On May 23, 2007 a lunch debate will be held, entitled Second Life - "Abort, Retry, Ignore?"
click on the photos to see bigger versions, even bigger versions are avaiable on request with Saskia Polder, see e-mail below
click here to see the poster
It will take place between 12.30 and 13.30 in the Foyer (first floor) of the Aula of TU Delft.
What is Second Life and why is it important?
Second Life is a -is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents-. It is an Internet-based synthetic (or virtual) world which came to international attention via mainstream news media in late 2006 and early 2007. Developed by Linden Lab, a downloadable client program enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another. Because it is under constant development, and is an open environment that can be used by almost anyone with broadband internet access, Second Life has encountered a number of challenges. These range from the technical (Budgeting of server resources) and moral (pornography) to legal (legal position of the Linden Dollar, Linden Lab lawsuit). Source: WikipediaRecently TU Delft has bought an island in Second Life to develop a virtual campus. Several Dutch municipalities have opened digital offices in Second Life and that has met with some controversy. The platform of Ethics and Technology thought that is a good reason to have a debate on it.
The participants
Harry van der Molen who is the chairman of the CDJA, the youth organisation of the political party CDA. The CDJA recently released their viewpoint that the government should not invest in Second Life (click here for the article in Dutch).Igor Mayer, who is associate professor Public Management & Director CPS Faculty Technology, Policy and Management Delft University of Technology. Igor is also one of the project managers for developing a digital TU Delft campus (click here for more details (also in Dutch)).
Ruben Blanke, managing director of DNBmedia, which has initiated Second Life Nederland. DNBmedia also assists companies with establishing themselves in Second Life.
The debate will be chaired by Jeroen van den Hoven who is Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty Technology, Policy and Management of TU Delft. His research focuses on Ethics and Information Technology.
The issues
During the debate, the following issues will be discussed:- Second Life is a hype.
- The government should not open establishments in Second Life.
- Since law is unenforceable in Second Life, it is pointless to try.
The audience will be involved in the debate.