The symposium aims to facilitate discussions on the current state of AI in education research and implementation in Germany, while also highlighting key issues, challenges, and directions for future developments. It is organized by the CAIS-Research Program Educational Technologies and Artificial Intelligence lead by Prof. Nikol Rummel.
Keynotes
Inge Molenaar (Radboud University, NL): Towards hybrid human-AI learning technologies
There are multiple scenarios in which artificial intelligence (AI) could improve teaching and learning. In this talk, the augmentation perspective and the concept of hybrid intelligence are introduced to frame our thinking about AI in education. The involvement of different stakeholders (i.e., researchers, education professionals, entrepreneurs, and policymakers) is necessary to understand the opportunities and challenges of AI in education. In order to facilitate a meaningful dialogue, a common language about AI in education is introduced. The six levels of automation model develop our thinking about the roles of AI, learners, and teachers. In this model, the transition of control between teacher and technology is articulated at different levels which are illustrated with different examples. Next the detect-diagnose-act framework is used to describe the core functions of AI in education and to discuss the future of AI in education with different inspiring innovative cases. This talk will elaborate on Hybrid Human-AI learning technologies that augment human intelligence with artificial intelligence to empower learners and teachers in their quest to make education more efficient, effective and responsive.
Vincent Aleven (Carnegie Mellon University, US): Harnessing human-AI synergy in the smart classroom: What works, new opportunities
What should the smart, AI-supported, classroom look like? We should of course continue to use AI in ways that have proven to be effective, such as in supporting deliberate practice with AI-based tutoring software. Yet even with the expanding use of AI-based tutoring systems, difficult and enduring challenges in the educational system remain, such as large opportunity gaps between different population segments. To create a smarter classroom, it will help to redesign the role of humans and AI in the educational system, enhancing both, in a way that is maximally synergistic. AI could support more humans in a wider range of roles as they facilitate learning: students, teachers, tutors, and parents could all, with the help of AI, assist students. Some of these forms of AI-based support have been shown to be successful in research studies and are beginning to transition into educational practice. Other forms are just beginning to be addressed by researchers. Human-centered design will be key to harnessing human-AI synergy. I will illustrate progress and opportunities with examples from my own, and others’ research.
Wayne Holmes (University College London, UK): The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Education. A critical studies approach.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is frequently hailed as a ‘solution’ to many of education’s core problems (e.g., OECD, 2021) – problems such as student underachievement, assessment at scale, and better preparing learners for 21st century career paths. However, such claims tend to be aspirational rather than evidence-based (Miao & Holmes, 2021), and overly simplistic, forgetting issues such as agency, pedagogy, surveillance, efficacy, and ethics (Holmes et al., 2021; Holmes et al., 2022; Holmes & Porayska-Pomsta, 2022; Porayska-Pomsta, Holmes and Nemorin, 2023). In fact, current applications of AI in Higher Education tend to be solutions- rather than problems-oriented, and all too often undermine student agency and disempower educators; while the teaching of AI almost always focuses on the technological dimension of AI to the exclusion of the human dimension (its ethical, human, and social justice implications). Accordingly, this presentation will explore the application and teaching of Artificial Intelligence in education from a critical studies and human rights perspective. It will identify and address many of the key myths, it will argue for an ethics by design approach, and it will pose more questions about AI and the futures of learning than it answers.
Panels
Invited panel speakers will engage in a comprehensive discussion on the critical questions surrounding the research and design of AI systems for learning, while also delving into the broader contexts of preparing for and regulating the implementation of AI-based tools in education.
Challenges of using AI in education
When considering the integration of “intelligent” systems into educational settings, it is imperative to thoroughly address the ethical and regulatory challenges associated with their implementation. In this panel, we will discuss the following questions: What are the potential risks and implications that arise from utilizing these systems? Who are the various stakeholders involved in the implementation process? Besides incorporating their interests, how can we ensure a holistic and inclusive approach to integrating AI for learning? Finally, how can we examine and determine the potential societal implications that may emerge from the widespread adoption of AI in education?
Design and evaluation of AI systems for education
Understanding the current research practices in designing “intelligent” systems for educational settings is key to their effective implementation. In this panel discussion, we will explore the learning goals for which these systems can be employed and identify the variables that may be influenced by their implementation. Moreover, we will discuss various dimensions that are important when assessing the effectiveness of these systems ensuring a comprehensive evaluation.
Empowering Educators to harness the power of “intelligent tools”
In this panel discussion, our primary focus is to gain valuable insights into the perspectives of educators from diverse learning settings. We explore the essential requirements for equipping teachers and lecturers for successful AI integration while catering to their specific needs. We shed light on the crucial competencies that educators must possess to effectively utilize “intelligent” tools and address the critical issue of bridging the gap between evidence-centered design and the practical implementation of AI in education.
Digital activism across North-South divides
This workshop focuses on critical issues in digital activism, traversing North-South boundaries to explore a range of themes and geopolitical contexts: the relation between embodied and digital forms of activism, digital archives as activist resources, repertoires of protest, and the mediation of affective and emotional solidarities. Across contributions, the workshop will attempt to envision a digital politics of location that addresses inequalities of race, class, gender and geography.
Individual presentations will explore: the archival practices of digital feminist activism in Iran, digital practices of witnessing and anti- securitisation in the Mediterranean, media repertoires and everyday resistance under Covid lockdown in China, affect and digital territoriality during the #MahsaAmini protests in Iran, digital civic initiatives and civil society in Belarus, and shifting definitions of activism – blurring the boundaries between civic action and lifestyle choices.
Speakers
Dr Sara Tafakori, Lecturer, University of Leeds
Dr Mitra Shamsi, CAIS Fellow
Dr Delia Dumitrica, Associate Professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr Yuan Zeng, Lecturer, University of Leeds
Dr Lucien Vilhalva de Campos, Postdoctoral fellow at universities and institutes in Germany and Austria, former CAIS Fellow
Dr Vasil Navumau, Institute of Social Movements, Ruhr-University Bochum, former CAIS Fellow
Digital activism across North-South divides
This workshop focuses on critical issues in digital activism, traversing North-South boundaries to explore a range of themes and geopolitical contexts: the relation between embodied and digital forms of activism, digital archives as activist resources, repertoires of protest, and the mediation of affective and emotional solidarities. Across contributions, the workshop will attempt to envision a digital politics of location that addresses inequalities of race, class, gender and geography.
Individual presentations will explore: the archival practices of digital feminist activism in Iran, digital practices of witnessing and anti- securitisation in the Mediterranean, media repertoires and everyday resistance under Covid lockdown in China, affect and digital territoriality during the #MahsaAmini protests in Iran, digital civic initiatives and civil society in Belarus, and shifting definitions of activism – blurring the boundaries between civic action and lifestyle choices.
Speakers
Dr Sara Tafakori, Lecturer, University of Leeds
Dr Mitra Shamsi, CAIS Fellow
Dr Delia Dumitrica, Associate Professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Dr Yuan Zeng, Lecturer, University of Leeds
Dr Lucien Vilhalva de Campos, Postdoctoral fellow at universities and institutes in Germany and Austria, former CAIS Fellow
Dr Vasil Navumau, Institute of Social Movements, Ruhr-University Bochum, former CAIS Fellow
Daten für die smarte Stadt und schon läuft‘s: Ist es wirklich so einfach?
Die Idee klingt verlockend: Daten werden gesammelt, ausgewertet und für die Stadtentwicklung und die politische Steuerung in unterschiedlichen Bereichen genutzt. Ob Verkehrsführung, Lärmbelästigung, die Verbesserung des Klimas – durch die Sammlung und Auswertung von Daten erscheint vieles steuerbar und besser zu gestalten.
Auf einen zweiten Blick ergeben sich bei der Umsetzung aber ungeklärte Fragen und Brüche. Wie genau kommen die Daten in die Stadt? Welche Daten sind überhaupt relevant? Was geschieht mit ihnen und wie werden sie zu einer guten Grundlage für die Stadtpolitik? Welche Rolle spielen Unternehmen, Verwaltung und zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen? Werden die Daten zum Teil einer politischen Auseinandersetzung?
Darüber hinaus ist fraglich, wem die Daten eigentlich gehören, die von Bürger:innen, Unternehmen oder Organisationen in einer Stadt erzeugt werden. Auch im Kontext einer Smart City stellt sich die Frage nach der digitalen Selbstbestimmung.
Über die Chancen und Herausforderungen von Smart-City-Projekten, aber auch über die Frage, wie man sie eigentlich untersuchen kann, diskutieren wir mit:
Dr. Thomas Bartoschek, Universität Münster Geoinformatik/SenseBox.de
Marlene Damerau, Smart City Modellprojekt Gelsenkirchen
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Dr. Matthias Begenat (CAIS) moderiert.
Bitte melden Sie sich per E-Mail für die Verantsaltung unter anmeldung@cais-research.de an. Sie erhalten dann im Vorfeld des Digitaltags den Zugangslink zur Konferenz.
With all of the attention being paid to policies of digital sovereignty, politicians risk giving the concept a reified quality -- and in turn, so do those who study it. By turning it into something tangible and measurable, the risks of conflict along territorial lines also become very prominent on our global digital network.
As we spend this week pinning down the concept of digital sovereignty into a concrete 'object' of academic study, I will argue that we risk to lose the value of the term. Rather than reifying the nebulous concept into a tangible, measurable object of study, I would argue that we need to rarify the term, that is: make it (even) "less dense and solid". The richness in understanding the discourses, practices, and norms of digital sovereignty help us understand how policymakers wish us to interact with the digitally-mediated world. As closure, I will support the argument that claims that we need to set out a research agenda that is not discipline creating, but discipline transcending.
The 2020 election in the United States was historic for many reasons. One of the largest turnouts in recent history, the 2020 saw over half of eligible Hispanics cast their ballots, a historic first for the largest minority in the United States. Against this backdrop, this bilingual project seeks to understand the audience engagement strategies of Spanish- and English-language media organizations on Facebook driven by the following question: how can news organizations stimulate a quality discourse and participation? The analysis explores contextual factors that contribute to the quality of online discussions during the 2020 U.S. primary debates, with a particular focus on the consequences of news coverage and news commentors. State-of-the-art machine-learning models were developed in English and Spanish languages to analyze a large corpus of comments posted on news medias’ Facebook pages in response to the pre- and post-debate coverage. First, we put to rest apprehensions that strategic game reporting style is a deterrent to news audience online engagement and discussion quality. Second, addressing previous fears about the undesired democratic outcomes of uncivil talk, our data suggest that uncivil language can coexist with rational discourse in user comments, although this relationship is not pervasive in debate-related discussions. Yet, findings highlight important cultural differences when it comes to news engagement on social media and the importance of multilingual approaches to analyzing discourse quality in digital spaces.
Speaker:
Lindita Camaj, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Director of graduate Studies, Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston
In times of digitalization and chatGPT, software engineering is considered the key discipline. But what is software, how is it created and what does it have to do with AI and machine learning? We will walk through key concepts and come to a basic understanding of how algorithms work, and machines learn. Participants achieve a basic understanding for how software/algorithms are programmed and what machine learning is. Basic knowledge of this is key for participating in many current debates around AI, (search) algorithms, bias etc. So this course targets explicitly doctoral researchers from disciplines other than computer science and provides the opportunity to gain some insights into the world of algorithms.
Alexander Pretschner is chairman of the board of directors at bidt and Professor for Software and Systems Engineering at the Technical University of Munich.
Preliminary knowledge: This course is for beginners.
Software-Entwicklung gilt als eines der wichtigsten Felder in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation und von ChatGPT. Aber was ist eigentlich Software, wie wird sie hergestellt und was hat sie mit Künstlicher Intelligenz und Maschinellem Lernen zu tun? Im Seminar werden zentrale Begriffe und Vorgänge erklärt und ein grundlegendes Verständnis von der Funktionsweise von Algorithmen und lernenden Maschinen vermittelt. Dies sind wichtige Grundlagen, um auch aktuelle Debatten rund um die Themen KI, ChatGPT, Biases in Suchalgorithmen usw. zu verstehen und daran teilnehmen zu können. Der Kurs richtet sich daher explizit an alle Nicht-Informatiker:innen. Er gibt Gelegenheit zum Einstieg in die Welt der Algorithmen und natürlich zu Diskussion und kritischen Fragen. Vorausgesetzt wird lediglich das Lesen des verlinkten Textes.
Alexander Pretschner ist Vorsitzender des bidt-Direktoriums und Professor für Software und Systems Engineering an der TU München.
