Applications are open for the 2025-2026 Research Fellowship on "Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy?" co-directed by Professor Shoshana Zuboff, author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, and Professor Mathias Risse, author of Political Theory for the Digital Age.
A Brief Note to Prospective Applicants,
It is that rare moment when theoretical preoccupations move to the center of the world stage, recast as matters of immediate urgency and historic importance. In Professor Zuboff's work on surveillance capitalism she warns of a dangerous future she calls "the fusion scenario" when authoritarian-inclined state power merges with the digital capabilities of surveillance capitalism's giant corporations as they desperately try to outrun laws that might impede their extractive operations. She anticipates the unprecedented convergence of public and private power as it creates the conditions for a 21st century data-driven totalitarianism that threatens to unmake democracy while challenging every struggling-to-be democratic society. In her recent paper “Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy? The Death Match of Institutional Orders,” Professor Zuboff documents the surveillance capitalist giants' determination to "de-socialize" society as a key strategy in a larger effort to battle democratically elected officials over which institution will govern.
Current developments suggest that these conditions are no longer theoretical or merely possible. They are coming to life at an accelerated rate right before our eyes. The information war is upon us.
We seek frontier thinkers, leaders, practitioners, artists, advocates, and professionals all working in distinct fields and world regions to join us in this compelling moment under the Carr Center's Technology and Human Rights Fellowship. These are challenging times that call us to deeply understand fast changing conditions in order to best share our knowledge with our colleagues, our publics, and those that would lead.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Mathias Risse & Shoshana Zuboff