Out of Order? Critical Reflections on Big Tech, Inequalities and Digital Futures 2025 Research Symposium, The University of Sheffield, UK Organized by the Digital Society Network and the Department of Sociological Studies’ Social Inequalities and Social Ordering Research Theme June 27th, 2025. Times and location, TBA. Abstract submission deadline: May 10th. The increasing consolidation of wealth and power in the tech sector has become a focal point for reflecting on social ordering, the intensification of social inequalities, and understanding digital futures. It is now impossible to ignore Big Tech. For many, we are now confronted with a feeling of apprehension about how the world is being re-ordered and what kind of future we are entering. From algorithms, data centres, and AI platforms that shape our everyday lives to powerful elites working to dismantle government infrastructure and automate work under the auspices of ushering in a new era of AI-fueled efficiency, there is now a larger apprehension that the future is volatile, chaotic, falling apart, and out of order. This symposium aims to bring together researchers of any career stage interested in Big Tech. We aim to create an interdisciplinary space to critically reflect on Big Tech, share ongoing research endeavours, develop collaborative research programmes, and discuss ways in which we can intervene in a world out of order. We welcome submissions addressing any topic that pertains to the social, political, economic, and cultural implications of Big Tech and social ordering. Submissions can include (but not limited to): theoretical reflections, empirical research, policy/impact projects, and creative/artistic projects. If you would like to contribute a presentation at this symposium, please email a short title, abstract and bio to Harrison Smith ( harrison.smith@sheffield.ac.uk) and/or Laura Connelly ( l.connelly@sheffield.ac.uk) by May 10th. Please note that this will be an in-person event, and attendance will be limited to presenters. There are no symposium participation fees. Plenary Speaker Devika Narayan, Bristol Digital Futures Institute https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/devika-narayan We are delighted to welcome Devika Narayan as the plenary speaker for this research symposium. Devika’s research examines the political economy of digital platforms and data infrastructures, and critically reflects on key issues of organizational restructuring and governance, particularly in the Global South. Devika will be presenting a paper entitled: Untethered: Scalable Computing and the Acceleration of Industrial Change This talk examines the impact of a highly concentrated tech sector on firm practices across industries. I intend to answer three questions: 1) What is distinctive about computing technologies today? 2) What is the contemporary structure and organisation of corporate computing? 3) How does this configuration of computing relations impact capitalist logics? Overall, my claim is that digital technology and the tech sector intensifies volatility and chaos in capitalist industries through new forms of abstraction, modularity, and outsourcing. New tools and techniques of rapid experimentation speed up not just expansion and growth but also speed up the interruption and devaluation of established firm practices. Overall, I contribute a theoretical framing of machinic hyper-flexibility and chronic instability. -- *Dr Harrison Smith - **Lecturer in Digital Media and Society* *Programme Lead - BA Digital Media & Society* Department of Sociological Studies Office: The Wave, C454 The University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TU