DigHum Lecture: The Military-Digital Complex: Digital Technologies and the New World (dis)Order

This lecture focuses on the mutual dependence linking large digital platforms, i.e., ‘Big Tech’, and the military apparatus. Three main elements are brought at center stage: an ‘originary linkage’ binding the development of digital platforms with governments’ military R&D efforts; the critical nature of infrastructures and technologies controlled by platforms; and their role as their government’s ‘eyes and ears’ (both at home and abroad). Focusing on the US and China, this lecture will document the growing relevance of Big Tech as military contractors, as well as key actors in war scenarios. In so doing, the main facets of a new military-digital complex will be highlighted, showing how the intertwining of Big Tech’s surveillance-based strategies aimed at monopolizing markets and those directed at the political-military hegemony of nation states (i.e., the US, China and their vassals) constitute a threat to humanity whose integrated character is essential to grasp.

Dear colleague,

We are pleased to invite you to this talk in our Lecture Series:

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. (17:00) Central European Time (UTC+1)

Speaker: Dario Guarascio (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)

Moderator: Susan Winter (University of Maryland, College of Information Studies, USA)

To participate in the talks via Zoom go to: https://tuwien.zoom.us/j/96389928143?pwd=UU5YRkNuRmdoWHV4MFBwMWRCcUErdz09

(Password: 0dzqxqiy)

The talk will be live streamed and recorded on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/digitalhumanism

For further announcements and information about the speakers in the Lecture Series, see https://dighum.org/#latest-news. Please note that you can access the slides and recordings of our past events via that link.

Announcement of our next events:

10.02.26 Polis Digitalis with MEP Brando Benifei

24.02.26 DigHum Lecture Sayeed Choudhury: “The Imperative of Openness in AI”

10.03.26 DigHum Lecture Stefan Szeider on “LLMs when left alone”

24.03.26 DigHum Lecture Darja Djordjevic on AI Compagnions

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Short Bio of Dario Guarascio:

Dario Guarascio is Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Economics and Law – Sapienza University of Rome – and external affiliate of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, of the National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (INAPP) and of the Nexa Center for Internet & Society (Polytechnic University of Turin). Dario Guarascio’s research covers economics of innovation, digitalization and labor markets, European economy and industrial policy. He is Associate Editor of the journals Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Journal of Industrial and Business Economics and Economia & Lavoro and former member of the Commissions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for the reform of the Italian social security system.

Short Bio of Susan Winter:

Dr. Susan Winter, Associate Dean for Research, College of Information Studies, the University of Maryland. Dr. Winter studies the co-evolution of technology and work practices, and the organization of work. She has recently focused on ethical issues surrounding civic technologies and smart cities, the social and organizational challenges of data reuse, and collaboration among information workers and scientists acting within highly institutionalized sociotechnical systems. Her work has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She was previously a Science Advisor in the Directorate for Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences, a Program Director, and Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation supporting distributed, interdisciplinary scientific collaboration for complex data-driven and computational science. She received her PhD from the University of Arizona, her MA from the Claremont Graduate University, and her BA from the University of California, Berkeley.