Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosted an event at Schloss Bellevue on 7 February to present the results of the international research project The Ethics of Digitalisation – From Principles to Practices.

The two-year project focused on ethical questions surrounding the digital transformation, including the functioning of artificial intelligence and algorithms. Over 150 young researchers from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America and South America took part in eight research sprints and clinics.

The Federal President opened the final event with a speech. After the project results had been presented, he discussed the political relevance of the findings with his guests Wolfgang Schulz, Research Director at HIIG and Spokesperson of the European Section of the NoC; Carla Hustedt of Stiftung Mercator; Sandra Cortesi of the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University; and Malavika Jayaram of Digital Asia Hub.

The international fellows who were unable to attend in person due to the pandemic were invited to follow the live stream of the event and contribute their questions to the discussion online.

The project was under the patronage of the Federal President and was conducted by the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Centers (NoC), an alliance of more than a hundred research institutes, with the support of Stiftung Mercator. The Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) was responsible for coordination.

Federal President Steinmeier had previously hosted the opening conference on 17 August 2020 and held talks with fellows taking part in an African research sprint on 24 June 2021.

To find out more, please visit hiig.de/project/ethik-der-digitalisierung.