Vorkenntnisse: Es handelt sich um eine Veranstaltung für Einsteiger:innen. Vorkenntnisse sind nicht erforderlich.
Seminarsprache: abhängig vom Kreis der Beteiligten (Englisch oder Deutsch, Folien aber auf Deutsch)
Digitalisation Research and Network Meeting – DigiMeet 2023
Diversity in digital transformation
The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and the Weizenbaum Institute (WI), again co-organise DigiMeet, a forum for early career researchers with a focus on digitalisation-related topics. This year it will take place (virtually) on 28 November 2023, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm CET. Its special topic for 2023 is “Diversity in digital transformation.”
Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers will have the opportunity to present their research in thematic sessions and self-organised Open Spaces. A call for participation with further information will follow in June 2023. Additionally, we are happy to announce a keynote talk by Josephine Ballon, Head of Legal at HateAid, providing insights on their work against hate speech and discrimination on the internet. HateAid is a non-profit organisation that promotes human rights in digital space and stands up against digital violence and its consequences at both social and political levels.
Participants will also have the opportunity to take part in one of the following two afternoon workshops:
Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt (CAIS): “Resilience for Researchers - Dealing with hate speech and right-wing agitation in the academic context”
Prof. Dr. Frauke Mörike (TU Dortmund): “Actually relevant?! ... Designing inclusive work systems”
Digitalisation Research and Network Meeting – DigiMeet 2023
Diversity in digital transformation
Call for Participation
The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and the Weizenbaum Institute (WI), three leading German institutions in the field of digitalisation research, invite doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to present their work at the joint Digitalisation Research and Network Meeting – DigiMeet.
DigiMeet will take place virtually on 28 November 2023, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm CET. Its special topic for 2023 is “Diversity in digital transformation.”
The main purpose of this interdisciplinary event is to provide a forum for early career researchers with a focus on digitalisation-related topics. DigiMeet offers opportunities for networking, discussing results and ideas, and gathering inspiration for new and ideally collaborative research projects.
Concept
Each year, our networking event addresses a topic that can be understood as a key concept in the ethical and human-centred design of digital transformation. While sustainability and data literacy were the focus topics in 2021 and 2022, questions of diversity will be highlighted in 2023. DigiMeet will give insight into the work of people who are actively working on diversity problems and possible solutions in the digital sphere, and show why it is important to take these issues into account for future research. Inspiring keynotes, presentations and workshops will deal with recent developments in this important area of digitalisation research.
ProgrammeThe meeting will start with a morning keynote by Josephine Ballon. Josephine is Head of Legal at HateAid, a non-profit organisation that promotes human rights in digital space and stands up against digital violence and its consequences at both social and political levels. Josephine will talk about her work at HateAid and current projects the organisation is involved in.
Afterwards, participants can present their research in parallel thematic sessions, which will be set up according to the submitted projects. There will be one special session related to the focus topic “diversity in digital transformation”. Contributions may be on various topics such as:
Special Session: Diversity in digital transformation (Chair: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Pfeffer, TUM)
Digital technologies, education and life-long learning (Chair: Prof. Dr. Nikol Rummel, CAIS)
Governance of innovation in digital democracies (Chair: Prof. Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, HBI)
AI, work and tools: (Chair: Prof. Dr. Martin Krzywdzinski, WI)
Each session will be chaired by an expert from the convening institutions. After a short introduction by the chair, contributors may present their research plans or findings in a lightning talk (10-15 minutes) followed by a quick q&a (5-10 minutes). Each session will be concluded by a joint discussion.
The second part of the meeting is dedicated to workshops and an Open Space, which will be organised via gather.town (using this tool is optional, you may also choose to use a Zoom break-out room). The Open Space can be used in every imaginable way, e. g. for oral presentations, poster sessions, group discussions or any other multimedia or interactive purpose. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes.
There will be two workshops in the afternoon:
Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt (CAIS): “Resilience for Researchers – Dealing with hate speech and right-wing agitation in the academic context”
Prof. Dr. Frauke Mörike (TU Dortmund): “Actually relevant?! ... Designing inclusive work systems”
DigiMeet closes with a virtual roundtable discussion on the focus topic “Diversity in digital transformation”. In this discussion participants can engage with experts from the involved institutions.
How to apply:
Doctoral and postdoctoral researchers can propose a contribution for the sessions and/or the Open Space. Please submit your application with a short abstract (max. 200 words) until 20 September 2023 via https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=digimeet2023. If you submit for the Open Space, please also give a short description of the intended format. Applicants will be notified concerning their submission(s) by 10 October 2023 at the latest. Please note that all active contributors and regular participants will also need to register for the meeting by 31 October (link will follow).
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the organiser from your institute as indicated below or have a look at the respective websites.
bidt: The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt), an Institute within the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, contributes to a better understanding of digital transformation’s developments and challenges. Thereby, we provide the foundations which will shape society’s digital future responsibly, for the common good.
CAIS: The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) in North Rhine-Westphalia promotes the active shaping of the social, political, economic, and cultural changes that digitalization brings about. The Center sees itself as a place for innovative interdisciplinary research and as a source of inspiration for a critical public that wants to find agreement on models for a self-determined life in the digital society.
WI: The Weizenbaum-Institute for Networked Society (WI) is the German Internet Institute, a place of excellent research on the transformation and design processes of digital change. In the spirit of Joseph Weizenbaum, we research the necessary framework conditions, means and processes for individual and social self-determination in a networked society. We understand self-determination as a design principle that is central to the preservation of human dignity and democracy.
The presentation will give an overview on open access publishing. What is the difference between open access gold and green? Which organisational and legal requirements do I have to consider? Which tools can I use to get information when choosing a publication venue?
There will be also enough room to clarify questions.
About the lecture: Jasmin Schmitz received a PhD in information science. Since 2014 she has been responsible for the PUBLISSO – Publication Advisory Services at ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences.
The presentation will give an overview on open access publishing. What is the difference between open access gold and green? Which organisational and legal requirements do I have to consider? Which tools can I use to get information when choosing a publication venue?
There will be also enough room to clarify questions.
About the lecture: Jasmin Schmitz received a PhD in information science. Since 2014 she has been responsible for the PUBLISSO – Publication Advisory Services at ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences.
Philosophers who deal with practical questions, such as the extent to which the application of AI or machine learning poses a societal challenge that may justify restrictions, face the problem of how to justify their judgements. This raises fundamental questions: What is the specific ethical expertise? What roles do ethicists play in the public discourse? What methods are used and what role do classical ethical conceptions such as utilitarianism and deontological approaches play? What role do mid-level principles play?
On the one hand, the workshop will present case-related considerations that are set against the background of these methodological considerations. On the other hand, problems of science communication and methodological questions in general will be discussed in open sessions.
Susanne Hahn invited the following guests and their respective topics to the workshop which takes place on the 14th and 15th of April 2023:
Jeroen Hopster: Concepts as objects of technomoral change
Norbert Paulo: The Trolley Problem in the Ethics of Self-Driving Cars
Annette Dufner: Mid-Level Principles and Context-Sensitive Analyses
Julian Müller: Robo-Law: Between Accuracy and Fairness
Philosophers who deal with practical questions, such as the extent to which the application of AI or machine learning poses a societal challenge that may justify restrictions, face the problem of how to justify their judgements. This raises fundamental questions: What is the specific ethical expertise? What roles do ethicists play in the public discourse? What methods are used and what role do classical ethical conceptions such as utilitarianism and deontological approaches play? What role do mid-level principles play?
On the one hand, the workshop will present case-related considerations that are set against the background of these methodological considerations. On the other hand, problems of science communication and methodological questions in general will be discussed in open sessions.
Susanne Hahn invited the following guests and their respective topics to the workshop which takes place on the 14th and 15th of April 2023:
Jeroen Hopster: Concepts as objects of technomoral change
Norbert Paulo: The Trolley Problem in the Ethics of Self-Driving Cars
Annette Dufner: Mid-Level Principles and Context-Sensitive Analyses
Julian Müller: Robo-Law: Between Accuracy and Fairness
On the 28th of April Kexin "Bella" Yang has been invited to present the topic "Human-AI Co-orchestration of Dynamic Transitions between Individual and Collaborative Learning" at CAIS.
Enabling students to dynamically transition between individual and collaborative learning activities has great potential to support better learning. We explore how technology can support teachers in orchestrating dynamic transitions during class. I have surveyed 54 teachers' preferences and boundaries in their co-orchestration preferences, simulated pairing policies performance using historical data to predict its feasibility in actual classroom. In a recent classroom study, working with five teachers and 199 students over 22 class sessions, we conducted classroom-based prototyping of a co-orchestration technology ecosystem that supports the dynamic pairing of students working with intelligent tutoring systems. We discover a potential tension between teachers’ and students’ preferred level of control: students prefer a degree of control over the dynamic transitions that teachers are hesitant to grant. Our study reveals design implications and challenges for future human-AI co-orchestration in classroom use, bringing us closer to realizing the vision of highly-personalized smart classrooms that address the unique needs of each student.
About Kexin:
Kexin "Bella" Yang is a 3rd-year PhD student in Human-Computer Interaction, at Carnegie Mellon University. She works closely with Prof. Vincent Aleven, Nikol Rummel and Kenneth Holstein. Her research aims to design data-driven human-AI algorithmic systems for smart classrooms of the future, that 1) respect stakeholders’ (teachers and students) boundaries, agency, and preferences, 2) augment teachers’ abilities to distribute their limited attention to where it is needed the most, and 3) achieve effective, self-paced personalized learning that suit students’ individual needs. She worked on and is broadly interested in social computing (e.g., crowdsourcing), XR, robotics, NLP, and their application in education.
Methodology-wise, she uses qualitative, quantitative, and human-centered design research methods, including surveys, interviews, prototyping, focus groups, participatory design, field testing, AB testing, log-data analysis, statistical modeling and experiment design.
She published and presented first-authored papers in HCI and education venues including CHI, CSCW, AIED, EDM and EC-TEL.
Themes:Human-AI interaction, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Education in K-12 Classrooms, XR, Crowdsourcing in Education
On the 28th of April Kexin "Bella" Yang has been invited to present the topic "Human-AI Co-orchestration of Dynamic Transitions between Individual and Collaborative Learning" at CAIS.
Enabling students to dynamically transition between individual and collaborative learning activities has great potential to support better learning. We explore how technology can support teachers in orchestrating dynamic transitions during class. I have surveyed 54 teachers' preferences and boundaries in their co-orchestration preferences, simulated pairing policies performance using historical data to predict its feasibility in actual classroom. In a recent classroom study, working with five teachers and 199 students over 22 class sessions, we conducted classroom-based prototyping of a co-orchestration technology ecosystem that supports the dynamic pairing of students working with intelligent tutoring systems. We discover a potential tension between teachers’ and students’ preferred level of control: students prefer a degree of control over the dynamic transitions that teachers are hesitant to grant. Our study reveals design implications and challenges for future human-AI co-orchestration in classroom use, bringing us closer to realizing the vision of highly-personalized smart classrooms that address the unique needs of each student.
About Kexin:
Kexin "Bella" Yang is a 3rd-year PhD student in Human-Computer Interaction, at Carnegie Mellon University. She works closely with Prof. Vincent Aleven, Nikol Rummel and Kenneth Holstein. Her research aims to design data-driven human-AI algorithmic systems for smart classrooms of the future, that 1) respect stakeholders’ (teachers and students) boundaries, agency, and preferences, 2) augment teachers’ abilities to distribute their limited attention to where it is needed the most, and 3) achieve effective, self-paced personalized learning that suit students’ individual needs. She worked on and is broadly interested in social computing (e.g., crowdsourcing), XR, robotics, NLP, and their application in education.
Methodology-wise, she uses qualitative, quantitative, and human-centered design research methods, including surveys, interviews, prototyping, focus groups, participatory design, field testing, AB testing, log-data analysis, statistical modeling and experiment design.
She published and presented first-authored papers in HCI and education venues including CHI, CSCW, AIED, EDM and EC-TEL.
