Unfinished Live to Convene Thousands in NYC this Fall for Immersive Event Focused on Building a Better Digital Future

From September 21-24 at The Shed in New York City, Unfinished Live attendees will explore and accelerate solutions for creating a healthier internet and society; programming features more than 150 high-profile speakers, 75 expert-led sessions, live podcasts, and "The Project Liberty Experience" – a cutting-edge art exhibit that reimagines data ownership.

NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Unfinished Live 2022 will convene at The Shed in New York City from September 21-24, bringing together more than 2,500 technologists, academics, journalists, artists, thought leaders and changemakers for a captivating experience focused on building a more equitable and inclusive digital future. The event features a world-class speaker lineup of interdisciplinary leaders and experts, as well as a first-of-its-kind spotlight event focused on the future of digital governance in the Web3 era. In addition, renowned media artist Refik Anadol will unveil a new iteration of "The Project Liberty Experience"—the provocative art installation that, during Unfinished Live 2021, drew international media coverage and more than 5,500 visitors, inviting all who visit to imagine a digital world where they own and control their personal data.

This unique convening was launched by civic entrepreneur Frank McCourt, founder of Unfinished and Project Liberty—a groundbreaking initiative to democratize the internet; repair social media and the damage it has caused; and harness the collective power of new technology, effective governance principles and engaged citizens to create a healthier digital future.

"The current state of our society, and our unraveling social fabric, is the direct result of a tech architecture that enables major platforms to exploit, divide and trigger people for profit," said McCourt. "Unfinished Live is for everyone who believes we need systemic change and is ready to focus on bold solutions. I look forward to sharing an update on Project Liberty, which is taking meaningful steps to transform how the internet works. Rather than sit idly by while social media undermines our democracy, Project Liberty offers a solution and an alternative pathway forward." 

Unfinished Live 2022 is presented by more than 35 partner organizations within the Unfinished Network, including The Aspen Institute, Center for Humane Tech, Filecoin Foundation, Knight Foundation, Omidyar Network, and many others.

"Unfinished Live is about bringing together diverse perspectives and voices to create a digital future, and society, that works better for all of us," said Angela Glover Blackwell, chair of the Unfinished Network and founder of PolicyLink. "Although the next generation of the web is coming quickly, we still have a chance to shape it. This convening is a critical opportunity to advance promising solutions like Project Liberty and to energize the collaboration needed to fix what today's tech giants have broken and forge a new, more inclusive and more equitable path forward."

Unfinished Live kicks off on Wednesday, September 21, with an exclusive "Day Zero" session dedicated to exploring "The Future of Digital Governance." This invitation-or application-only programming is hosted by the McCourt Institute, which aims to ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the development of new technology and embedded in the next generation of the web. Day Zero is presented in partnership with POLITICO and the McCourt Institute's founding partners, Georgetown University and Sciences Po. This spotlight session will convene policymakers, academics, civil society leaders, journalists and students from the U.S. and Europe.

Unfinished Live continues September 22-24, hosted by Baratunde Thurston, author, comedian, futurist and creator of the How to Citizen podcast. The multi-day program will feature more than 150 speakers, including Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, journalist, author and co-founder and CEO of Rappler; Tristan Harris, co-founder and president of the Center for Human Technology; Frances Haugen, Facebook whistleblower and advocate for accountability and transparency in social media; Cory Doctorow, journalist, author and activist; Marta Belcher, general counsel of Protocol Labs and president and chair of Filecoin Foundation; Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Pia Mancini, co-founder and CEO of the Open Collective; Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy at Circle; Braxton Woodham, president of Unfinished Labs and lead creator of the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP); Alex Zhang, mayor of Friends With Benefits; Shoshana Zuboff, professor at Harvard University and author of Surveillance Capitalism; Rob Reich, professor at Stanford University and co-author of System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot; Maggie Little, founder and director of Georgetown University's Ethics Lab; Divya Siddarth, associate political economist and social technologist at Microsoft; Marta Tellado, president and CEO of Consumer Reports; Christo Grozev, executive director and lead Russia investigator at Bellingcat; Vivian Schiller, executive director of Aspen Digital; Jonathan Haidt, author, social scientist and professor at New York University's Stern School of Business; Brewster Kahle, digital librarian and founder of Internet Archive; and many others.

During the event, The Shed's state-of-the-art performance space will be home to a podcasting festival, featuring live sessions from Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz, The Defiant's Camila Russo, and more.

To experience Unfinished Live in-person, multiple ticket options are available for purchase. Virtual programming is accessible for free. "The Project Liberty Experience" art installation by Refik Anadol will be open to the public from September 22-24 at no cost.

Full itinerary and event details are available on Unfinished Live's website. More information about Project Liberty can be found here.

Please contact [email protected] with any inquiries.

SOURCE McCourt Global