Join us for a virtual reading and discussion with Ronald J. Deibert of his book Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society (House of Anansi Press)!

The event will take place on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3nQajmg8BtE.

In the 2020 CBC Massey Lectures, bestselling author and renowned technology and security expert Ronald J. Deibert exposes the disturbing influence and impact of the internet on politics, the economy, the environment, and humanity.

Digital technologies have given rise to a new machine-based civilization that is increasingly linked to a growing number of social and political maladies. Accountability is weak and insecurity is endemic, creating disturbing opportunities for exploitation.

Drawing from the cutting-edge research of the Citizen Lab, the world-renowned digital security research group which he founded and directs, Ronald J. Deibert exposes the impacts of this communications ecosystem on civil society. He tracks a mostly unregulated surveillance industry, innovations in technologies of remote control, superpower policing practices, dark PR firms, and highly profitable hack-for-hire services feeding off rivers of poorly secured personal data. Deibert also unearths how dependence on social media and its expanding universe of consumer electronics creates immense pressure on the natural environment. In order to combat authoritarian practices, environmental degradation, and rampant electronic consumerism, he urges restraints on tech platforms and governments to reclaim the internet for civil society.

RONALD J. DEIBERT is professor of Political Science and director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab undertakes interdisciplinary research at the intersection of global security, information and communications technologies, and human rights. The research outputs of the Citizen Lab are routinely covered in global media, including more than two dozen reports that received exclusive front-page coverage in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other global media over the last decade. Deibert is the author of Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet, as well as numerous books, chapters, articles, and reports on internet censorship, surveillance, and cybersecurity.

Bestselling Alberta author Lori Beattie is back with an expanded and updated 2nd edition of her hugely successful compendium of Calgary’s best walks and urban jaunts. Join her for a FREE book launch guided urban walkabout.

Start Time: 1 pm (Lori will be there at 12:45 pm so come early to get your signed copy of her book. You can order from Shelf Life Books in advance or buy on-site!)

Meet Place: Shelf Life Books

What’s new in this edition?
– 10 new walk routes with full-colour maps
- 40+ suggested detours for the urban explorer to extend and expand walk routes
- 35 revised and updated walk route maps
- New wetlands and wilderness walkabouts
- More off-leash areas featured for pups and their people
- Even more tasty pit stop suggestions
– cafés, ice cream and craft beer
– New photos and artwork throughout
– new content on topics ranging from: First Nations history, geology, archaeology, botanical gardens, wetlands, and why walking makes us happy!