Themes:Human-AI interaction, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Education in K-12 Classrooms, XR, Crowdsourcing in Education
Der mAI am CAIS:
Lernen Sie unsere KI-Forschung kennen
Der Mai 2023 wird deutschlandweit zum KI-Monat. Am 17. Mai 2023 geben wir drei zentrale Einblicke in unsere KI-Forschung. Dr. Alisa Maksimova vom Forschungsprogramm "Bildungstechnologien und künstliche Intelligenz" spricht über die mögliche Rolle von KI in Schulen und Bildungseinrichtungen und darüber, wie Lernen mit KI untersucht werden kann. Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber aus dem Forschungsprogramm „Digitale Demokratische Innovationen“ wird Antworten darauf geben, wie KI-Systeme in Wahlen eingesetzt werden können. Außerdem machen Sandra Kero und Dr. Fabian Anicker eine oft vernachlässigte Perspektive auf Künstliche Intelligenz sichtbar. Sie zeigen zentrale Ergebnisse aus Bevölkerungsbefragungen zu KI mit besonderem Fokus auf den Chatbot ChatGPT, die im Projekt Meinungsmonitor Künstliche Intelligenz [MeMo:KI] entstanden sind.
Wir laden Sie für diesen Austausch herzlich zu uns ans CAIS ein. Bitte schreiben Sie uns eine Nachricht an wisskomm@cais-research.de und teilen uns mit, ob Sie vor Ort dabei sind oder einen Link zur Online-Veranstaltung benötigen.
Alle Infos unter: https://www.ki-deutschland.de/
What are design thinking, scrum, design sprints, lean startup and agile project management? Which aspects of them can I use in my academic work? How can I adopt them productively and purposefully for my individual research project?
Digitalisation research as a dynamic field needs interdisciplinarity and participatory forms of work that allow both focused work and quality, as well as adaptivity, to enable social relevance when combined.
With a certain proximity to the content of Module 3 on co-creative knowledge production, Module 4 of the qualification programme introduces and reflects on various approaches to agile research. The challenges of rapid social changes and complex interdependencies of different topics and fields of action are met in a non-scientific context with approaches of agile project management and related methods, among others. Terms such as "Design Thinking", "Design Sprint", "Scrum" and "Lean Startup" are often used in this context. In the course "Agile Research 101", we will take a closer look at these concepts, get to know their central aspects and test together how they can be applied to academic work. The focus is on approaches to iterative and participatory research.
The knowledge imparted in the course not only gives a comprehensive insight into different, alternative working approaches and their concrete application in the scientific context. In addition, the joint work in the course trains competences such as reflexivity, tolerance of ambiguity, analogy building and adopting perspectives, which are important prerequisites for successful interdisciplinary work.
The various terms and concepts of agile methods (see above) are clarified and differentiated from each other. Subsequently, their transferability to research is taught. In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to try out these approaches themselves and apply them to their individual research context under supervision.
The event offers an alternating mix of active and passive elements and integrates classic seminar as well as agile workshop approaches to be able to practice the theoretical knowledge directly.
Number of participants: 15-20
Level: For beginners
Was sind Design Thinking, Scrum, Design Sprints, Lean Startup und agiles Projektmanagement? Welche Aspekte davon kann ich mir für die wissenschaftliche Tätigkeit nutzbar machen? Wie kann ich diese produktiv und zielführend für mein individuelles Forschungsvorhaben anwenden?
Digitalisierungsforschung als dynamisches Feld braucht Interdisziplinarität und partizipative Arbeitsformen, die sowohl fokussiertes Arbeiten und Qualität, als auch Adaptivität erlauben, um in Kombination gesellschaftliche Relevanz zu ermöglichen.
Mit einer gewissen Nähe zu den Inhalten aus Modul 3 zu ko-kreativer Wissensproduktion werden in Modul 4 des Qualifikationsprogramms verschiedene Ansätze agiler Forschung kennengelernt und reflektiert. Den Herausforderungen schneller gesellschaftlicher Veränderungen und komplexer Interdependenzen unterschiedlicher Themen- und Wirkungsfelder wird im nicht-wissenschaftlichen Kontext unter anderem mit Ansätzen des agilen Projektmanagements und angrenzenden Methoden begegnet. Begriffe wie „Design Thinking“, „Design Sprint“, „Scrum“ und „Lean Startup“ fallen häufig in diesem Zusammenhang. In der Veranstaltung „Agiles Forschen 101“ schauen wir uns diese Konzepte genauer an, lernen deren zentralen Aspekte kennen und erproben gemeinsam den Übertrag auf das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten. Im Fokus stehen Ansätze zum iterativen und partizipativen Forschen.
Das in der Veranstaltung vermittelte Wissen gibt nicht nur einen umfassenden Einblick in verschiedene, alternative Arbeitsansätze und deren konkrete Anwendung im Wissenschaftskontext. Außerdem werden über das gemeinsame Arbeiten in der Veranstaltung Kompetenzen wie Reflexivität, Ambiguitätstoleranz, Analogiebildung und Perspektivübernahme geschult, welche wichtige Voraussetzung erfolgreicher interdisziplinärer Arbeit sind.
Es werden die verschiedenen Begrifflichkeiten und Konzepte agiler Methoden (s.o.) geklärt und voneinander abgegrenzt. Daran anschließend wird deren Übertragbarkeit auf das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten vermittelt. Außerdem bekommen die Teilnehmenden im Rahmen der Veranstaltung die Gelegenheit, diese Ansätze selbst zu erproben und unter Anleitung auf ihren individuellen Forschungskontext anzuwenden.
Die Veranstaltung bietet eine abwechselnde Mischung aus aktiven und passiven Elementen und integriert klassische Seminar- als auch agile Workshopansätze, um das theoretische Wissen direkt praktisch üben zu können.
TN-Zahl: 15-20
Level: Für Einsteiger:innen
On March 21, 2023, Prof. Gwen Bouvier (Shanghai International Studies University) will give a talk entitled: “Understanding the Quality of Civic Debate and Coherence on Social Media Hashtag Networks: Twitter and Weibo.” The lecture will take place in the conference room of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Bochum.
Abstract
In media and communications studies, one perspective on social media networks is how they have great potential to bring people together, to create communities across networks of hashtags, forums and platform. Groups of people formerly isolated, fragmented or voiceless, now have spaces to share ideas, come together and be heard. Optimistic interpretations of this process see the potential for vastly increased civic participation, raising the democratic process. Some studies, looking closer at some of the viral feeds where this occurs, suggest that beneath the surface there can much less coherence. Feeds based on hashtags can carry a range of views and interests, often linked by some kind of ‘affective’ moral binding, and where there is very little actual interaction and responsiveness to others. And such networks can be dominated and colonized by different levels of influencers.
In this presentation, I look at examples of such hashtag feeds, first on Twitter, and then on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. At a more superficial glance, these feeds seem to be highly coherent and integrated. Particularly in the corpus collected on Weibo, where mothers seek out and share information and guidance on parenting with some popular posts having millions of views, no instances of insulting, argument or even greater disagreement are found. This could, perhaps, be one such example of how social media provides a site for support and coming together. Yet a closer look reveals that the sense of community here may be slightly different than it appears at the surface. The hashtags are dominated by influencers, and none of them seem to have any formal training or expertise in parenting. In this presentation, I look at what it is that is driving these hashtags. What we see is that such feeds may be better thought of in terms of how they colonize and shape our understandings of civic issues.
About
Gwen Bouvier (PhD, University of Wales) is a Distinguished Professor at Shanghai International Studies University. Her main areas of research interest are social media, civic discourse, and news representation. Professor Bouvier's publications have focused on multimodal and critical discourse analysis, social media, fashion as discourse and the visual representation of crises in news. She is the Associate Editor for Social Semiotics Journal and Review Editor for Discourse & Society. Her latest publications include Bouvier, G. and Rasmussen, J. (2022) Qualitative Research Using Social Media. London: Routledge; Zhao, W. and Bouvier, G. (2022) ‘Where Neoliberalism shapes Confucian notions of child rearing: influencers, experts and discourses of intensive parenting on Chinese Weibo.’ Discourse, Context and Media. 45; Bouvier, G. and Machin, D. (2021) ‘What gets lost in Twitter ‘cancel culture’ hashtags? Calling out racists reveals some limitations of social justice campaigns.’ Discourse & Society, 32(3): 307-327. Chiluwa, I. and Bouvier, G. (2019) Activism, Campaigning and Political Discourse on Twitter. New York, NY: Nova Science.
On March 21, 2023, Prof. Gwen Bouvier (Shanghai International Studies University) will give a talk entitled: “Understanding the Quality of Civic Debate and Coherence on Social Media Hashtag Networks: Twitter and Weibo.” The lecture will take place in the conference room of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Bochum.
Asbtract:
In media and communications studies, one perspective on social media networks is how they have great potential to bring people together, to create communities across networks of hashtags, forums and platform. Groups of people formerly isolated, fragmented or voiceless, now have spaces to share ideas, come together and be heard. Optimistic interpretations of this process see the potential for vastly increased civic participation, raising the democratic process. Some studies, looking closer at some of the viral feeds where this occurs, suggest that beneath the surface there can much less coherence. Feeds based on hashtags can carry a range of views and interests, often linked by some kind of ‘affective’ moral binding, and where there is very little actual interaction and responsiveness to others. And such networks can be dominated and colonized by different levels of influencers.
In this presentation, I look at examples of such hashtag feeds, first on Twitter, and then on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. At a more superficial glance, these feeds seem to be highly coherent and integrated. Particularly in the corpus collected on Weibo, where mothers seek out and share information and guidance on parenting with some popular posts having millions of views, no instances of insulting, argument or even greater disagreement are found. This could, perhaps, be one such example of how social media provides a site for support and coming together. Yet a closer look reveals that the sense of community here may be slightly different than it appears at the surface. The hashtags are dominated by influencers, and none of them seem to have any formal training or expertise in parenting. In this presentation, I look at what it is that is driving these hashtags. What we see is that such feeds may be better thought of in terms of how they colonize and shape our understandings of civic issues.
About
Gwen Bouvier (PhD, University of Wales) is a Distinguished Professor at Shanghai International Studies University. Her main areas of research interest are social media, civic discourse, and news representation. Professor Bouvier's publications have focused on multimodal and critical discourse analysis, social media, fashion as discourse and the visual representation of crises in news. She is the Associate Editor for Social Semiotics Journal and Review Editor for Discourse & Society. Her latest publications include Bouvier, G. and Rasmussen, J. (2022) Qualitative Research Using Social Media. London: Routledge; Zhao, W. and Bouvier, G. (2022) ‘Where Neoliberalism shapes Confucian notions of child rearing: influencers, experts and discourses of intensive parenting on Chinese Weibo.’ Discourse,
Context and Media. 45; Bouvier, G. and Machin, D. (2021) ‘What gets lost in Twitter ‘cancel culture’ hashtags? Calling out racists reveals some limitations of social justice campaigns.’ Discourse & Society, 32(3): 307-327. Chiluwa, I. and Bouvier, G. (2019) Activism, Campaigning and Political Discourse on Twitter. New York, NY: Nova Science.
Transparency is a concept that currently has almost universally positive connotations: What is transparent is transparent, understandable, publicly accessible and comprehensible. From architecture to action in political spheres, transparency is seen as a positive feature and traded as a counterpart to the hidden and inaccessible. In the context of the use of artificial intelligence, transparency has become a criterion that algorithms are supposed to fulfil in order to be able to clarify questions of attributing responsibility and liability.
In an interdisciplinary workshop, we would like to discuss the role of transparency as a manageable criterion from historical, technical, legal, techno-philosophical and ethical perspectives.
A first part will provide the broad view of transparency and contrast it with the application-related demand to ensure transparency of algorithms in such a way that it can be adjudicated legally.
In a second part, the more >technical< perspective on possible interpretations of transparency against the background of so-called "black box algorithms" will be discussed, and fundamental questions about the feasibility of the transparency requirement and possible consequences will be raised from the perspective of technology assessment.
A third part chooses medicine as an illustrative area of application: What does transparency mean in the application of technology in medical practice and what role does it play for acceptance both on the part of those being treated and on the part of medical staff? What conclusions can be drawn from this for the demand for transparency?
The workshop is aimed at researchers who, on the one hand, want to place politically and ethically motivated demands such as the creation of algorithm transparency in a larger context and, on the other hand, want to include the concrete feasibility in the consideration. The event will be held hybrid.
