Felienne Hermans on power, culture and fun in tech
“Make computer science more social again”
Felienne Hermans studies how anyone can learn about programming and digitalisation, whatever your background is. She has a prominent voice in the public debate on science, education, AI, and inclusion in the digital world. “AI companies are only interested in power and money. And we’re giving it to them.”
She has been a prominent figure over the past year: in the House of Representatives, on television (including Buitenhof), on BNR Nieuwsradio, as a columnist for de Volkskrant, in podcasts and at conferences. Felienne Hermans (1984) is a professor of Computer Science Education at VU University Amsterdam, is committed to promoting coding lessons for children and teaches at a secondary school one day a week. She also produces a podcast on computer science and writes a weekly personal newsletter on AI (highly recommended!). On 10 November, she will open the SURF Onderwijsdagen with a keynote speech.
Felienne Hermans
As a child in the 1980s, Felienne Hermans taught herself to programme using her father’s computer. Now she believes it is important for as many people as possible to learn to programme. “The shift from user to creator is significant,” she says. “If you only use technology, you’re dependent on the choices others make for you. As soon as you understand how it works and can create something yourself, you gain more influence over your own digital environment. It gives you autonomy.”
The importance of inclusion in the digital world
Felienne believes that people need to understand how the software that increasingly shapes our daily lives works. “Of course, you don’t all have to become professional programmers, but some knowledge of programming does help you to think critically. Who decides how a system works? What choices are built into an algorithm? Who is a technology actually designed for, and who might be excluded?”
This may sound abstract, but you can see it reflected in concrete examples. For instance: a large part of the Arabic-speaking world uses different numerals than us. In certain programming languages, these are regarded as invalid, whilst technically it is not at all complicated to ensure that these numerals can be used. That says something about who holds power in the digital world. If certain groups are not included in the design process, their perspectives and needs simply won't be reflected in that technology.
“If certain groups are not included in the design process, their perspectives and needs simply won’t be reflected in that technology”
You can see this happening with AI as well. Models are trained on data that is not neutral: it contains historical inequalities and biases. As a result, AI sometimes presents a distorted picture of reality. For example, research in 2023 showed that when you ask a chatbot to generate an image of a doctor, a woman appears in only 7 per cent of cases, whilst the actual percentage of female doctors is much higher.
That is why, for me, inclusion in the digital world is not just about whether everyone has access to technology. It is also about what kind of world we see reflected in that technology, and who decides what is considered normal within it.”
“If you only use technology, you’re dependent on the choices others make for you. As soon as you understand how it works and can create something yourself, you gain more influence over your own digital environment.”
Abuse on social media
“I used to think that inclusion in the digital world was a technical problem and that we mainly needed to come up with technical solutions. That was the idea behind Hedy, the programming language for children that I developed in 2019. I tried to make Hedy as accessible as possible: free, available in several languages, and suitable for blind and visually impaired people. And I published a step-by-step guide for other programmers on how to make programming languages more inclusive.
I thought the computing world would be absolutely delighted and would get straight to work on my tips. But the opposite happened: people got angry and hurled abuse at me on social media. They thought I was whining, and that I was bringing ‘woke’ ideas into computing. I realised that this isn’t a technical problem, but a social one. You can make a programming language more accessible, but that doesn’t automatically change the culture of the field.
Nowadays, I focus on training computer scientists who do consider social consequences and inclusivity to be important. We shouldn’t just try to bring more diverse people into the existing culture; we need to change that culture itself. That also means that curricula need to change. In computer science courses, technology is often implicitly presented as the solution to problems. But you learn far less about what technology does to people.
That is why I would like to see more emphasis on the philosophy of technology and other social disciplines in these programmes. Computer science was originally an interdisciplinary field: it’s a bit of language and a bit of maths. The discipline then began to behave more like a science: it became increasingly centred on maths and complex algorithms. Social sciences have increasingly been pushed out of the discipline. But I say: let’s make the discipline more social again. I’m working very hard to achieve that.”
The power of AI companies
“I think in 10 years’ time we’ll be looking at AI and other technologies more critically. At first, we mainly found social media and mobile phones fun and convenient, but now we can see the downsides. I expect something similar to happen with AI. People are already starting to pay more attention to the damage to the climate, the enormous water consumption, and the power that ends up in the hands of a small group of companies and individuals. There are plenty of reasons why people might eventually say: I don’t want to use this.
“I think in 10 years’ time we’ll be looking at AI and other technologies more critically”
If AI had remained purely within the realm of science, I’d probably be much more enthusiastic about it. But you can no longer view the technology in isolation from the commercial hype surrounding it. A small group of American software companies are telling us that AI can solve all sorts of problems faster and better than ever before. But that’s just a marketing pitch. In fact, they share the same mindset as arms manufacturers: they make a product and couldn’t care less about its impact on society. They’re only interested in power and money. And we’re the ones giving it to them.”
The role of technology in our education system
In her keynote speech at the SURF Onderwijsdagen, Felienne wants to emphasise to the audience that technology is more than just a technical tool. “When you introduce a new system, algorithm or AI application, you are also making choices about how people work, learn and interact with one another.
This means that, as an education professional, you must ask yourself not only what technology makes possible, but also what kind of world you are creating with it. Who benefits from it? Who is disadvantaged by it? What values are embedded in it? And who actually decided that this is the direction we should be heading in?
I hope that, after my keynote, people will be a little less swayed by the idea that every new technological development is automatically something that education must embrace. We don’t have to adapt to technology: we decide for ourselves what role technology will play in our education.”
“We don’t have to adapt to technology: we decide for ourselves what role technology will play in our education”
Persevering and taking small steps
Felienne has lost her optimism about technology. She says: “I’ve been trying for years to make it clear that technology not only offers solutions, but can also cause social problems. But change in computer science doesn’t happen quickly, and certainly not of its own accord. That means you sometimes have to keep going for a long time without seeing immediate results.”
Yet Felienne is anything but gloomy. She always conveys her message cheerfully, patiently and with humour. The comparison with her hobby, running marathons and ultra-runs, is an easy one to make. “I certainly see a parallel. You have to be prepared to keep taking small steps, even when you don’t know if you’ll ultimately reach the finish line. And to keep it a bit of fun when things get tough and hurt.”
Felienne concludes: “I don’t know whether all the changes I have in mind are realistic. But I don’t really think that’s all that important. Just because something is difficult or might not work out doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Ultimately, I want to look back on my life and be able to say that I did everything I could.”
Photos: Bob Bronshoff
Come along to the SURF Onderwijsdagen
Felienne Hermans will open the SURF Onderwijsdagen on 10 November with a keynote speech. The Onderwijsdagen will take place on 10 and 11 November 2026 at Amare, The Hague. Over the course of 2 days, education professionals from across the country will come together to discuss digital innovation, educational reform, collaboration and the future of education.