10/23/2026
01:30 PM - 03:30 PM | Weizenbaum Institute, Hardenbergstr. 32, 10623 Berlin
The Rulers and the Commons: AI and the Question of Democratic Control
A workshop with Cecilia Rikap
Cecilia Rikap’s latest book “The rulers” on power, capital accumulation in the AI era and the predatory concentration of knowledge, data and narratives in the hands of Big Tech touches on many questions, but also offers a theoretical framework and a vivid counterimage.
In this workshop we want to especially discuss forms of power and control that operate beyond formal ownership, and what Cecilia Rikap frames as epistemic capture and chokepoint power over knowledge and infrastructure. We then want to inquire how to collectively govern our digitized societies instead of just asking how to use technologies “responsibly” or design them “better”.
We want to collectively think through alternative, democratically grounded models of digital sovereignty, rather than have any single group define the terms. Moving beyond capitalist and nationalist frames for governing AI, we hope to engage with issues such as socialisation (currently a hot topic in Germany), social reproduction, cooperatives, regenerative organizing, and internationalist forms of governance, among others.
The workshop is organized by Sana Ahmad and Rainer Rehak.
Basic Information
- Date: 23.10.2026 (Friday)
- Time: 1:30-3:30pm
- Location: Weizenbaum-Institut, Kassenhalle, Hardenbergstraße 32, 10623 Berlin
- Size: Max. 20 researchers, brief application required
- Application deadline: 12.10.2026, notification shortly thereafter
- Workshop: Short input from Cecilia Rikap, then moderated exchange based on selected questions and topics