Programme
Thursday, 09 March 2023
14:00: Part 1: Transparency as an ideal and as a criterion14:15-15:30: "Transparency as a key concept and challenge for democracy and privacy" - Dr. Lea Watzinger (Graz)
16:00-17:15: Transparency as a regulatory criterion - Prof. Dr. Hannah Ruschemeier (Hagen) Part 2: On the Operationalisability of Transparency17:30-18:45: "AI thinks differently. Why is that?"- Prof. Dr. Markus Kollmann (Düsseldorf)
Dinner
Friday, 10 March 2023
10:00 - 11:15 a.m.: Transparency from a practical and regulatory perspective: A contribution to AI technology assessment? - Prof. Dr. Karsten Weber (Regensburg) Part 3: The demand for transparency in medicine11:30 - 12:00: Transparency in Medicine - Introductory Reflections - Prof. Dr. Heiner Fangerau (Düsseldorf)
Lunch break
12:45 - 14:00: "Transparency in medical AI: An epistemological foray" - Dr. Thomas Grote (Tübingen)
14:15 h: Closing
Transparency in research is an integral part of good scientific practice. In addition, more and more funders and academic publishers require measures to ensure replicability of research findings as well as re-usability of research data, i.e., data sharing. Transparency and re-usability of research data depend on good data management, ensuring high quality of research data. Data preparation and documentation are key activities in managing (research) data, being a prerequisite for data analysis. Moreover, the quality of data as well as its documentation and metadata standards employed play an important role in data sharing, improving its the findability in online data catalogues and increasing the understandability and thus re- usability of the data.
The two-day workshop ‘A Practical Introduction to Research Data Management’ supports researchers to ensure that their research data is usable within the project and can be shared with others beyond the project. It introduces the basics of data management, e.g., in terms of data organization and legal issues to be considered, working with data. In addition, it takes a closer look on the various activities to clean, pseudonymize and document quantitative research data in the social sciences (8 th of March), such as survey data, as well as to prepare and document qualitative data, such as interviews, video and audio recordings (9th of March).
By the end of this workshop, participants are equipped with the basics of data management and its various aspects. They are familiar with technics and measures to prepare and document social science research data. Moreover, participants are aware of the relevance to share data, have gained a deeper understanding on how to make data available for others, in line with the idea of Open Science and according to the FAIR-Data-Principles1.
The workshop is based on a mixture of presentations and exercises, to increase participants’ awareness, as well as discussions, to debate concrete problems and to exchange experiences.
Agile, interdisciplinary research on digital transformation: Can the facilitator save us?
Through today’s technology everything has a digital dimension. And everything is connected. Effectively researching the resulting networks of effects won’t work within the narrow boundaries of individual disciplines. Interdisciplinary research is the solution. But it’s not an easy fix, as it, too comes with several challenges for research practice.
Through a study with researchers of digital transformation research we identified the following main challenges (Schmitt, Goldmann, Simon & Bieber, in press):
a) achieving a common understanding of interdisciplinarity in a diverse group of researchers,
b) finding a mutual understanding of foreign disciplinary concepts, methods and perspectives,
c) overcoming hierarchies, and
d) guiding and structuring the research process in an interdisciplinary team.
As supported through the study, interdisciplinary collaboration could benefit from focused support. The interviewed researchers call for an external entity to support and foster mutual understanding within interdisciplinary research teams. This added ‘facilitator’ – a concept borrowed from the field of business innovation – carries the hope of bridging the communicative and processual gaps between fragmented disciplinary approaches, and hierarchies. But will this hope be fulfilled? Will the facilitator be the one to successfully structure and guide processes of co-creation in yet uncharted environments?
With Johanna Rosenbusch (dwarfs and Giants), expert on process facilitation and transformation, Samuel Simon will discuss how might we include external roles such as the facilitator in research on digital transformation? Is this role able to address the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration? Is the facilitator able to save us? And why is it misleading to put those questions like that?
Johanna’s deep love of facilitating processes actually started in academia - she once researched and programmed optimisation algorithms. Nowadays she’s working with the most complex “optimisation problem” ever - human to human collaboration. In 2016 she co-founded the innovation agency INNOVATION RADICALS, facilitating innovation processes with corporate clients. Since 2022 she’s co-creating organisational transformation as an evolutionary catalyst at dwarfs and Giants - rewriting the future of organization.
Maximilian Brenker will moderate the event.
References
Schmitt, J. B., Goldmann, A., Simon, S. T., & Bieber, C. (in press). Conception and Interpretation of Interdisciplinarity in Research Practice: Findings from Group Discussions in the Emerging Field of Digital Transformation. MINERVA.
Systematic Literature Reviews or research synthesis are a method to systematically search, select and analyse research literature according to a specific research question or topic. The seminar gives an overview of the different types of research synthesis, the steps researchers need to apply and should consider while searching and selecting literature, and relevant documentation steps needed to make a research synthesis transparent and reproducible. Moreover, the seminar will give a short overview of current semi-automatic text mining tools that researchers can use for their review.
A guest lecture by Bart De Witte on "Right to Healthcare in the Era of AI" will take place at CAIS and virtually on the 2nd of March.
Hippo AI Foundation is an award-winning social startup that works towards democratizing medical AI based in Berlin. Hippo AI Foundation acts as a medical data donation trust that enable open medical data innovations owned and governed by the community. The foundation also works in the areas of policy and advocacy to conduct research and campaign for open AI and data governance policies that reduce global health inequalities.
Bio: Mr. De Witte is a corporate leader turned activist who has been working towards the mission to reclaim the right to universal healthcare in the era of AI. Before founding Hippo AI Foundation, he worked for 20 years with some of the largest technology companies as consultant, product manager, sales leader, in the digital healthcare divisions of SAP and IBM. He headed IBM’s digital health practice in different international capacities including head of digital health overseeing Europe’s business. He’s also a guest lecturer in some of the international universities and regularly invited to be a speaker by global healthcare organizations and national ministries. He also sits on advisory boards of hospitals and healthcare organizations.
A guest lecture by Bart De Witte on "Right to Healthcare in the Era of AI" will take place at CAIS and virtually on the 2nd of March.
Hippo AI Foundation is an award-winning social startup that works towards democratizing medical AI based in Berlin. Hippo AI Foundation acts as a medical data donation trust that enable open medical data innovations owned and governed by the community. The foundation also works in the areas of policy and advocacy to conduct research and campaign for open AI and data governance policies that reduce global health inequalities.
Bio: Mr. De Witte is a corporate leader turned activist who has been working towards the mission to reclaim the right to universal healthcare in the era of AI. Before founding Hippo AI Foundation, he worked for 20 years with some of the largest technology companies as consultant, product manager, sales leader, in the digital healthcare divisions of SAP and IBM. He headed IBM’s digital health practice in different international capacities including head of digital health overseeing Europe’s business. He’s also a guest lecturer in some of the international universities and regularly invited to be a speaker by global healthcare organizations and national ministries. He also sits on advisory boards of hospitals and healthcare organizations.
Workshop as part of the CAIS Colloquium in cooperation with the SPP initiative "Computational Social Science Methodology" Along with the increasing digitalisation of society, the research field of "Computational Social Science Methods" has become increasingly established in recent years. As a sub-field of the social sciences, CSS uses computer-based methods to investigate social phenomena and processes. The methods are becoming more relevant against the backdrop of technological change, as they allow large masses of digital behavioural traces to be analysed systematically.
The internet is fundamentally changing journalism. Algorithms determine which articles reach the readers. Competing offerings are emerging that could hardly be more different in their orientation and professionalism. Advertising budgets are migrating to the internet. Click numbers become the yardstick. These developments threaten readers' trust in journalism. Our workshop at the Jahrhunderthaus in Bochum establishes the link between research and journalism.
At the first forum of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) in the Jahrhunderthaus in Bochum, citizens discussed with experts how the provision of information and the formation of opinion are changing through online offerings.
Although political institutions are increasingly relying on online participation for citizen participation, the associated impact assumptions have hardly been scientifically proven. A major reason for this research gap is the lack of accepted standards against which such participation processes could be evaluated and compared.
The 'super election year 2017' with national elections in several European countries and a series of state elections in Germany is a special year. Especially for political science internet research. Firstly, it is to be expected that internet development and digitalisation will shape election campaigns even more than in the past. Secondly, researchers in political science and/or communication studies will draw as never before on large, automatically collected stocks of online communication data, mostly from social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and analyse them in innovative ways. Lastly, there is increasing criticism of the quality of online political communication and the political campaign debate.
As never before, the parties in the 'super election year 2017' relied on election campaigning on the internet and in social networks. Innovative online tools were used not only for election advertising but also for campaign financing. Especially right-wing populist parties like the AfD in Germany owe their successes not least to successful mobilisation via social media. The parties' intensive online election campaign poses new challenges to the relationship between democracy, the internet and social media: Do Facebook and Twitter endanger the quality of political debates?
This will be the first Summer School on the very current topic of "Usable Security" in Germany. It is connected to the research in the NRW Progress College SecHuman - Security for People in Cyberspace, in which 25 scientists are working in an interdisciplinary way. The Research Training Group is embedded in the Horst Görtz Institute at the Ruhr University Bochum, one of the leading European research institutes in the field of IT security. The Summer School is aimed at young scientists from Germany and abroad with an interest in interdisciplinary issues in the field of IT security.
In May, the newly founded Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) in Bochum started its work. We cordially invite you to inform yourself about our programme, our fellows and our events on 26 July from 3 to 7 pm. We would be very pleased to welcome you at our premises at Universitätsstraße 104, 44799 Bochum. Throughout the afternoon, the CAIS team and our Fellows will be available for discussions in a convivial setting.
"Expropriate Springer" was a slogan of the student movement in the 1960s. "Lügenpresse" has become known as a fighting term at the Dresden demonstrations of PEGIDA. Are there parallels between left-wing protest movements and current political developments in the right-wing spectrum? What role do digital media and the internet play today in political mobilisation and propaganda? Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann is a social scientist and scientific director of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies Bochum.
The importance of social media for political participation and opinion-forming is constantly increasing. However, the consequences of political activities online for more demanding political acts (such as voting behaviour) have so far only been empirically researched in rudimentary form. This is mainly due to the fact that the connection between online behaviour and political attitudes and traditional participation at the individual level is methodologically difficult to establish. The symposium will address this problem. Experiences will be exchanged and proposals developed for linking survey and social media data.
One of the biggest promises of the internet was: more participation. Now that an ecosystem of digital platforms has replaced the original internet as such, the question remains. How can platforms - such as those used in companies and organisations - be designed to be participatory and in the spirit of good work? Experts from companies, works councils, trade unions, politics and academia will discuss this question.
The legendary online voting aid "Wahl-O-Mat"
Since its first use in the 2002 Bundestag elections, Wahl-O-Mat has become one of the most successful projects in political education. In the 2017 federal election, this online tool provided by the Federal Agency for Civic Education has been used more than 15 million times. The lecture deals with this successful project from the perspective of a participant. The speaker explains how the Wahl-O-Mat is created, who uses it and what consequences its use has on political behaviour.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Marschall is professor of political science at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and scientific advisor to the Wahl-O-Mat team.
The lecture will take place as part of the lecture series 'Digital total - Politik im Netz' at the Blue Square of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
The lecture series is organised in cooperation with the Department for University Communication of the Ruhr University Bochum.
Digital surveillance vs. privacy
We leave digital traces everywhere: in social networks, when navigating with a smartphone or when showing bonus cards at the supermarket checkout. Even the content of emails is not always safe from foreign access. But how can we protect our privacy? Do we need better technologies or is a political solution necessary after all? The speaker will also talk about the technology of digital encryption, which protects personal messages against invasions of privacy. What role do the state and global companies play here?
Linda Monsees works in the Cluster of Excellence Normative Orders at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.
The lecture will take place as part of the lecture series 'Digital total - Politik im Netz' at the Blue Square of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
The lecture series is organised in cooperation with the Department for University Communication at the Ruhr University Bochum.
Populist actors rely heavily on social media. Communication via platforms such as Facebook and Twitter makes it possible to address target groups directly, bypassing the classic mass media. The speaker has studied online political communication in Germany in detail since 2015. In his lecture, he explains how strongly events such as the New Year's Eve in Cologne in 2015/16 or the Bundestag elections in 2017 influence the main topics of political parties as well as user reactions. Politicians as well as users most often link topics such as crime, Islam and migration with populist messages. The speaker describes populist communication in Germany and shows that it plays a major role in online political debates overall.
Dr. Sebastian Stier is a researcher in the Computational Social Science Department at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. The lecture will take place as part of the lecture series 'Digital total - Politics on the Net' at the Blue Square of the Ruhr University Bochum. The lecture series is organised in cooperation with the Department for University Communication of the Ruhr University Bochum.
