Abstract: The list of governance challenges brought by digital technology is long and touches every aspect of modern life. Platforms such as Amazon, Uber, Google, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, and Twitter effectively control access to a wide variety of information, services, and products. Surveillance systems, algorithmic filtering of information, bias, discrimination, social and political rankings of citizens are a few examples of challenges of the digital world. I will first focus on the structural level to discuss three digital governance problems that are worth highlighting, namely the multistakeholder nature of the Internet, the climate of growing global polarization and the rampant online misinformation. I will also discuss how computing research can stimulate the development of future policies and regulation for the digital world, with novel conceptions of governance using new technologies of distributed systems. This talk will suggest new opportunities to construct the future of digital governance, in a legitimate, inclusive, and secure use of digital resources to produce sustainable services and public policies for the online world.

Bio: Virgilio Almeida is a Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). He is also Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. Virgilio received his PhD degree in Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, a Master's degree in computer science at PUC-Rio and a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from UFMG. He held visiting positions in several universities and research labs, such as Harvard University (School of Engineering and Applied Sciences), New York University, Boston University, Santa Fe Institute HP Labs. Professor Virgilio is the co-author of five books dealing Web technologies, e-commerce, performance modeling and capacity planning, published by Prentice Hall. His most recent book published by Palgrave MacMIllam is, Governance for the Digital World." Virgilio was one of the commissioners of the Global Commission for the Stability of Cyberspace. His current research interests focus on social computing