critical infrastructure lab

During the last 5 years, emerging from Europe to gradually cascade to other corners of the world, the standardisation landscape of quantum technologies has started getting shape. But what is actually being standardised in a field that is still in search for its ‘killer’ use-case? Who is at the table and who is leading the standardisation discourse? How are traditional geopolitical antinomies play out in the nascent – and highly sensitive – field of quantum tech and what is the role of Europe therein? Is it really too early to standardise quantum tech? This study represents the first empirical exploration of the emerging field of quantum standardisation. Through active observation of the workings in the CEN-CENELEC JTC 22 and the ISO-IEC JTC 3 as well as through interviews with relevant stakeholders, this research projects illustrates aspects of a field where the (very early) science of quantum technologies (including and especially quantum computing) meets the (very eager) policy demand for security and commercialisation.

This lecture will discuss findings of a year-long empirical study of the field of quantum standardisation. The talk will be hosted (in person, with the possibility to attend remotely) by the Law and Governance of Quantum Technologies group, Institute for Information Law in collaboration with the Asser Institute and the critical infrastructure lab, University of Amsterdam.

Practical details:

Date: 14 January 2025
Time: 15.30-16.45 (followed by drinks reception)
Location: IViR Room, Institute for Information Law, Roeterseilandcomplex, Building A, 5th floor, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam

Interested in attending, or receiving updates about future events?: REGISTER HERE

The wars in Ukraine and Palestine raise new questions about digital self-determination, digital sovereignty, the use of digital tools in warfare, resistance, and democracies. On November 15, the Digital Networks, Communications, and Technologies Cluster of ARTES is organizing a research seminar to exchange ideas about the social, cultural, and political impacts of war. This research seminar brings together different perspectives to understand the role of technologies in military warfare, digital infrastructures under fire, the role of culture in times of occupation, and the everyday lives of people affected by war.

Please check the website of the event for more information.

Supply Chain Security in Software Infrastructures: Pagers exploded in Lebanon on September 2024, thrusting supply chain attacks into the spotlight of global media attention. As a breakdown of logistical media, this attack harks back to a longer history of engagement with supply chain security issues in the world of computing. I examine such background through dissecting empirical examples based on archival material pertaining to software infrastructures that developers rely on for ensuring the authenticity of their products. Ultimately, exploding pagers can serve as an edge case for the theoretical framework of infrastructural ideologies that is being developed under the aegis of the critical infrastructure lab.

Location: Belle van Zuylenzaal at the University Library, Singel 425.

Time: 09:00-12:00

On November 5-7 we will host three conversations on Tech-poetics and the Cosmos of Resistance, Regenerative infrastructures, and Playing with Solarpunk Computing and Tiny Infrastructures. Speakers include Thiane Neves, Miguel de Barros, Madeline R. Young-Touré, Jen Liu, Joana Varon, Sunjoo Lee, Luã Cruz, Spencer 張正 Chan, and Esther Mwema. See more info on each panel below. 

To discuss the ecological burdens of computation, challenge the notion of scale, uplift communal and regenerative computing practices, and dream together about alternative socio-technical pathways that center people and planet over profit and capital.

Panel 1: Playing with Solarpunk Computing and Tiny Infrastructures
November 5, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1)
Zoom Link to Register:
https://mozilla.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkfu6rrD4tG9TuQENae6V2NSbadwjc3Ckz

Panel 2: Tech-poetics and the Cosmos of Resistance
November 6, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1)
Zoom Link to Register:
https://mozilla.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMldeyhpzIqHNUbB-TRa-FufW8qMrkwbnJY

Panel 3: Regenerative infrastructures 
November 7, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1)
Zoom Link to Register:
https://mozilla.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0vcu2hrT4sGNX5CFg7ya2Sz4Qaq2XCM17V

The panels

Panel 1: Playing with Solarpunk Computing and Tiny Infrastructures
November 5, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1)
Speakers: Luã Cruz, Spencer 張正 Chan, and Esther Mwema
Moderator: Michelle Thorne

We already know what Big Tech built for profit looks like. But what if we reimagine digital infrastructures with community service, joy, and just the right amount of technology to meet collective needs? This panel explores these possibilities through solarpunk computing, tiny infrastructures, and other alternative models that foster sustainable, justice-oriented digital futures. We’ll learn from communities managing their own internet connectivity, gaining insights into resilience and meeting local needs through grassroots efforts. We’ll also hear from community-led renewable energy projects and how they inform sustainable, rights-based governance of technology. The panel invites us to rethink digital infrastructures — envisioning ways to reduce resource use while designing technologies that truly support collective well-being.

