A2K – MichaelZimmer.org

A2K4 Workshop on “Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics”

Posted by Michael Zimmeron February 13, 2010in Events, Information Ethics

This weekend I'm attending the 4th Access to Knowledge conference, A2K4: Access to Knowledge and Human Rights, hosted by the Yale Information Society Project (see my original post on the conference here). With the help of the UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies, I organized a workshop on "Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics", featuring Johannes Britz (School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee), Rafael Capurro (International Center for Information Ethics, and School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee) and Dennis Ocholla (University of Zululand), along with a very engaged group of conference participants.

A2K4: Conference on Access to Knowledge and Human Rights

Posted by Michael Zimmeron December 31, 2009in Events, Information Ethics

The Yale Information Society Project has announced the 4th Access to Knowledge conference: A2K4: Access to Knowledge and Human Rights. The event will be held at Yale Law School on February 12-13, 2010, hosted by the Information Society Project, in collaboration with an extensive list of organizing partners, including UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies. The two-day conference will feature plenary panels as well as breakout sessions of working groups organized around specific issue areas, including a workshop I have organized on "Identifying Challenges and Opportunities for an African Information Ethics".

Feds Sought Identities of Book Buyers; Amazon Resists

Posted by Michael Zimmeron November 27, 2007in Information Ethics, Personal Tech, Privacy

Recalling the (in)famous DOJ v Google matter, where Google resisted attempts by government to obtain thousands of user search queries, we learn today that federal prosecutors had sought the identities of thousands of people who bought used books from Amazon,…

Kronberg Declaration: Knowledge acquisition is changing radically

Posted by Michael Zimmeron August 5, 2007in Information Ethics

UNESCO has released an important assessment of the nature of knowledge acquisition in our technologically-mediated age. The“Kronberg Declaration on the Future of Knowledge Acquisition and Sharing” (PDF) recognizes that... Knowledge is the key to social and economic development; Creation, acquisition…

Google Shareholders Reject Anti-Censorship Proposal

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 11, 2007in Information Ethics, Search Engines

Unfortunately, Google's shareholders have rejected the anti-censorship proposal that aimed to ensure that the important human value of access to knowledge would be adhered to by the company who pledges to "do no evil." To say I'm not surprised is…

Career Announcements

Posted by Michael Zimmeron April 22, 2007in Privacy, Professional, Search Engines3 Comments

Motivated by recent events, I'm pleased to announce that I have completed and filed my dissertation, "The Quest for the Perfect Search Engine: Values, Technical Design, and the Flow of Personal Information in Spheres of Mobility." All that awaits is…

Jack Balkin: What is Access to Knowledge?

Posted by Michael Zimmeron April 21, 2006in Events, Information Ethics, Information Law & Policy, Internet

Jack Balkin has posted his opening remarks at the Access to Knowledge conference at Yale Law School. In them, he makes three points about the theory of access to knowledge: First, Access to Knowledge is a demand of justice. Second,…

Access to Knowledge

Posted by Michael Zimmeron April 18, 2006in Events, Information Ethics, Information Law & Policy, Internet

This weekend I will be attending an international conference on Access to Knowledge hosted by the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. From their site: In the digital era, most multinational corporations and policymakers are of the view that…