Whose Language Builds The Internet? A Conversation on Power and Access

In this episode of the Language Access Matters Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Lorella Viola, Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities & Society at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, to explore a profound question: Who gets to shape digital knowledge, and in which language?

This conversation examines how language, power, and ideology circulate through digital infrastructures: from search engines and archives to multilingual systems, cultural heritage, and AI tools. Dr. Viola explains how English became the default of the internet, what this means for communities worldwide, and how multilingual approaches can break down long-standing silos in digital knowledge production.

If you work in language access, digital policy, interpretation, cultural heritage, AI ethics, healthcare communication, or global education, this episode illuminates why multilingual design is not just a feature: it is a form of justice.