Organisers/Hosts: Vili Lehdonvirta, Philipp Riederle
Sessions: Tuesdays, 1–2pm (UK time), during Oxford term time, via Zoom
Participation: Open to researchers and students from any university or research institution. Please apply here if you would like to join the seminar sessions.
Winter/Hilary Term 2026
- Week 1: Tue 20 Jan 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Otto Kässi, Aalto University
“The Impact of Data Transfer Restrictions on Data Centre Geography” - Week 2: Tue 27 Jan 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Cecilia Rikap, University College London
“Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud: Is There a Way Out?” - Week 3: Tue 3 Feb 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Regine Paul, University of Bergen & Vali Stan, University College London
“The AI Matrix: Profits, Power, Politics” - Week 4: Tue 10 Feb 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Cuihong Cai, Fudan University & Joaquín Maquieira Alonzo, Fudan University
“The Business Security Dilemma: Responses to the US Weaponisation of Semiconductors” - Week 5: Tue 17 Feb 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Yi-Ting Chang, University of Oxford
“Engineering Dual-Use Capacity: Taiwan’s Space Missions at the Frontier of Geopolitical Tension” - Week 6: Tue 24 Feb 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Laura DeNardis, Georgetown University
“Authenticity in an Artificial Society” - Week 7: Tue 3 Mar 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 8–9am Eastern
Annabelle Gawer, University of Surrey & Martín Harracá, National University of San Martín
“Inconsistent Platform Governance and the Social Contagion of Misconduct in Digital Ecosystems” - Week 8: Tue 10 Mar 2026, 1–2pm UK / 3–4pm Finland / 9–10am Eastern*
Angela García Calvo, Henley Business School
“Responding to Platform Firm Power: Differing National Responses”
*Different Eastern time due to the US switching to daylight saving time earlier than the UK.
About the Oxford–Aalto Digital Economic Security Seminar
Today’s economies are critically dependent on transnational digital platforms and infrastructures. Platforms are shaped by economic forces but increasingly also by governments’ security interests, while large technology companies have themselves emerged as powerful actors in global politics. The Oxford–Aalto Digital Economic Security Seminar brings together emerging research on the political economy and governance of transnational digital platforms and infrastructures, broadly understood. The virtual seminar is hosted by Professor Vili Lehdonvirta and doctoral researcher Philipp Riederle at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and the Department of Computer Science, Aalto University. The seminar has been running continuously since 2016 and was originally titled the Oxford Platform Economy Seminar.