Digital systems and technologies have become ubiquitous and offer new opportunities and solutions to complex challenges. At the same time, they also contribute negatively to today’s major issues and crises. 

As technology has moved into virtually every aspect of human life—health, education, culture, leisure, and relationships—it increases the need for more critical and alternative approaches to computing. 

One of the primary goals of the Aarhus Conference is therefore to discuss how computing can be used as a tool for positive change. Participants were invited to reflect on the relationship between the words “computing” and “crisis,” and what “X” might signify. 

This has sparked many different interpretations, and a great diversity among the accepted submissions, covering topics ranging from global politics, GAI and LLMs to design, ethics, and imagination. What many of them have in common, though, is that they originate from the research field of HCI (human computer interaction) and are therefore fundamentally research of the relationship between humans and computer technology.

This year’s keynote speakers included artist Kristoffer Ørum, professor of political science Michael Bang Petersen, and professor emerita of the Anthropology of Science and Technology Lucy Suchman.

A highly relevant theme

Back in 2023, the organizers decided that the theme of Aarhus 2025 would focus on 'computing' and 'crises'—a theme that has only grown more relevant in the years leading up to the conference.

In her opening speech, Lone Koefod, who serves as general chair alongside professor Morten Kyng and associate professor Clemens Klokmose from the Department of Computer Science, emphasized the many types of crises we constantly navigate as humans, researchers, and global citizens.

“Academic freedom is under serious attack in many countries, for instance Hungary and the USA, which affects us all. Millions of people around the world are being deliberately starved or annihilated, Gaza and Sudan serve as clear and horrible examples. And specifically in our fields, the exponential growth of the use of GenAI for everything seems to be accelerating the climate crisis, which is in many ways the most important but to many of us also the most invisible crisis,” she stated.

The conference theme was well received by participants, who showed great enthusiasm for discussion during the various sessions and keynote speaks.

“All the participants really embraced the theme. They want to discuss what we do when democracy is under pressure in many places, the climate is under pressure, and social cohesion is under pressure. There are many major societal questions that people genuinely want to talk about, and that’s interesting, especially since we’re people who don’t necessarily work within political science,” she said.

Among the conference participants were researchers from many different disciplines and fields of knowledge, including social science, humanities, engineering, computing, design, and interdisciplinary combinations thereof.

Organizer has participated since 1975

The first Aarhus Conference was held back in 1975 and had the theme 'Work Practices in System Development'.

Besides the fact that the technological reality was vastly different back then, the conference itself was also organized differently than today.

At least according to general chair and professor Morten Kyng, who has participated in every Aarhus Conference since the first one in 1975, which he attended as a student.

“Back then, it was Kristen Nygaard who was the driving force behind establishing the conference, and it was primarily the students who organized it. It was a fairly mixed group of people from various research institutions, employer organizations, and labor unions who participated,” Morten explained.

Since 1975, he has faithfully attended every ten years while simultaneously building a career at the university.

A long-term perspective in a busy world

Compared to the first conference, which was a mixed bag, the 2025 edition is more professionalized and streamlined. Morten also guesses that there is more diversity among the contributions, although he hasn’t actively investigated it.

In one respect, however, the conference differs from typical academic gatherings: it is quite unique in being held only once every ten years.

“It wasn’t intentional when we first decided to space it out by ten years, but now it is. Today, if you want a university job, you basically have to publish articles constantly. By spacing the conferences so far apart, we’re trying to encourage longer-term projects beyond the usual publishing cycle and to create a conference where we take the long-term perspective,” he said.

The theme for the next conference, scheduled for 2035, has not yet been decided. But Morten hopes that participants will be inspired by the long time horizon and begin to reflect on what their field might look like in the future.

Students meet names from the curriculum

In addition to the many organizers and contributors—including the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies, the Department of Computer Science, It-vest, and the Carlsberg Foundation—around 15 students signed up to volunteer at the conference.

Most of them came from Digital Design and Computer Science at Aarhus University, but a few had traveled all the way from Iran, the Czech Republic, and Australia to participate.

When they were not ensuring a smooth conference with IT assistance, catering, and microphone distribution during Q&A sessions, the volunteers were free to experience the conference on their own.

Mathilde, a third-semester student on Digital Design, signed up as a volunteer to gain deeper insight into the academic world she is part of as a student.

“I thought it sounded super exciting and was a great opportunity to get a glimpse into the field and what researchers and PhD students are working on. And I wanted to know more about what I’m part of here at the university. We’ve also read a lot of texts written by researchers who are attending the conference, so it’s kind of cool to see them in real life,” Mathilde said.

Read more about the conference, organizers, and program here: https://aarhus2025.org