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A breath of fresh air.

Our new research focuses are
available for exploration!

A breath of fresh air.

Our new research focuses
are available for exploration!

NEWS FROM THE INSTITUTE

New publication

A matter of context

Based on 145 interviews across four occupational fields, the whitepaper examines how generative AI is introduced and used at work, and offers design approaches.

Open Call

Founders, what has to change?

What’s slowing startups down in Germany? And how can it be fixed? We want to hear from founders where the friction is and what should be redesigned. We are collecting answers until 10 October.

Press

What Meta’s billion-euro settlement means for young people and parents

Matthias C. Kettemann analyses on web.de which changes to strengthen youth protection the tech giant has agreed to (in German).

Press

Independence through openness

In a guest article for Tagesspiegel Background, our researcher Judith Faßbender, together with Ben Burmeister, calls for open source to be used strategically by the state (in German).

Press

Social media: Is the power of tech giants a threat to democracy?

Our Research Director Jeanette Hofmann discusses the regulation of social networks with other experts on Deutschlandfunk (in German).

New project

Anonymised Collection and Use of Mobility and Movement Data

In this joint research project, the HIIG examines the extent to which anonymised mobility data still counts as personal data from a legal perspective.

Luftaufnahme leerer Cafétische und -stühle auf einem grauen Steinpflaster, einzeln eingefärbt in einem Verlauf von Türkis zu Grün. Aerial view of empty café tables and chairs on a grey stone-paved square, individually tinted in a gradient from teal to green.

Forum. Venturing Futures.

The new inter- and transdisciplinary space for action within our research focus on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Society! Here we develop new formats for dialogue and practice-oriented tools to connect entrepreneurial thinking with societal responsibility.

Explore the forum

UPCOMING EVENTS

Further events

  • September 18
    Workshop: Academic freedom under pressure
    9:00 - 15:00 | Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society |
  • September 24
    Webinar: Generative KI in Kommunikation und Marketing
    9:00 - 9:45 | Online |
  • September 29
    Spotlight: Generative KI in der Arbeitswelt
    13:00 - 14:00 | Online |

    • More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    Featured Topics

    Platform governance

    In our research on platform governance, we investigate how corporate goals and social values can be balanced on online platforms.
    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.

    Data governance

    We develop robust data governance frameworks and models to provide practical solutions for good data governance policies.
    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

    The future of artificial Intelligence and society operates in diverse societal contexts. 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.

    Open higher education

    We explore the use of open higher education & edtech 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 future of the workplace

    How will AI and digitalisation change the future of the workplace? We assess their impact, and the opportunities and risks for the future of work.

    Experts for Media

    HIIG Expertise – Startseite - Micro - single

    Here you will find our experts on current press topics relating to the Internet and digitalisation.

    AI Compass

    KI Kompass Startseite

    Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI). But what is all the hype? Find out with this card game.

    Data Governance Guide

    smart city_startseite

    Our new handbook provides guidance on the legally compliant and efficient use of data for administrations.

    DIGITAL SOCIETY BLOG

    Further articles

    Three human silhouettes are depicted mid-stride, each comprising of a collage of hardware used to develop AI including circuit boards and CPU chips. In the background there is a black and grey gradient with smoke. Beneath the runners from the left, there are two rectangle panels which run across the image, one is red and the other is blue.

    Brave new world of work? Narratives on AI and the future of work

    A comparison between German and US-American public discourse shows how different narratives on AI shape the future of work.

    A. Dumat, G. v. Richthofen, S. Bohn on 17 September 2026
    The photo shows the entrance area of an event: while people wait and an older man speaks at a standing lectern in an open space symbolising democracy without borders.

    Democracy without borders? Global citizenship between platform power, AI and the crisis of knowledge

    A look back and ahead at ten years of constitutional thinking across state borders.

    Matthias C. Kettemann, Karina Preiss on 31 August 2026
    Playing cards on a table with a hidden ace, representing the high-stakes game of platform regulation under the Digital Services Act.

    Cards on the table: Making sense of the Digital Services Act

    This article revisits the origins and core mechanisms of the Digital Services Act and asks what lessons they hold for the upcoming review process.

    Daniel Pothmann on 5 August 2026