Joseph Weizenbaum (1923-2008) was not only a computer science pioneer, but also an important critic of the computer society. His theses on artificial intelligence and the responsibility of science are highly topical in the year of his centenary - for example due to the great success of ChatGPT. Weizenbaum saw a danger in the idea that people were predictable and that their abilities could be replaced by computers. The reading seminar will focus on two chapters of his main work "Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation" (1976, Engl. "Die Macht der Computer und die Ohnmacht der Vernunft", 1977). These are chapter 8 on "Artificial Intelligence" and chapter 10 "Against the Imperialism of Instrumental Reason".
The seminar will discuss which references can be made to current discussions and what relevance Weizenbaum's theses still have today. In addition, the life, work and impact of Joseph Weizenbaum will be introduced. The two chapters mentioned above should be read in preparation for the course. Reading recommendations for more in-depth reading are given below. This is a course for beginners. Previous knowledge is not required.
Maximum number of participants: 8 persons in attendance, 8 persons online
Weizenbaum, J. (1978). Once more-a computer revolution. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 34(7), 12-19.
Pörksen, B. (2000). The human image of artificial intelligence. A conversation with Joseph Weizenbaum. Communicatio Socialis, 33(1), 4-17. https://doi.org/10.5771/0010-3497-2000-1-4
Weizenbaum, J. (2001). The responsibility of scientists and possible limits of research. In (ed.), Computer power and society (pp. 120-132). Suhrkamp.
Agile, interdisciplinary research on digital transformation: Can the facilitator save us?
Through today’s technology everything has a digital dimension. And everything is connected. Effectively researching the resulting networks of effects won’t work within the narrow boundaries of individual disciplines. Interdisciplinary research is the solution. But it’s not an easy fix, as it, too comes with several challenges for research practice.
Through a study with researchers of digital transformation research we identified the following main challenges (Schmitt, Goldmann, Simon & Bieber, in press):
a) achieving a common understanding of interdisciplinarity in a diverse group of researchers,
b) finding a mutual understanding of foreign disciplinary concepts, methods and perspectives,
c) overcoming hierarchies, and
d) guiding and structuring the research process in an interdisciplinary team.
As supported through the study, interdisciplinary collaboration could benefit from focused support. The interviewed researchers call for an external entity to support and foster mutual understanding within interdisciplinary research teams. This added ‘facilitator’ – a concept borrowed from the field of business innovation – carries the hope of bridging the communicative and processual gaps between fragmented disciplinary approaches, and hierarchies. But will this hope be fulfilled? Will the facilitator be the one to successfully structure and guide processes of co-creation in yet uncharted environments?
With Johanna Rosenbusch (dwarfs and Giants), expert on process facilitation and transformation, Samuel Simon will discuss how might we include external roles such as the facilitator in research on digital transformation? Is this role able to address the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration? Is the facilitator able to save us? And why is it misleading to put those questions like that?
Johanna’s deep love of facilitating processes actually started in academia - she once researched and programmed optimisation algorithms. Nowadays she’s working with the most complex “optimisation problem” ever - human to human collaboration. In 2016 she co-founded the innovation agency INNOVATION RADICALS, facilitating innovation processes with corporate clients. Since 2022 she’s co-creating organisational transformation as an evolutionary catalyst at dwarfs and Giants - rewriting the future of organization.
Maximilian Brenker will moderate the event.
References
Schmitt, J. B., Goldmann, A., Simon, S. T., & Bieber, C. (in press). Conception and Interpretation of Interdisciplinarity in Research Practice: Findings from Group Discussions in the Emerging Field of Digital Transformation. MINERVA.
Transparenz ist ein Konzept, das gegenwärtig nahezu durchgängig positiv besetzt ist: Was transparent ist, ist durchsichtig, verständlich, öffentlich zugänglich und nachvollziehbar. Von der Architektur bis zum Handeln in politischen Sphären wird Transparenz als positives Merkmal betrachtet und als Gegenstück zum Verdeckten und Nicht-Zugänglichen gehandelt. Im Kontext des Einsatzes künstlicher Intelligenz ist Transparenz zu einem Kriterium geworden, das Algorithmen erfüllen sollen, um Fragen der Verantwortungs- und Haftungszuschreibung klären zu können.
Wir möchten in einem interdisziplinären Workshop aus historischer, technischer, juristischer, technikphilosophischer und ethischer Perspektive die Rolle von Transparenz als handhabbares Kriterium erörtern.
Ein erster Teil soll den weiten Blick auf Transparenz liefern und der anwendungsbezogenen Forderung gegenüberstellen, Transparenz von Algorithmen so sicherzustellen, dass darüber juristisch befunden werden kann.
In einem zweiten Teil soll die eher >technische< Perspektive auf mögliche Deutungen von Transparenz vor dem Hintergrund sogenannter „Black box-Algorithmen“ zur Sprache kommen und aus der Sicht der Technikfolgenabschätzung grundsätzliche Fragen nach der Umsetzbarkeit der Transparenzforderung und möglichen Konsequenzen aufgeworfen werden.
Ein dritter Teil wählt die Medizin als illustrativen Anwendungsbereich: Was bedeutet Transparenz in der Anwendung von Technik im ärztlichen Handeln und welche Rolle spielt diese für die Akzeptanz sowohl seitens der Behandelten als auch seitens des medizinischen Personals? Welche Schlüsse lassen sich daraus für die Forderung nach Herstellung von Transparenz ziehen?
Der Workshop richtet sich an Forschende, die politisch und ethisch motivierte Forderungen wie die Herstellung von Algorithmentransparenz einerseits in einen größeren Zusammenhang einordnen und andererseits die konkrete Umsetzbarkeit in die Betrachtung einbeziehen wollen.
Die Veranstaltung wird hybrid durchgeführt.
Programm
Donnerstag, 09. März 2023
14:00 Uhr: Teil 1: Transparenz als Ideal und als Kriterium14:15– 15:30 Uhr: "Transparenz als Schlüsselbegriff und Herausforderung für Demokratie und Privatheit"
– Dr. Lea Watzinger (Graz)
16:00 – 17:15 Uhr: Transparenz als Regulierungskriterium – Prof. Dr. Hannah Ruschemeier (Hagen)
Teil 2: Zur Operationalisierbarkeit von Transparenz17:30 – 18:45 Uhr: “KI denkt anders. Warum eigentlich?"– Prof. Dr. Markus Kollmann (Düsseldorf)
Abendessen
Freitag, 10. März 2023
10:00 – 11:15 Uhr: Transparenz aus praktischer und regulatorischer Perspektive: Ein Beitrag zur Technikfolgenabschätzung der KI? – Prof. Dr. Karsten Weber (Regensburg)
Teil 3: Die Transparenzforderung in der Medizin11:30 – 12:00 Uhr: Transparenz in der Medizin - Einführende Reflexionen
– Prof. Dr. Heiner Fangerau (Düsseldorf)
Mittagspause
12:45 – 14:00 Uhr: "Transparenz in der medizinischen KI: Ein epistemologischer Streifzug"
– Dr. Thomas Grote (Tübingen)
14:15 Uhr: Schluss
Systematic Literature Reviews or research synthesis are a method to systematically search, select and analyse research literature according to a specific research question or topic. The seminar gives an overview of the different types of research synthesis, the steps researchers need to apply and should consider while searching and selecting literature, and relevant documentation steps needed to make a research synthesis transparent and reproducible. Moreover, the seminar will give a short overview of current semi-automatic text mining tools that researchers can use for their review.
Transparency in research is an integral part of good scientific practice. In addition, more and more funders and academic publishers require measures to ensure replicability of research findings as well as re-usability of research data, i.e., data sharing. Transparency and re-usability of research data depend on good data management, ensuring high quality of research data. Data preparation and documentation are key activities in managing (research) data, being a prerequisite for data analysis. Moreover, the quality of data as well as its documentation and metadata standards employed play an important role in data sharing, improving its the findability in online data catalogues and increasing the understandability and thus re- usability of the data.
The two-day workshop ‘A Practical Introduction to Research Data Management’ supports researchers to ensure that their research data is usable within the project and can be shared with others beyond the project. It introduces the basics of data management, e.g., in terms of data organization and legal issues to be considered, working with data. In addition, it takes a closer look on the various activities to clean, pseudonymize and document quantitative research data in the social sciences (8 th of March), such as survey data, as well as to prepare and document qualitative data, such as interviews, video and audio recordings (9th of March).
By the end of this workshop, participants are equipped with the basics of data management and its various aspects. They are familiar with technics and measures to prepare and document social science research data. Moreover, participants are aware of the relevance to share data, have gained a deeper understanding on how to make data available for others, in line with the idea of Open Science and according to the FAIR-Data-Principles1.
The workshop is based on a mixture of presentations and exercises, to increase participants’ awareness, as well as discussions, to debate concrete problems and to exchange experiences.
Joseph Weizenbaum (1923-2008) war nicht nur ein Informatikpionier, sondern auch ein bedeutender Kritiker der Computergesellschaft. Seine Thesen zur Künstlichen Intelligenz und zur Verantwortung der Wissenschaft sind im Jahr seines hundertsten Geburtstags – etwa durch den großen Erfolg von ChatGPT – von hoher Aktualität. So sah Weizenbaum eine Gefahr in der Vorstellung, dass Menschen berechenbar seien und ihre Fähigkeiten von Computern ersetzt werden könnten.
Im Lektüre-Seminar stehen zwei Kapitel seines Hauptwerks “Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation” (1976, dt. “Die Macht der Computer und die Ohnmacht der Vernunft“, 1977) im Mittelpunkt. Dies sind Kapitel 8 über „Künstliche Intelligenz“ und Kapitel 10 „Gegen den Imperialismus der instrumentellen Vernunft“.
In dem Seminar soll diskutiert werden, welche Bezüge sich zu gegenwärtigen Diskussionen herstellen lassen und welchen Bestand Weizenbaums Thesen heute noch haben. Zudem wird in das Leben, das Werk und die Wirkungen von Joseph Weizenbaum eingeführt. Zur Vorbereitung des Kurses sind die beiden genannten Kapitel zu lesen. Leseempfehlungen zur vertiefenden Lektüre werden unten angegeben.
Es handelt sich um eine Veranstaltung für Einsteiger:innen. Vorkenntnisse sind nicht erforderlich.
Maximale Teilnehmer:innenzahl: 8 Personen in Präsenz, 8 Personen online
Weizenbaum, J. (1976). Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation. H. Freeman. (Kapitel 8+10)
Vertiefungsliteratur:
Weizenbaum, J. (1972). On the impact of the computer on society: How does one insult a machine? Science, 176(4035), 40–42.
Weizenbaum, J. (1972). Alptraum Computer. Ist das menschliche Gehirn nur eine Maschine aus Fleisch? DIE ZEIT Nr. 3, 21. Januar 1972, S. 43 https://www.zeit.de/1972/03/alptraum-computer/
Weizenbaum, J. (1978). Once more—a computer revolution. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 34(7), 12–19.
Pörksen, B. (2000). Das Menschenbild der Künstlichen Intelligenz. Ein Gespräch mit Joseph Weizenbaum. Communicatio Socialis, 33(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.5771/0010-3497-2000-1-4
Weizenbaum, J. (2001). Die Verantwortung der Wissenschaftler und mögliche Grenzen der Forschung. In (ders.), Computermacht und Gesellschaft (S. 120–132). Suhrkamp.
The conference will enable an exchange between Japanese and German scholars on the impact of digitalisation on the Japanese and German legal systems. It is intended to facilitate a bi-national, German-Japanese dialogue on the necessary changes, the methods and the (preliminary) results.
The comparison with developments in Japanese law offers very special opportunities. On the one hand, the basic structures of Japanese and German commercial law are very similar. For another, the upheaval in Japan, a high-tech country, is just as strong and comprehensive as in Germany.
Digital Ethics Working Group
The working group is organised jointly by the Digital Society and Media Competence Department of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). It focuses on new ethical challenges of the digital transformation - in each session on one sub-area. In addition to scientific impulses, the main focus is on open dialogue and an intensive exchange between science and actors from administration and civil society in NRW. The goal: to acquire more knowledge at the cutting edge of research, to describe problems more sharply and to identify fields of action in perspective. In total, the Digital Ethics Working Group has already brought together over 140 participants from more than 45 organisations.
