Waag Futurelab is delighted to announce Simone van der Burg as new head of programme for the research group Code. From the 1st of November, she will lead the team that focusses on digital public spaces and the (digital) commons. Simone will join the Waag Management Board.
Simone joins Waag Futurelab from Wageningen University and Research, where she is a Senior Researcher, and the programme leader for Ethics and Responsible Digitalisation. A highly experienced researcher, Simone’s portfolio at WUR focused on matters related to the impact of robotics/AI on agriculture and horticulture workers, and related ethical questions.
Prior to that she was the Assistant Professor in Ethics of Healthcare and Responsible Research and Innovation at IQ Healthcare, RadboudUMC. As graduate of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, she holds a PhD in Philosophy/Ethics, with a dissertation entitled ‘In kritisch gezelschap’ (‘In critical company’), on the role of criticism in ethics based on practices.
At Waag, Simone will lead Code, one of four research groups, which focusses on the question of how we can crack open the black box of technology in order to contribute to the research, design and development of digital spaces based on public values. Code conducts its research in two labs: the Future Internet Lab and the Commons Lab. It has brought about the model of the Public Stack, a concept of layers in technology and design principles. The research group continues to build upon it, apply it and refine it through application in projects and research published on a dedicated website. Jointly, these Labs research how the triangle of state, market and civil society can be activated in the development of digital public spaces.
Simone van der Burg is enthusiastic about her new role: 'I'm looking forward to joining the dedicated and creative researchers in Code at Waag Futurelab, as Waag is the only institute in the Netherlands dedicated to involving the public in creative experimentation with the socio-cultural and moral possibilities that technologies offer to our future.'
Sander van der Waal, Research Director at Waag Futurelab, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Simone to the Waag Code team. Her background in ethics and digitalization will make an important contribution to our work on the cultural implications of technology for society. Her wide research experience and her focus on societal implications will make a valuable contribution to Waag’s Research Agenda.’