From Zero To One: How a Podcast is fostering Entrepreneurship Education
In recent years, customer acquisition has become the biggest challenge to German startups. Covid-19 turned out to be an accelerator for the recent developments. This article discusses a podcast that…
Alternative ways to credit: An advantage for the disadvantaged?
ML-based credit scoring systems could facilitate wider financial inclusion on the market for credit. Yet, automated consumer profiling threatens to reinforce rather than resolve financial inequalities. Consumers’ rights, privacy and…
Opening match: the battle for inclusion in algorithmic systems
How can the increasing automation of infrastructures be made more inclusive and sustainable and be brought into accordance with human rights?
Sustainability in a digital society
The developments of digitalisation are the greatest technical challenges of our time. At the same time, we must be careful to make our technology and our actions sustainable. Are digitalisation and sustainability opposites? Or can new technologies such as artificial intelligence even contribute to making our lives more sustainable? Is technical progress perhaps even the only answer to climate change? This dossier deals with these...
Digitalisation for the Common Good
Whether civil society, politics or science – everyone seems to agree that the New Twenties will be characterised by digitalisation. But how do we create a digital transformation involving society as a whole, including people who either do not have the financial means or the necessary know-how to benefit from digitalisation? And what do these comprehensive changes in our actions mean for democracy? In this dossier we want to address...
Surveillance
The state monitors its citizens, Internet companies monitor their users – and finally we monitor ourselves and each other. Who is monitoring whom and why? What positive effects can surveillance have and when does it become a danger for a democratic society? Questions like these were posed by students of the Humboldt University of Berlin in the seminar “Tracing Surveillance – On the Trace of Surveillance” led by...
How COVID-19 impacts digital technologies
The current lockdown is boosting online activity – everything is increasingly shifting to the digital sphere. In this dossier we ask if, how and why the Corona pandemic will affect key subjects of digital technologies. What does this mean for the regulation of content on digital platforms? How is Covid-19 activating the digital society? How does it transform our online culture? How safe are tracing apps? What lessons can be learned...
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Trump’s very own platform? Two scenarios and their legal implications
Should it be up to private actors to decide whether or not to ban the US President from the digital public sphere? Most probably have a clear opinion on these questions, but in fact, they aren’t as easy to answer as it may seem.
Free technologies for the whole world to use – why open source hardware is in the public interest
Open source hardware (OSH) is an essential approach to public interest technology, not unlike well-maintained infrastructure. While OSH is a field with a range of challenges, we see tremendous potential for societal benefits, but it also needs support.
How we use art for academic knowledge transfer
As an art collective we are passionate about escaping the academic ivory tower by translating our academic work into interactive art installations for the broader public. In our latest work,…
The rapid digital turn: How are universities faring?
COVID-19 brought an unprecedented digital turn to higher education institutions around the world. This rapid transition highlighted both barriers and inequalities among institutions as well as sparked a spirit of…
The troll next door: an interview with Laura Lackas
Digital debate culture and forms of communication on the internet are frequently discussed topics in public and scientific discourse. In an interview, communication scientist Laura Lackas talked about the experiences…
How can platform innovation in SMEs be promoted?
What are the obstacles and conditions for success for platform innovation in medium-sized businesses? Which policies can support it? – These are the questions the research team of the project Data Platforms for Medium-Sized Businesses (short “DaPla”) asked itself.
When scholars sprint, bad algorithms are on the run
The first research sprint of the Ethics of Digitalisation project reached the finishing line. Thirteen international fellows tackled pressing issues concerning the use of AI in content moderation. Looking back at ten intense weeks of interdisciplinary research, we share highlights and key outcomes.
Computer says Hausfrau
Imagine being laid off, returning your work computer while dusting off the old one for your kid’s home schooling. Following the pandemic the unemployment office is congested and the job openings are few. Perhaps you could freelance while looking for something permanent? But first you need to acquire a computer to work on.
“The idea that algorithmic decisions are not yet regulated is wrong”
Should machines make important decisions in HR management and administration? Who is responsible for ensuring that these decisions are taken fairly – and how do we prevent discriminatory structures from being algorithmically perpetuated?
Arranging voluntary engagement via platforms
The research project “Jung. Digital. Engagiert.” dives into voluntary service in the times of the digitalisation. How young people get into their positions of voluntary service has been arranged more…
Constrained Identity Projects: How Measures to Contain Covid-19 Impact Consumers
Measures to contain Covid-19 affect people differently, depending on their age, occupation, and whether they have children to take care of. In this blog post, we will draw on the “identity project” concept to explain why the pandemic impacts people differently as consumers.
Development and relaying of technology
The research project “Jung. Digital. Engagiert.” deals with voluntary engagement in times of the digitalisation. The shaping of the digital society depends on technological knowledge, amongst other things. In the…
Privacy International: a triumph or loss for privacy?
Privacy International shows that a general and indiscriminate law may not demand the transfer of communications data to public agencies. This is a win for the right to privacy. However,…
Progress through (surveillance-) technology?
Mileage status, tire pressure, driving behavior – nowadays, modern cars already collect these and many other data via built-in sensors and computers. With the help of this information, a complete profile of the driver can be created, but there is still little transparency and awareness of the issue. What happens if hackers access this data, and how far could they go?
Digitalisation as a subject for volunteering
The research project “Jung. Digital. Engagiert.” deals with voluntary service within the framework of digitalisation. While many of the organisations portrayed in the project make use of digital tools for…
Digital Discourse Culture and the Formation of Political Opinion
While providing previously unknown spaces for debate and exchange, the digitalisation also enables trolls, bullies and right-wing propagandists. In our project „Jung. Digital. Engagiert.“, we explored how young people engage…
More important than ever! Social Platform Governance during and after the 2020 US Presidential Election
The 2020 US Presidential Election has shown that practices of social platform governance and content moderation decisions are more crucial than ever. While the transparency of these algorithmic systems remains low, they might crucially affect public opinion formation of the electorate and need to be therefore more accessible and better understood by researchers and policymakers.
Digitale Schnittstellen zwischen Politik, Wissenschaft und Zivilgesellschaft
Die einen programmieren für die eigene Stadt, die anderen begleiten Jugendliche beim Online-Recherchieren und Texten. Gemeinsam ist ihnen, dass sie ihr digitales Know-how zum Wohl der Allgemeinheit einsetzen wollen. Im Rahmen unseres Projekts Jung. Digital. Engagiert” haben wir Menschen portraitiert, die sich an der Schnittstelle zwischen Politik und Zivilgesellschaft ehrenamtlich für andere einsetzen.
Artificial and intelligent but also sustainable?
Despite the growing global interest in mitigating climate change and in the digital transformation, there is often still a lack of implementation expertise on how these “instruments” can best be used to combat climate change.
Hijacking Hashtags in Times of COVID-19: How the Far-Right Polarises Twitter
We find evidence that German far-right partisans systematically made use of COVID-19 related hashtags to polarise the debate on the corona virus and social distancing.
Collaborative problem solving and knowledge production
Saving lives with an app, supporting non-profit organisations through data analysis – these are two of the many ways of digital civic engagement. Within the framework of our project “Jung. Digital. Engaged.” we have portrayed young people who volunteer for good in the fields of civil knowledge production and collaborative problem solving.