2021
Artificial Intelligence - Trust, Decisions and Discourse, 11 November 2021
Impulses
Prof. Dr Hanno Gottschalk (Bergische Universität Wuppertal): Six ways to (mis)trust AI. What sources of knowledge do we have to determine the trustworthiness of AI and why do we need to continue this discussion?
prof. Dr. Susanne Hahn (CAIS/Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf): AI algorithms, pattern recognition and decision-making
Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): Orient AI towards humans! Are people prepared for it?
2019
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, 5 December 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What individual and societal benefits can the use of artificial intelligence have?
Which (old) questions might arise anew through the use of AI applications (e.g. solidarity-based insurance models)?
Do we need a (new) set of values for AI? Which values are relevant?
Impulses
Ralph Müller-Eiselt (Bertelsmann Foundation): "Man with machine - how algorithms are changing our lives and we can usethem for ourselves."
Prof. Dr Barbara E. Weißenberger (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Uber yourself before you get Kodak'ed! Opportunities and limits for the use of artificial intelligence in companies."
Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott (Ruhr University Bochum): "How does AI work and what can it do today?"
Digital Culture, 4 July 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What does culture have to do with digitalisation? What is the overall impact of digitalisation on culture? To what extent is the way of collaborating, communicating, creating innovations and sharing knowledge changing?
To what extent has the culture of debate and discussion changed as a result of digital discussions?
What role does a "digital safety culture" play? How can this security culture be described and evaluated?
Impulses
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marc Ziegele (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digital Discussion Culture: Empirical Findings on the Quality, Effect and Moderation of Online Discussions
Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Dissonance as a Feature of Current Online Public Spheres: Counter- and Juxtaposition instead of Consensus Orientation."
Matteo Cagnazzo (AWARE7): "h4ck th3 pl4n3t - Digital Security Culture in Transition."
Data use: potentials and regulation, 14 May 2019
The following exemplary questions, among others, will be discussed:
To what extent do processes change through the collection and evaluation of digital data?
What potentials arise when it comes to the future (automated) collection and evaluation of digital data?
What obstacles arise that stand in the way of extensive data use and its potential for innovation?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Mario Martini (Chair of Administrative Science, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and European Law, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): "Smart City - between vision and reality."
Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Alice Wiegand (Office for Statistics and Elections, City of Düsseldorf): "Open Data: Good Things Take Time
2018
Digital Working Worlds and Markets, 29 November 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What ethical challenges and opportunities do digital worlds of work face?
What about consumer protection in digital markets?
What challenges do digital markets face? And how should a regulatory framework be designed?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online services that explicitly do not function according to market principles?
Impulses
prof. Dr. Ulrich Heimeshoff (Adjunct Professor of Economics, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digitalisation and Platform Markets: Innovations, Competition and Legislative Challenges
Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Professor of Business Administration, in particular Marketing, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Consumer Protection in Digital Markets - Selected Ethical Aspects
Alice Wiegand (Head of the Open Data project in the state capital Düsseldorf): "How Wikipedia, Open Data and other open projects are changing the world we live in"
Digital Privacy, 13 September 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
How is the meaning of privacy changing in the digitally networked world?
What are the consequences, e.g. with regard to data protection or media education?
How is the image of man and action changing as a result of advancing datafication?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Julian Krüper (Chair of Public Law, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Privacy in a Fundamental Rights Perspective
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte (Chair of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim): "Privacy vs. self-revelation - attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards privacy on the internet."
Ralf Bendrath (European Parliament): "The EU General Data Protection Regulation - European Digital Regulation with a Global Impact
Prof. Dr. Sascha Fahl (Chair of Usable Security and Privacy, Ruhr University Bochum): "Privacy Engineering from the perspective of IT engineers."
Digital Democratic Publics, 29 June 2018
Impulse
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Vowe (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Public communication in transition. The three central challenges posed by digitalisation."
Dr. Lena Frischlich (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster): "Political-Manipulative Online Communication as an Ethical Challenge for Science and Practice."
Prof. Dr Christoph Neuberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich): "Clickbaiting, fake. news, high speed: Ethical challenges for journalism on the internet"
Dr Cornelius Puschmann (Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research): "Diverse or one-sided? Empirical Findings on News Usage in Algorithmic Personalised Information Environments."
Participants
Representatives from the following institutions have participated in the sessions so far:
State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Parliament, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V., Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Interior, Local Government, Building and Equality, State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Cartel Office, Federal Association of German Startups, Center for Advanced Internet Studies, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V., Protestant Office NRW, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Grimme Institute, Catholic Social Institute, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Catholic Social Academy FRANZ HITZE HAUS, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, LfM Foundation for Local Journalism, MERCUR Science Policy Network, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stadtbibliothek Düsseldorf, Städtetag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Universität Hohenheim, Unternehmer NRW, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen, Vor Ort NRW, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik.
Digital Ethics Working Group
The working group is organised jointly by the Digital Society and Media Competence Department of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). It focuses on new ethical challenges of the digital transformation - in each session on one sub-area. In addition to scientific impulses, the main focus is on open dialogue and an intensive exchange between science and actors from administration and civil society in NRW. The goal: to acquire more knowledge at the cutting edge of research, to describe problems more sharply and to identify fields of action in perspective. In total, the Digital Ethics Working Group has already brought together over 140 participants from more than 45 organisations.
2021
Artificial Intelligence - Trust, Decisions and Discourse, 11 November 2021
Impulses
Prof. Dr Hanno Gottschalk (Bergische Universität Wuppertal): Six ways to (mis)trust AI. What sources of knowledge do we have to determine the trustworthiness of AI and why do we need to continue this discussion?
prof. Dr. Susanne Hahn (CAIS/Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf): AI algorithms, pattern recognition and decision-making
Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): Orient AI towards humans! Are people prepared for it?
2019
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, 5 December 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What individual and societal benefits can the use of artificial intelligence have?
Which (old) questions might arise anew through the use of AI applications (e.g. solidarity-based insurance models)?
Do we need a (new) set of values for AI? Which values are relevant?
Impulses
Ralph Müller-Eiselt (Bertelsmann Foundation): "Man with machine - how algorithms change our lives and we can usethem for ourselves."
Prof. Dr Barbara E. Weißenberger (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Uber yourself before you get Kodak'ed! Opportunities and limits for the use of artificial intelligence in companies."
Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott (Ruhr University Bochum): "How does AI work and what can it do today?"
Digital Culture, 4 July 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What does culture have to do with digitalisation? What is the overall impact of digitalisation on culture? To what extent is the way of collaborating, communicating, creating innovations and sharing knowledge changing?
To what extent has the culture of debate and discussion changed as a result of digital discussions?
What role does a "digital safety culture" play? How can this safety culture be described and evaluated?
Impulses
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marc Ziegele (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digital Discussion Culture: Empirical Findings on the Quality, Effect and Moderation of Online Discussions
Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Dissonance as a Feature of Current Online Public Spheres: Counter- and Juxtaposition instead of Consensus Orientation."
Matteo Cagnazzo (AWARE7): "h4ck th3 pl4n3t - Digital Security Culture in Transition."
Data use: potentials and regulation, 14 May 2019
The following exemplary questions, among others, will be discussed:
To what extent do processes change through the collection and evaluation of digital data?
What potentials arise when it comes to the future (automated) collection and evaluation of digital data?
What obstacles arise that stand in the way of extensive data use and its potential for innovation?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Mario Martini (Chair of Administrative Science, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and European Law, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): "Smart City - between vision and reality."
Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Alice Wiegand (Office for Statistics and Elections, City of Düsseldorf): "Open Data: Good Things Take Time
2018
Digital Working Worlds and Markets, 29 November 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What ethical challenges and opportunities do digital worlds of work face?
What about consumer protection in digital markets?
What challenges do digital markets face? And how should a regulatory framework be designed?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online services that explicitly do not function according to market principles?
Impulses
prof. Dr. Ulrich Heimeshoff (Adjunct Professor of Economics, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digitalisation and Platform Markets: Innovations, Competition and Legislative Challenges
Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Professor of Business Administration, in particular Marketing, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Consumer Protection in Digital Markets - Selected Ethical Aspects
Alice Wiegand (Head of the Open Data project in the state capital Düsseldorf): "How Wikipedia, Open Data and other open projects are changing the world we live in"
Digital Privacy, 13 September 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
How is the meaning of privacy changing in the digitally networked world?
What are the consequences, e.g. with regard to data protection or media education?
How is the image of man and action changing as a result of advancing datafication?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Julian Krüper (Chair of Public Law, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Privacy in a Fundamental Rights Perspective
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte (Chair of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim): "Privacy vs. self-revelation - attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards privacy on the internet."
Ralf Bendrath (European Parliament): "The EU General Data Protection Regulation - European Digital Regulation with a Global Impact
Prof. Dr. Sascha Fahl (Chair of Usable Security and Privacy, Ruhr University Bochum): "Privacy Engineering from the perspective of IT engineers."
Digital Democratic Publics, 29 June 2018
Impulse
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Vowe (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Public communication in transition. The three central challenges posed by digitalisation."
Dr. Lena Frischlich (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster): "Political-Manipulative Online Communication as an Ethical Challenge for Science and Practice."
Prof. Dr Christoph Neuberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich): "Clickbaiting, fake. news, high speed: Ethical challenges for journalism on the internet"
Dr Cornelius Puschmann (Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research): "Diverse or one-sided? Empirical Findings on News Usage in Algorithmic Personalised Information Environments."
Participants
Representatives from the following institutions have participated in the sessions so far:
State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Parliament, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V., Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Interior, Local Government, Building and Equality, State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Cartel Office, Federal Association of German Startups, Center for Advanced Internet Studies, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V., Protestant Office NRW, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Grimme Institute, Catholic Social Institute, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Catholic Social Academy FRANZ HITZE HAUS, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, LfM Foundation for Local Journalism, MERCUR Science Policy Network, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stadtbibliothek Düsseldorf, Städtetag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Universität Hohenheim, Unternehmer NRW, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen, Vor Ort NRW, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik.
The Democratization of Artificial Intelligence. Net Politics in the Era of Learning Algorithms
The current Internet-based digital culture is increasingly being determined by modern Artificial Intelligence (AI). Above all, the machine learning methods (ML) of so-called Deep Learning (DL) are significantly involved in the current transformation of information technologies. The latest advances in AI are noteworthy, not least in one respect: DL is not new at all, but has been known for decades as the connectionist paradigm of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN).
Apart from rare phases of increased academic interest, however, ANN were considered a dead end of AI research for a long time. This changed considerably a few years ago, when Krizhevsky/Sutskever/Hinton’s research (2012) in particular strongly demonstrated what DL methods can achieve, for example, in the area of image recognition, provided that the training of ANN is not only used in conjunction with access to very large amounts of data but consistently on high-performance hardware (e.g. fast, parallel organized GPU processors).
In addition to technical, ethical, economic, and social aspects – and not least due to the numerous advances in the field of AI – the manifold political dimensions of DL and other AI/ML technologies are increasingly being negotiated in public discourse. ML/DL approaches can be deployed, for instance, to identify potential terrorists; in simple ways they can already generate political speeches; or they are used to evaluate the behaviour of users on social media platforms for the purpose of political targeting.
As the latter example clearly shows, AI technologies are also crucial to understanding the medial and political developments and transformations of the Internet. Conversely, technologies with regard, for instance, to the access to large (correctly) labeled data sets are heavily dependent on Internet platforms, applications, and technologies (e.g. program libraries such as TensorFlow or crowd-sourcing platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk).
The aim of the conference is to discuss the diverse political dimensions of Internet and AI technologies. Two perspectives, which are closely related to each other, are at the center: On the one hand, there is the question of how AI approaches, not least with regard to their connections to the Internet, can be characterized as black box technology. On the other hand, industrial-scientific projects such as, in particular, the non-profit research company OpenAI shall be discussed, which, at least according to their mission statement, strive to democratize AI. The event therefore not only wants to critically examine the claims of such companies and projects with regard to their concrete practical realization. Rather, it is about illuminating the media configurations and constellations of the production of these technologies in an interdisciplinary manner as well as placing them in a theoretically and historically appropriate way, especially with regard to their political implications, functions, and effects. Among others, the following questions shall be addressed: What does it mean to critically investigate efforts of net politics in the age of learning algorithms? How is it even possible to explore the political aspects of modern machine learning approaches if many experts in the field of Computer Science consider ANN technologies as a black box, fundamentally opaque to human understanding? In what way does such an assumed opacity of ANN/DL approaches affect questions of accountability and political agency? Are technological strategies of an Open or Explainable AI already able to reduce the opacity of ANN/DL methods? What political and/or critical concepts guide the technological process of making modern AI technology more accessible? And how can we think about suitable ways of democratizing AI beyond abstract aspects of transparency or accountability?
