Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) is launching a Reading and Public Discussion Group titled “Artificial Intelligence, Labour, and Digital Capitalism,” organized by the Centre for Aristotelian Studies and Critical Theory in cooperation with DEMOS, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and Kaunas University of Technology.

The sessions will take place at MRU LAB (Didlaukio St. 55, Vilnius), Room 101.

The ongoing revolution in artificial intelligence is reshaping our societies with unprecedented speed and scale. Its impact on everyday life, work, and politics is already profound—and will only continue to grow. For this reason, democratic societies have a vital interest in how these transformations unfold.

Today, the AI industry is largely privatized and increasingly monopolized, dominated by a small number of powerful technology corporations. This raises important questions about power, public interest, and the direction of technological development. The discussion group will critically examine the political economy of AI and explore strategies for democratizing this rapidly evolving field.

The sessions will be led by Prof. Andrius Bielskis, who recently spent a year conducting research at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His work also included a month-long ethnographic study in Silicon Valley, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence on human flourishing and the growing influence of the AI industry on our lives.

This initiative offers a unique opportunity to engage with key contemporary texts, gain deeper insights, and participate in open, critical discussions.

Students, academics, and all interested participants are warmly invited to join. To register and receive the reading materials, please contact andrius.bielskis@mruni.eu. Participants from abroad are welcome to attend remotely via Zoom.

The full programme and more information is available here.