The Attention Dialogues
A Series of Conversations on Attention, Technology and the Good Life
Time: August 2026 - February 2027
What are the consequences of Big Tech's influence over our attention? Which issues deserve the collective attention of a democratic society? What should we care about in order to live meaningful lives? And finally: does attention possess value in its own right?
The GoodAttention and Salient Solutions research groups at the University of Oslo invites you to a series of public conversations in autumn 2026. Following five years of interdisciplinary research on attention, we wish to share our findings, raise fundamental questions, and open up a broader public discussion. Through panel discussions, dialogues, and author interviews, we will explore the role of attention in technology, democracy, and human flourishing.
Our aim is to make a complex field of research accessible while examining what we, as citizens, users, and members of society, can do to protect our interests in an age where attention has become one of our most valuable and contested resources.
Who sets the Agenda in a Democracy?
August, Arendalsuka, Thursday 13.08.26, 1245-1345 at Grand Hotel Arendal, Dampen:
Zsolt Kapelner and Mathea Sagdahl are coming to Arendalsuka to discuss how democratic societies ought to prioritize among competing challenges in an age of information overload, algorithmic mediation, and growing political complexity.
Power and Distraction
September, UiO Domus Bibliotheca 14.09.26
Our attention is a limited resource, yet an increasing number of actors compete for it. How can individuals and democratic societies maintain control over their attention in a world where ever larger parts of our mental lives are shaped by technological infrastructures?
This panel brings together leading scholars, public advocates, and representatives of those most directly affected by these developments to discuss the relationship between power, technology, and attention in contemporary society.
Sebastian Watzl (Professor of Philosophy, UiO) moderates the conversation between Michelle Sjursen (founder of ethical social media), Finn Myrstad (Forbrukerrådet), Maja van Der Velden (Professor of Technology and Sustainable Futures, UiO) and James Williams (Technology ethicist).
You can watch the event streamed by clicking the streaming window at the bottom of this page when the event starts.
Capturing Public Attention: Why agenda setting and collective attention matter for democracy
October, 27th, 1830 - 2000, Litteraturhuset, Room: Wergeland
Who sets the agenda in a democracy? Drawing on new research in political philosophy and agenda-setting, Zsolt Kapelner, Mathea Slåttholm Sagdahl and Katharine Browne explore how democratic societies ought to prioritise among competing challenges in an age of information overload, algorithmic mediation, and growing political complexity. How should societies decide what deserves collective attention, and who should have the power to shape our common priorities?
Closing Conference
December, Lysebu
GoodAttention Closing Conference - invited only
Attention and Meaning in Life
What makes a life meaningful, and what role does attention play in the answer to that question? Louise Clover and guest explore the relationship between attention, care, and meaning in life. How is what we care about shaped by what we attend to, and how might the limits of attention be a precondition for living a meaningful life?
(time and place to be announced)
Sebastian Watzl's new book!
January, Book Talk at Bislet Bok
Talk and reading from Sebastian Watzl’s new book project.
(time and place to be announced)
The Intrinsic Value of Attention
(details to be announced)
Salient Solutions Workshop 1
(details to be announced)
Salient Solutions Workshop 2
(details to be announced)
Salient Solutions Closing Conference
(details to be announced)