Autonomy in a Digital Era

On Friday 30 January 2026, the focus areas Applied Data Science, Governing the Digital Society and Human-centered Artificial Intelligence are organising an interdisciplinary conference focused on the theme 'Autonomy in a Digital Era' at the Railway Museum in Utrecht.

Autonomy in a digital era

The conference programme will feature renowned keynote speakers, presentations from Utrecht University researchers and a lively panel. The event aims to foster engaging and informed discussions on the pressing topic of autonomy in the digital era and in particular around data and Artificial Intelligence. We anticipate a large and engaged audience consisting of researchers, professionals, and enthusiastic students.

The program includes keynotes by:

- Prof. Frans Oliehoek on 'Adaptive agents and interactive learning'

- Dr. Cecilia Rikap on 'Digital crossroads: corporate power, sovereignty and the ecological breakdown'

- Prof. Jeroen de Ridder on 'AI and ML in molecular diagnostics'

And talks by:

- Prof. Pinar Yolum on 'Responsible Autonomy in Human-AI Collaboration'

- Dr. Rense Corte on 'Trust, reputation and autonomy in the platform economy: computational and experimental approaches'

- Dr. Niels Kerssens pn 'Reclaiming Autonomy in the Digital Classroom: Securing Public Value in European Education in the Era of BigTech and AI’

- Dr. Rianne Riemens on ‘Big AI’s climate futures: an environmental perspective on the autonomy-dependency debate’

- Prof. Joel Anderson on ‘Data-Ethical Autonomy as a Social Skill’

Enlarge your network

During the breaks there is ample opportunity to meet peers, discuss your work or research and enlarge your network. You can of course do so in the break room, but also around (historic) trains, since every conference visitor also has access to the museum.

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