The System Shift

We are living

through a far-reaching systemic transformation in how we communicate, organize, and make sense of the world. From generative AI such as ChatGPT and algorithmic recommendation systems to social media platforms and personalized information feeds, digital technologies no longer merely mediate communication — they increasingly organize the environments in which social reality itself takes shape. They reconfigure the dynamics through which societies build trust — or drift toward fragmentation and polarization. In a world mediated by algorithms, what becomes of democratic discourse, scientific expertise, and the possibility of a shared reality?
 
On Tuesday June 9 the Science Café explores the interconnected, co-evolving system linking technology, information flows, and societal change. Maarten de Rijke, UvA professor of Artificial Intelligence and Information Retrieval and director of the national AI innovation center ICAI, will focus on the technological and informational layer of this transformation. He will examine how search engines, recommender systems, and conversational AI shape what becomes visible, credible, and meaningful. Fernando Santos (UvA) leads the Prosocial Dynamics Lab. Drawing on AI and complex systems research, he will explore how simple interaction rules and feedback processes can generate patterns of cooperation, polarization, and norm formation and how these scale into large-scale social dynamics. Together they will reflect on the broader societal and power transformations these mechanisms give rise to, and invite the audience to actively engage in a shared, science-informed exploration of how they are shaping the world we live in.
 
Throughout the evening, Toscans Brew, straight out of the north, serves up a groove-heavy live mix of funk, blues, jazz, soul, and afro, offering a direct, analog experience that goes beyond interpretation.