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 THURSDAY
13:00
Get Together
14:00
MICHAEL BAURMANN
// Bochum
ANDREAS SUDMANN
// Berlin / Bochum
Address of Welcome / Introduction
14:45 – 15:45
KEYNOTE 1
CHAIR: ANDREAS SUDMANN
ROLAND MEMISEVIC
// Toronto
Teaching Neural Networks to See the World Like Humans
15:45 – 16:15
Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:45
PANEL 1
CHAIR: ELISA LINSEISEN
TILL HEILMANN
// Bonn
Artificial Intelligence and (Dark) Enlightenment
MARCUS BURKHARDT
// Siegen
Machine Learning in the Wild
17:45 – 18:00
Coffee Break
18:00 – 19:30
PANEL 2
CHAIR: JULIA ECKEL
TOBIAS MATZNER
// Paderborn
Configurations of Humans and Algorithms in Critical Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence.
DANIEL NEYLAND
// London
Computational Elegance and the Algorithmic Composition of Humans Artificial Intelligence and Artefactual Politics
19:30
Conference Dinner in the EBZ
SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 FRIDAY
10:00 – 11:30
PANEL 3
CHAIR: FRIEDRICH BALKE
TIMO HONKELA
// Helsinki
Peace Machine: Can AI Promote Peace in the World?
CLAUS PIAS
// Lüneburg
t.b.a.
11:30 – 11:45
Coffee Break
11:45 – 13:15
PANEL DISCUSSION
CHAIR: ANDREAS SUDMANN
The Politics of A.I. – Interdisciplinary Perspectives
LISA GOTTO
// Cologne
ANNE DIPPEL
// Jena
CHRISTIAN DJEFFAL
// Berlin
ARMIN BEVERUNGEN
// Siegen
GIOELE BARABUCCI
// Cologne
13:15 – 14:30
Lunch Break
14:30 – 16:00
PANEL 4
CHAIR: LISA GOTTO
MATTEO PASQUINELLI
// Karlsruhe
On the Logical and Political Limits of Artificial Intelligence
INA SCHIEFERDECKER
// Berlin
How to Validate and Safeguard AI
16:00 – 16:30
Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:30
KEYNOTE 2
CHAIR: ANDREAS SUDMANN
CHRISTOPH VON DER MALSBURG
// Frankfurt
The Challenge of Sentient Robots
17:30 – 18:00
Final Discussion
On 28 September, the CAIS Forum 2018 took place in Bochum on the topic "When Artificial Intelligence promotes or fires employees. How are algorithms changing the world of work? At the event, experts provided information on the use of artificial intelligence in recruiting, hiring and evaluating employees. In addition to hopes and fears, the discussion focused on how the use of artificial intelligence can be shaped.
CAIS Forum interactive: using the smartphone, the audience can participate in voting during the event and send open questions to the panel.
How the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms is changing the world of work was discussed by citizens and experts in the Jahrhunderthaus in Bochum on Friday evening (28 September 2018) at this year's forum of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). Companies are already selecting applicants with the technical support of algorithms, chatbots are taking over initial information interviews and it is not uncommon for employees to be evaluated using Big Data.
Personnel decisions prepared by artificial intelligence through data analysis raise hopes and fears at the same time. At the CAIS forum, experts explained how procedures work that use artificial intelligence. With the help of algorithms used in human resources, they made it clear what criteria they use to make decisions, what data they draw on and what scenarios they forecast. Dr Daniel Mühlbauer, who develops corresponding systems himself with his company functionHR, pointed out that decisions should never be made by algorithms alone: "Work in companies should be improved through the combined use of human empathy and creativity and data science. In the end, however, it is always the HR department that decides."
from left: Dr Daniel Mühlbauer, Michaela Evans, Prof. Dr Andreas Eckhardt
Matthias Spielkamp, co-founder of AlgorithmWatch, criticised the frequent lack of transparency in the use of algorithms and called for better control - for example, by public institutions or co-regulation in which experts agree on fundamental requirements. The Minister of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, who opened the event as patron, emphasised how important it is not to see artificial intelligence as a superpower, but rather as a tool and to use it for the benefit of people. Professor Michael Baurmann, scientific director of CAIS, emphasised that digital innovations in the world of work are a challenge for corporate culture: "Science must help ensure that artificial intelligence can be embedded in this culture in an ethically responsible way, protecting and developing it and not endangering it."
The following discussed with you
PROF. DR. ANDREAS ECKHARDT
// German Graduate School of Management and Law
DR. DANIEL MÜHLBAUER
// functionHR GmbH
MATTHIAS SPIELKAMP
// AlgorithmWatch
MICHAELA EVANS
// Institute for Work and Technology
Dr. URS PETER RUF
// Technology Advisory Service at the DGB NRW
THILO JAHN (moderator)
// WDR Westart and Deutschlandfunk Nova
Greetings
ISABEL PFEIFFER-POENSGEN
// Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
PROF. DR. MICHAEL BAURMANN
// Director of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies
Under the patronage of the Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen
SUPPORTED BY
Digital Ethics Working Group
The working group is organised jointly by the Digital Society and Media Competence Department of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). It focuses on new ethical challenges of the digital transformation - in each session on one sub-area. In addition to scientific impulses, the main focus is on open dialogue and an intensive exchange between science and actors from administration and civil society in NRW. The goal: to acquire more knowledge at the cutting edge of research, to describe problems more sharply and to identify fields of action in perspective. In total, the Digital Ethics Working Group has already brought together over 140 participants from more than 45 organisations.
2021
Artificial Intelligence - Trust, Decisions and Discourse, 11 November 2021
Impulses
Prof. Dr Hanno Gottschalk (Bergische Universität Wuppertal): Six ways to (mis)trust AI. What sources of knowledge do we have to determine the trustworthiness of AI and why do we need to continue this discussion?
prof. Dr. Susanne Hahn (CAIS/Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf): AI algorithms, pattern recognition and decision-making
Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): Orient AI towards humans! Are people prepared for it?
2019
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, 5 December 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What individual and societal benefits can the use of artificial intelligence have?
Which (old) questions might arise anew through the use of AI applications (e.g. solidarity-based insurance models)?
Do we need a (new) set of values for AI? Which values are relevant?
Impulses
Ralph Müller-Eiselt (Bertelsmann Foundation): "Man with machine - how algorithms are changing our lives and we can usethem for ourselves."
Prof. Dr Barbara E. Weißenberger (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Uber yourself before you get Kodak'ed! Opportunities and limits for the use of artificial intelligence in companies."
Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott (Ruhr University Bochum): "How does AI work and what can it do today?"
Digital Culture, 4 July 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What does culture have to do with digitalisation? What is the overall impact of digitalisation on culture? To what extent is the way of collaborating, communicating, creating innovations and sharing knowledge changing?
To what extent has the culture of debate and discussion changed as a result of digital discussions?
What role does a "digital safety culture" play? How can this safety culture be described and evaluated?
Impulses
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marc Ziegele (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digital Discussion Culture: Empirical Findings on the Quality, Effect and Moderation of Online Discussions
Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Dissonance as a Feature of Current Online Public Spheres: Counter- and Juxtaposition instead of Consensus Orientation."
Matteo Cagnazzo (AWARE7): "h4ck th3 pl4n3t - Digital Security Culture in Transition."
Data use: potentials and regulation, 14 May 2019
The following exemplary questions, among others, will be discussed:
To what extent do processes change through the collection and evaluation of digital data?
What potentials arise when it comes to the future (automated) collection and evaluation of digital data?
What obstacles arise that stand in the way of extensive data use and its potential for innovation?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Mario Martini (Chair of Administrative Science, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and European Law, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): "Smart City - between vision and reality."
Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Alice Wiegand (Office for Statistics and Elections, City of Düsseldorf): "Open Data: Good Things Take Time
2018
Digital Working Worlds and Markets, 29 November 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What ethical challenges and opportunities do digital worlds of work face?
What about consumer protection in digital markets?
What challenges do digital markets face? And how should a regulatory framework be designed?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online services that explicitly do not function according to market principles?
Impulses
prof. Dr. Ulrich Heimeshoff (Adjunct Professor of Economics, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digitalisation and Platform Markets: Innovations, Competition and Legislative Challenges
Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Professor of Business Administration, in particular Marketing, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Consumer Protection in Digital Markets - Selected Ethical Aspects
Alice Wiegand (Head of the Open Data project in the state capital Düsseldorf): "How Wikipedia, Open Data and other open projects are changing the world we live in"
Digital Privacy, 13 September 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
How is the meaning of privacy changing in the digitally networked world?
What are the consequences, e.g. with regard to data protection or media education?
How is the image of man and action changing as a result of advancing datafication?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Julian Krüper (Chair of Public Law, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Privacy in a Fundamental Rights Perspective
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte (Chair of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim): "Privacy vs. self-revelation - attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards privacy on the internet."
Ralf Bendrath (European Parliament): "The EU General Data Protection Regulation - European Digital Regulation with a Global Impact
Prof. Dr. Sascha Fahl (Chair of Usable Security and Privacy, Ruhr University Bochum): "Privacy Engineering from the perspective of IT engineers."
Digital Democratic Publics, 29 June 2018
Impulse
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Vowe (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Public communication in transition. The three central challenges posed by digitalisation."
Dr. Lena Frischlich (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster): "Political-Manipulative Online Communication as an Ethical Challenge for Science and Practice."
Prof. Dr Christoph Neuberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich): "Clickbaiting, fake. news, high speed: Ethical challenges for journalism on the internet"
Dr Cornelius Puschmann (Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research): "Diverse or one-sided? Empirical Findings on News Usage in Algorithmic Personalised Information Environments."
Participants
Representatives from the following institutions have participated in the sessions so far:
State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Parliament, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V., Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Interior, Local Government, Building and Equality, State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Cartel Office, Federal Association of German Startups, Center for Advanced Internet Studies, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V., Protestant Office NRW, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Grimme Institute, Catholic Social Institute, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Catholic Social Academy FRANZ HITZE HAUS, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, LfM Foundation for Local Journalism, MERCUR Science Policy Network, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stadtbibliothek Düsseldorf, Städtetag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Universität Hohenheim, Unternehmer NRW, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen, Vor Ort NRW, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik.
On October 19th from 16:00 – 17:30 CAIS will open its doors to the public with a presentation of the results from the Indexathon, a two-day marathon experiment in ‘alternative search methods’ with 10 invited international researchers.
Screenshot of the peer ‚migratingidentities‘ within the YaCy ‚freeworld‘ p2p network
The p2p search engine YaCy forms the departure point for the Indexathon, with its open source code, privacy searching and ‘freeworld’ of thousands of peers, making it the largest distributed search engine in the world.
During the Indexathon, each researcher is asked to contribute to the public index of YaCy with their interests or research topic: legacy software, full text search, video archives, radical open access, censoring, digital libraries, code, public commons, anonymity, meta search and internet security.
The Indexathon intends to analyse YaCy’s divergent search results from mainstream search engines along with carrying out ‘comparative’ search models. Furthermore, questions about the ‘future of search’ regarding information retrieval, federated approaches to vertical search, natural language processing and search ranking criteria surrounding the notion of ‘relevancy’ will be addressed.
Yet another Cyberspace developer Michael Christen will illuminate YaCy’s latest developments in search such as susi.ai and the forthcoming YaCy Grid project.What are some of the outcomes? How do YaCy results differ from other search engines? What kinds of use cases have been developed?
Moreover, the potentials of the next ‘Indexathon’ or ‘Searchathon’ will be proposed and discussed.
Concept, research and organisation: CAIS fellow Renée Ridgway
Tech lead: Michael Christen (YaCy)
Screenshot of the YaCy crawler indexing the website of Institute of Network Cultures (INC), Amsterdam
Kick-off on 12 February 2019 | PhDnet@CAIS. Society and digitalisation
On 12 February 2019, the kick-off of the new young researchers' network PhDnet@CAIS took place. PhD students from universities and universities of applied sciences in NRW who are working on the social consequences of digitalisation were invited. Coordinators of research training groups were also able to share their experiences. More than 50 participants accepted the invitation and took advantage of the opportunity to find out more about the CAIS and make contacts at the Science Speed Dating event. Particularly pleasing was the colourful mix of different disciplines - from political science to psychology, computer science and sociology to media studies and law, to name just a few of the subjects represented.
Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann welcomes the participants.
