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Impetus for the digital society

NEWS FROM THE INSTITUTE

Publication

Perspectives on Platform Power, Public Values and the Potential of Social Media Councils

More than 30 researchers from all continents explore ground rules for platform councils.

Publication

How Technology is Currently Used in Relation to Rainforest Protection in Indonesia

This working paper explores the nexus between technology and rainforest protection in Indonesia.

Publication

Regulation of digital platforms for a socially-just gig economy in Kenya

Study on the challenges of gig workers & their often unaddressed precarious livelihoods.

Publication

Sustainable Spatial Transformation of the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) Prizren

Study in the context of the redesign of a former military site into a centre for innovation.

Press release

Practitioners’ Field Guide for Implementing Educational Technology

Research-based recommendations for implementing educational technology effectively at universities.

Call for cases

Women* in Tech

Submit your best practices for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and tech projects with a focus on Women* in the technology sector.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Further events

RESEARCH ISSUES IN FOCUS

Du siehst eine Tastatur auf der eine Taste rot gefärbt ist und auf der „Control“ steht. Eine bildliche Metapher für die Regulierung von digitalen Plattformen im Internet und Data Governance. You see a keyboard on which one key is coloured red and says "Control". A figurative metaphor for the regulation of digital platforms on the internet and data governance.

Platform regulation and data governance

Digital platforms play a crucial role in our society. We investigate the regulation of new public spheres and the governance of their data.
Du siehst Eisenbahnschienen. Die vielen verschiedenen Abzweigungen symbolisieren die Entscheidungsmöglichkeiten von Künstlicher Intelligenz in der Gesellschaft. Manche gehen nach oben, unten, rechts. Manche enden auch in Sackgassen. Englisch: You see railway tracks. The many different branches symbolise the decision-making possibilities of artificial intelligence and society. Some go up, down, to the right. Some also end in dead ends.

Artificial intelligence and society

Artificial Intelligence is operating in diverse contexts of our society. What can we learn from its political, social and cultural facets?

Digitalisation and sustainability

In terms of sustainability, digitalisation faces countless opportunities and challenges. We explore how technology is used responsibly.
Du siehst eine Bibliothek mit einer runden Treppe die sich in die höhe schraubt. Sie steht sinnbildlich für die sich stetig weiterentwickelnden digitalen Infrastrukturen unserer Wissensgesellschaft. You see a library with a round staircase that spirals upwards. It symbolises the constantly evolving digital infrastructures of our knowledge society.

Digital infrastructures of the knowledge society

We explore the use of digital infrastructures to create, share and disseminate knowledge for all in our knowledge society.
Man sieht einen leeren Büroraum ohne Möbel und braunen Teppichboden. Das Bild steht sinnbildlich für die Frage, wie die Arbeit der Zukunft und digitales Organisieren und Zukunft unseren Arbeitsplatz beeinflusst. You see an empty office room without furniture and brown carpeting. The image is emblematic of the question of how the work of the future and digital organising and the future will influence our workplace.

Digital organising and the future of work

The future of work is characterised by spatial and temporal flexibility and by the increasing interaction between people and technology.
Man sieht an mehreren Stellen gebrochenes Glas, das die komplexen und dynamischen Verhältnisse zwischen Menschen und intelligenten autonomen Systemen darstellt. You can see broken glass in several places, representing the complex and dynamic relationships between humans and intelligent autonomous systems.

Autonomy, autonomous systems and robots

Autonomous systems show the enormous influence of AI on our society. We investigate the complex relationship between humans and intelligent machines.

SET news ticker

The Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Global Digital Transformation (SET) project addresses the future of work and AI issues in the context of sustainability and climate change mitigation, especially in the Global South.

OER: Making Sense of the Future

Our new toolbox aims to promote creative (future) thinking. Six different exercises combine future studies methods with topics and materials around the issues of digitalisation and its impact on our society.

Public Interest AI Interface

There is a lack of insights into AI projects in the public interest. Our new interactive world map helps to promote research on such initiatives, demonstrate their self-understanding and provide publicly available data.

DIGITAL SOCIETY BLOG

Further articles

LLMs

Teaching Norms to Large Language Models – The Next Frontier of Hybrid Governance 

This blogpost explores the ways in which we can teach norms to LLMs and introduces the concept of hybrid governance.

Wolfgang Schulz, Christian Ollig on 24 May 2023
Detecting easy language on the German web

Lowering the barriers: Accessible language and “Leichte Sprache” on the German Web

How much of the German web uses understandable language? And how much of it is in Leichte Sprache? Our AI & Society Lab takes a closer look.

Freya Hewett, Hadi Asghari on 2 May 2023
ecological sustainability is getting more and more important in the tech sector

Public Interest Tech: A take on the actors’ perspectives on ecological sustainability

We asked actors in the field of public interest AI how they deal with ecological sustainability. What do they know about it in general and what measures do they take in particular?

Irina Kühnlein on 13 April 2023