The Frederick II in the worldwide network of the Centre for Sociodigital Futures

A pioneering new center will unite experts from around the world to investigate how different claims about digital futures shape our lives today in order to generate new approaches for more equitable and sustainable societies.

Digital technologies are transforming everyday life, and bold claims are being made about how intelligent robots, autonomous vehicles, and the "metaverse" will define the future. But, between the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and growing inequality, what lies ahead seems more uncertain than ever.

The Centre for Sociodigital Futures, led by the University of Bristol, is a £10 million government investment in research and innovation from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

It will create a national and international network of leading researchers with expertise spanning the social sciences, engineering and the arts. This unique hub will also include strategic partnerships with British Telecom, the Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs (Defra), Locality, the National Cyber Security Center, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among others.

Professor Susan Halford, director of the center said, "We live in a 'sociodigital world,' in which digital technologies, devices and data are an integral part of our societies. We will analyze emerging sociodigital futures, examining who and what is driving these trajectories, and what it means for the major challenges of our time, including widening inequality and the climate change crisis. Working with our partners, our goal is to make sociodigital futures accessible in ways that will directly impact policymaking, organizational practice, community participation and technology creation."

Based at the University of Bristol, the hub is a five-year collaboration with the University of the Arts London, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Birmingham, Goldsmiths University London and Lancaster University in the U.K. International academic partners from four continents include Federico II University in Italy, the New School in the U.S., Oslo Met University in Norway, Stellenbosch University in South Africa and the University of New South Wales in Australia.

The chief scientific officer for the University of Frederick, Professor Biagio Aragona of the Department of Social Sciences explains, "Social research has often been considered too slow to keep up with technological change. Instead, the Centre for Sociodigital Futures moves from the conviction that, if incorporated from the outset, by design, and on the basis of procedures shared by all stakeholders, it can be fundamental in tilting the balance of digital innovation toward inclusive, reflective and sustainable trajectories."

For more information on the activities of the Centre for Sociodigital Futures.