture as well as the way people work. Technology can offer solutions to the most burning issues related to the future of our world: poverty, access to education and culture, overcoming communication barriers between nations – however, it may at the same time generate new challenges and pose threats that we cannot yet imagine.

The foundations of Western democracies – the domination of middle class and the control exercised by the elites – are being questioned in the age of communication and social media. Polarization and radicalisms are trending in the world where the voice of each individual shall be heard equally. Technological advancement paved the way for mass democracy in which responsibility was substituted by populism and where post-truth seems to have the same value as facts. On the other hand, technology enabled a great civilizational advancement – a great oportunity for further development for numerous countries, including Poland. The leading topic of the forthcoming edition is thus of great concern also to the city of Łódź, a hotbed of dynamicly developing high-tech companies and innovative start-ups. One of the key objectives of the event is to encourage responsible behavior – an issue closely related to the usage of modern technologies.

The proposed topics of the discussions during Freedom Games 2017 include: How Our Mindset Changes under the Influence of Internet? How the Creators and Developers Can Make Money in the Age of Services Free of Charge? Digital Tribes, Addictive Technology, Artificial Intelligence – A blessing or the Demise of Humanity? Are Robots to Take Over Our Jobs? Media in the Age of Fake News? Why Open Society Needs Market Economy?

Each day of Freedom Games ends with a music concert.