Panel 2: Tech-poetics and the Cosmos of Resistance
November 6th, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1)
Speakers: Thiane Neves, Miguel de Barros, and Madeline R. Young-Touré 
Moderator: Lori Regattieri

This panel explores the intersection of technology, infrastructure, and socio-environmental impacts within the framework of racial capitalism and colonial power structures. Inspired by the critical writings of Sylvia Wynter and Denise Ferreira da Silva, it challenges prevailing biocentric and anthropocentric ideologies to redefine what it means to be human in a world deeply shaped by industrial and digital technologies. Through a blend of research, art, film, and documentary, the panelists critique extractive practices and their devastating effects on both human and ecological systems. By engaging with themes of infrastructure, environmental degradation, and colonial legacies, this dialogue envisions a future where technology systems are designed with a deep recognition of all life forms, fostering resistance, solidarity, and policies that honor interconnectedness and belonging in a cosmos of shared existence.

Panel 3 Regenerative infrastructures 
November 7th, 12h-1.30pm (UT-3), 10am – 11.30am EST, and 4.00-5.30 PM (UTC +1
Speakers: Jen Liu, Joana Varon, Sunjoo Lee
Moderator: Fieke Jansen

Internet infrastructures are a central but often invisible part of our lives. Recent protest and resistance against data centers have made certain challenges surrounding our infrastructures visible but fails to address the underlying values of growth, extractive, and abundance. Local win end up displaying the challenges to other territories. To flip the script and move beyond what is to what could be this round table centers on the idea of regenerative infrastructures, a term we use to describe restorative ecological and social approaches to infrastructures. We asked our speakers to offer different perspectives on regenerative infrastructures, focussing on community, environment, self-reliance, and autonomy, and alternative ways of thinking about infrastructures, from exploring low-tech and post-silicon computing. For example, washed-away concrete bridges in the rainy season deposit solid waste in rivers and lands and require external expertise to rebuild, whereas bamboo bridges decompose and can be rebuilt by the community.  

This panel series is supported by the Mozilla Alumni Connection Grants

Please RSVP here

We would like to cordially invite you to our Global Digital Cultures Soirée, which will take place on Wednesday, 16 October, 2024, between 18:00 and 22:00, the Brakke Grond Cafe. 

The speakers this time are Fernanda R Rosa (Virginia Tech, USA) and Niels ten Oever (UvA) and Fieke Jansen (UvA) of the Critical Infrastructure Lab. Fernanda’s research, ‘Following code with code ethnography’, asks: is it possible to decolonize infrastructural interdependencies between the global North and the global South? Meanwhile, Niels and Fieke will present early findings from an experiment in co-developing alternative infrastructural futures that center people and planet over profit and capital.

After brief presentations from these scholars, the floor will be open for questions and comments from participants. 

As always, our soirées involve food and drinks; the evening will start with drinks, and dinner will be served around 20:00. Attendance is free of charge.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Date: 16 October, 18:00 – 22:00

Please RSVP here

Location: Brakke Grond Cafe

Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance recently conducted two surveys targeting both IT providers and IT purchasers to examine the current landscape and the role of sustainability and regionality in IT procurement decisions. The event aims to kick-start a broader conversation about the core values that should shape the IT cloud and infrastructure market towards greater sustainability. As global companies continue to dominate the market, it’s becoming increasingly difficult—yet more critical—to find ways to level the playing field. This event will focus on discussing the survey findings and exploring how we can shift the market towards enhanced sustainability and transparency.

Date: 15 October 17:00 – 20:00

Location: Humanities Lab, University of Amsterdam, Bushuis F0.01,