Steven Feldstein, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, earned the prize for ideas set forth in his , “The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics and Resistance” published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

Feldstein examined how governments in China, Thailand, Ethiopia and the Philippines have used a wide range of digital tools such as internet shutdowns, disinformation campaigns, artificial intelligence and even DNA collection to repress their citizens. For example, authorities in Hong Kong used facial recognition to identify protest leaders and censorship tools to keep protest information from circulating.

“My goal was to learn how digital technology will affect the way governments rule in the future,” he said. “I found that as people come to rely more on online communication, their leaders are realizing they can use the same tools—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok—to spread propaganda, sow division and intimidate their critics.”

His findings have disturbing implications for democracies and civil society organizations worldwide, said Rodger Payne, who directs the world order award.

“Through skillful, thorough research and analysis, Feldstein shows how democracies are backsliding and authoritarian governments are becoming revitalized by the use of digital technology,” Payne said. “He also shares creative ideas for democracies, civil society organizations and businesses to mitigate that trend.”

, who works in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict and Government Program, was a U.S. Department of State deputy assistant secretary in the Obama administration. A former associate professor at Boise State University, he also was policy director at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He has a law degree from University of California-Berkeley and a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University.

Recipients of next year’s are being named this week pending formal approval by trustees. The annual, $100,000 prizes also honor seminal ideas in music, psychology, education and religion. Winners will visit Louisville in the spring to accept their awards and give free talks on their winning ideas.

“Unseen: Visualizing Ecological Systems,” at Schneider Hall Galleries on campus, explores the intersections of art and ecology with sculptures and drawings by Stephen Cartwright and Shohei Katayama.

The exhibition, curated by critical and curatorial studies master’s candidate Madison Sevilla, is on display now through Feb. 24 and has garnered high praise.

“This is extremely strong work. It’s a great show,” said Chris Reitz, Hite’s director of galleries.

Cartwright is a professor and associate director for the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. His work uses data from his life (such as wind patterns, temperature and precipitation measured against his activity and mental health) to make sculptures that function as self-portraits.

Katayama is a Japanese American artist based in Louisville and has shown at the Asia Institute Crane House and PYRO Gallery. He uses materials such as magnets and iron flakes to create pieces that reflect events in nature, like disasters and pollution.  

“Cartwright and Katayama offer visualizations of the infinite and continuous ecologies that constitute our routines,” Sevilla said.

Hite’s next exhibition, “Painting in the Network: Algorithm and Appropriation,” is Feb. 10-April 8 at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts, 100 E. Main Street. It features the work of seven contemporary artists whose work stands at the crossroads of painting and digital technology.

“Most of these artists are very talented computer programmers —talent evidenced by their elaborate digital compositions and sophisticated algorithms,” Reitz said.  

Tabor Robak’s “Darkroom” (2016) for example, looks like a large hanger on a spaceship as seen through an endlessly moving, living windowpane. Although his images look like video games, they also maintain aesthetic and compositional concerns that affirm his work is part of the long history of modern painting.

“Painting in the Network” includes work by artists from across the globe: Siebren Versteeg, Gabriel Orozco, Cory Arcangel, Tabor Robak, Davis Rhodes, Laeh Glenn and Alex Dodge.

The opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Feb. 10.