Can a University of Technology Make Love?

That is the premise of For Love of the World – Digital Revolt, on March 21, 2026, in Delft. The festival is a collaboration between Studium Generale TU Delft and Theater de Veste and features the internationally renowned writer and artist James Bridle as keynote speaker.

What do a university of technology, love, and a digital revolt have in common?

Love As Resistance

We live in a digital economy where attention is traded, emotions are magnified, and algorithms determine what we see. We check our phones dozens of times a day. Platforms are designed to captivate us. Polarization generates engagement. Engagement generates data. Data generates profit.

The system hasn’t broken down—this is the system.

James Bridle: Beyond Technological Fatalism

James Bridle is one of the most influential international voices on technology, ecology, and intelligence. In their books, “New Dark Age” and “Ways of Being,” they question our idea of progress and invite a broader view of knowledge and coexistence—including non-human perspectives. Their essays have appeared in publications including The Guardian, Wired, and The Atlantic. Their work has been exhibited and awarded worldwide. In Delft, Bridle explores how we can move beyond technological fatalism and design technology based on reciprocity and care rather than control.

The Third Edition of the For Love of the World Festival

For Love of the World is the only festival taking place in the Month of Philosophy where philosophy, art, technology, and activism converge. Lectures, performances, and collaborative experiments transform the audience into participants.

Students Working on a Festival for the Future

What stands out is the broad involvement of TU Delft students. Study associations, design collectives, cultural and art initiatives within TU Delft are developing program components, building installations, and organizing discussions. The festival aims to foster intergenerational conversations with students and the general public.

Many Voices

In addition to Bridle, speakers include:
Payal Arora – On how global desire is used as resistance to technological control
George van Hal – On the pitch-black worldviews of tech bros, and how things can be done differently
Derek Lomas – On digital systems that promote well-being
Maaike van der Horst – On love, desire, and technology

Love Over Power

Love is a design principle: a way to build digital infrastructure that empowers people rather than exhausts them. What does this mean for a university of technology, where the world of tomorrow is being designed? What does this mean for our society—what values do we program into the world we build?

Together, our speakers put a fundamental question back into the people’s hands and minds. That question: if technology shapes our world, do we dare to redesign it—from love rather than power?

Tickets and more information

Tickets: https://www.theaterdeveste.nl/flotw
Website: https://www.tudelft.nl/evenementen/2026/sg/03-mar/digital-revolt

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