Professor Michael Baurmann, Scientific Director of the CAIS, warmly welcomed the participants. Programme Director Dr. Esther Laufer presented the funding opportunities for young researchers. With Ina Sander (Fellow), Laura Kocksch (Event) and Dr Fabian Hoose and Paul-Fiete Kramer (working group) young researchers who have successfully obtained funding in one of the CAIS programme lines reported on their projects. Professor Christoph Bieber, scientific coordinator of CAIS, described his impressions of a research trip to the USA. During his visits to numerous field offices ,he was able to observe theCampaigning during the 2018 midterm elections at first hand. His assessment: The importance of digital formats for mobilising younger voters is growing, and the analysis of potential voters is also gaining in depth. However, mass media advertising formats, especially on television, which are tailored locally and regionally to an older audience, remain constantly important.
Participants of the PhDnet kick-off.
In a joint discussion round, ideas for further PhDnet@CAIS offerings were collected. At the next meeting of the network on 21 May 2019, project-specific matching will be the focus at the request of the doctoral researchers. Young researchers will be able to find each other in a targeted manner in formats they have designed themselves. The exchange between the coordinators of the Research Training Groups from NRW was designed by Dr. Mario Anastasiadis (Research Training Group NRW - Digital Society) and Dr. Carolin Schuchert (Graduate Institute NRW). While Research Training Group NRW - Digital Society and the Graduate Institute NRW are cooperation partners of the network. The kick-off was moderated by Dr. Nina Hahne and Dr. Matthias Begenat, who coordinate the network.
Programme
10:00 - 10:30
//Arrival
10:30 - 11:30
//Welcome - Promotion at CAIS (with field reports)
11:30 - 12:30
//Science-Speeddating for PhD students
Moderation: Dr. Nina Hahne
//Networking for coordinators
Moderation: Dr Carolin Schuchert and Dr Mario Anastasiadis
12:30 - 13:30
//Pause
13:30 - 14:15
//Between Targeting and Television. The US election campaign for the 2018 midterm elections
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber
14:15 - 15:00
//Science-Speeddating for PhD students
Moderation: Dr. Nina Hahne
//Networking for coordinators
Moderation: Dr Carolin Schuchert and Dr Mario Anastasiadis
15:00 - 16:00
//Further thinking - Offers of the network
The PhDnet@CAIS is an open networking offer of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and supports PhD students in the long term - even beyond the completion of their dissertation. The network offers academic contacts across disciplinary boundaries. It organises events for PhD students whose projects deal with the social opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
PhDnet@CAIS - Review of the Barcamp
On 21 May, the meeting of the young researchers' network "PhDnet@CAIS. Society and Digitalisation" took place as a barcamp. PhD students from universities and universities of applied sciences in NRW who are working on the social consequences of digitalisation were invited. The coordinators of the research training groups also met to exchange their experiences.
As an open event format, the Barcamp offered the doctoral researchers the opportunity to discuss their research questions in a relaxed atmosphere and to network in a more targeted way. In the morning, the session by Stephan Koloßa (University of Bochum, Forschungskolleg SecHuman) on privacy on the net focused primarily on legal aspects. The participants informed each other about their respective perspectives on the topic of privacy and the associated legal basis. Laura Kocksch (University of Bochum, SecHuman Research School) discussed in her session the question of what social sciences and psychology can contribute to improving the often difficult relationship between software developers and the users of new technologies.
Often, technologies are developed without taking into account the actual needs and then have to be "fixed" afterwards (technology fix). Instead, digitalisation should be designed in a participatory way. Christoph Bieber (CAIS) focused on the 100 new professorships for artificial intelligence announced by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The questions that are still unanswered were discussed: What are the needs of AI researchers? Where could these professorships be located? Should other disciplines be considered in addition to computer science? Malte Steinbach (University of Düsseldorf, Forschungskolleg Online-Partizipation) presented his experiences with the realisation of interdisciplinary projects for discussion.
Conflicts often arise when funding agencies have certain expectations for the realisation of interdisciplinarity, but within the respective discipline there are divergent requirements regarding the consideration of concrete theories and models. In the afternoon, Dorian Tsolak (Bielefeld University, X-SONAR) gave a methodological insight into the opportunities and challenges of topic modelling in large data sets. This method calculates statistical models (topics) for mapping frequently occurring words and thus enables the exploration of larger text corpora. In her session, Samira Tabti (University of Bochum, CERES) presented Islam-critical communication in Arabic-language online media.
How do states intervene here (e.g. through bots), and what strategies do users use to avoid these measures? It was also discussed whether a real exchange takes place at all in the relevant media or whether filter bubble discussions prevail. Since many Arab feminists are active online, the topic of gender, Islam and the internet was also addressed. Nico Zengeler (Hochschule Ruhr West, Mülheim) informed the PhD students about the research area of generic artificial intelligence. One approach here is the division of larger tasks into smaller ones, combined with the use of transfer learning to transfer knowledge between individual tasks.
Some application examples were also discussed. In the afternoon, the participants of the workshop for coordinators discussed which conditions must be met for interdisciplinary work to succeed. To start with, Olga Skrebec, doctoral student in the NRW research college SecHuman, gave a theoretical insight into the research field of inter- and transdisciplinarity. Dr. Lars Heilsberger, scientific coordinator of the NRW Research College Online Participation at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, reported on his experiences with coordinating interdisciplinary work. The next PhDnet@CAIS is planned for 26 November 2019.
The event took place in cooperation with the Graduiertenkolleg NRW - Digitale Gesellschaft and the Graduierteninstitut NRW.
Programme
10:00 - 10:30 a.m
//Appearance
10:30 - 11:30 a.m
//Welcome and session pitch
11:30 - 12:15
//Session 1
Slot 1: Stephan Koloßa (Bochum): "Between wish and reality - The right to privacy in the digital age"
Slot 2: Laura Kocksch (Bochum): "Digitalisation - what/who/how?"
12:15 - 13:00
//Session 2
Slot 1: Christoph Bieber (CAIS): "100 AI professorships?"
Slot 2: Malte Steinbach (Düsseldorf): "On the compatibility of discipline-specific requirements and interdisciplinary projects"
13:00 - 13:45
//Break
13:45 - 14:30
//Session 3 / Workshop for coordinators
Slot 1: Dorian Tsolak (Bielefeld): "X-SONAR - Detecting stereotypes and extremist views in big online data"
Slot 2: Workshop for coordinators: "How is real interdisciplinary work possible?
14:30 - 15:15
//Session 4 / Workshop for coordinators
Slot 1: Samira Tabti (Bochum): "Atheism in the Arab World. Islam-critical communication in Arabic-language online media"
Slot 2: Nico Zengeler (Mülheim): "Generic Artificial Intelligence through Transfer Learning"
Slot 3: Workshop for coordinators: "How is real interdisciplinary work possible?
15:15 - 16:00
//Get-together
The PhDnet@CAIS is an open networking offer of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and supports PhD students in the long term - even beyond the completion of their dissertation. The network offers academic contacts across disciplinary boundaries. It organises events for PhD students whose projects deal with the social opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
Digital Ethics Working Group
The working group is organised jointly by the Digital Society and Media Competence Department of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). It focuses on new ethical challenges of the digital transformation - in each session on one sub-area. In addition to scientific impulses, the main focus is on open dialogue and an intensive exchange between science and actors from administration and civil society in NRW. The goal: to acquire more knowledge at the cutting edge of research, to describe problems more sharply and to identify fields of action in perspective. In total, the Digital Ethics Working Group has already brought together over 140 participants from more than 45 organisations.
2021
Artificial Intelligence - Trust, Decisions and Discourse, 11 November 2021
Impulses
Prof. Dr Hanno Gottschalk (Bergische Universität Wuppertal): Six ways to (mis)trust AI. What sources of knowledge do we have to determine the trustworthiness of AI and why do we need to continue this discussion?
prof. Dr. Susanne Hahn (CAIS/Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf): AI algorithms, pattern recognition and decision-making
Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): Orient AI towards humans! Are people prepared for it?
2019
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, 5 December 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What individual and societal benefits can the use of artificial intelligence have?
Which (old) questions might arise anew through the use of AI applications (e.g. solidarity-based insurance models)?
Do we need a (new) set of values for AI? Which values are relevant?
Impulses
Ralph Müller-Eiselt (Bertelsmann Foundation): "Man with machine - how algorithms are changing our lives and we can usethem for ourselves."
Prof. Dr Barbara E. Weißenberger (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Uber yourself before you get Kodak'ed! Opportunities and limits for the use of artificial intelligence in companies."
Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott (Ruhr University Bochum): "How does AI work and what can it do today?"
Digital Culture, 4 July 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What does culture have to do with digitalisation? What is the overall impact of digitalisation on culture? To what extent is the way of collaborating, communicating, creating innovations and sharing knowledge changing?
To what extent has the culture of debate and discussion changed as a result of digital discussions?
What role does a "digital safety culture" play? How can this safety culture be described and evaluated?
Impulses
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marc Ziegele (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digital Discussion Culture: Empirical Findings on the Quality, Effect and Moderation of Online Discussions
Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Dissonance as a Feature of Current Online Public Spheres: Counter- and Juxtaposition instead of Consensus Orientation."
Matteo Cagnazzo (AWARE7): "h4ck th3 pl4n3t - Digital Security Culture in Transition."
Data use: potentials and regulation, 14 May 2019
The following exemplary questions, among others, will be discussed:
To what extent do processes change through the collection and evaluation of digital data?
What potentials arise when it comes to the future (automated) collection and evaluation of digital data?
What obstacles arise that stand in the way of extensive data use and its potential for innovation?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Mario Martini (Chair of Administrative Science, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and European Law, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): "Smart City - between vision and reality."
Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Alice Wiegand (Office for Statistics and Elections, City of Düsseldorf): "Open Data: Good Things Take Time
2018
Digital Working Worlds and Markets, 29 November 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What ethical challenges and opportunities do digital worlds of work face?
What about consumer protection in digital markets?
What challenges do digital markets face? And how should a regulatory framework be designed?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online services that explicitly do not function according to market principles?
Impulses
prof. Dr. Ulrich Heimeshoff (Adjunct Professor of Economics, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digitalisation and Platform Markets: Innovations, Competition and Legislative Challenges
Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Professor of Business Administration, in particular Marketing, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Consumer Protection in Digital Markets - Selected Ethical Aspects
Alice Wiegand (Head of the Open Data project in the state capital Düsseldorf): "How Wikipedia, Open Data and other open projects are changing the world we live in"
Digital Privacy, 13 September 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
How is the meaning of privacy changing in the digitally networked world?
What are the consequences, e.g. with regard to data protection or media education?
How is the image of man and action changing as a result of advancing datafication?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Julian Krüper (Chair of Public Law, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Privacy in a Fundamental Rights Perspective
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte (Chair of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim): "Privacy vs. self-revelation - attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards privacy on the internet."
Ralf Bendrath (European Parliament): "The EU General Data Protection Regulation - European Digital Regulation with a Global Impact
Prof. Dr. Sascha Fahl (Chair of Usable Security and Privacy, Ruhr University Bochum): "Privacy Engineering from the perspective of IT engineers."
Digital Democratic Publics, 29 June 2018
Impulse
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Vowe (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Public communication in transition. The three central challenges posed by digitalisation."
Dr. Lena Frischlich (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster): "Political-Manipulative Online Communication as an Ethical Challenge for Science and Practice."
Prof. Dr Christoph Neuberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich): "Clickbaiting, fake. news, high speed: Ethical challenges for journalism on the internet"
Dr Cornelius Puschmann (Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research): "Diverse or one-sided? Empirical Findings on News Usage in Algorithmic Personalised Information Environments."
Participants
Representatives from the following institutions have participated in the sessions so far:
State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Parliament, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V., Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Interior, Local Government, Building and Equality, State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Cartel Office, Federal Association of German Startups, Center for Advanced Internet Studies, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V., Protestant Office NRW, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Grimme Institute, Catholic Social Institute, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Catholic Social Academy FRANZ HITZE HAUS, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, LfM Foundation for Local Journalism, MERCUR Science Policy Network, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stadtbibliothek Düsseldorf, Städtetag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Universität Hohenheim, Unternehmer NRW, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen, Vor Ort NRW, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik.
Ethical questions in empirical (de)radicalization research – bridging online and offline
In Germany, interdisciplinary research on (de)radicalization processes in the context of violent extremism has received increased attention in the recent past, not only, but also in regards to the role of social media in extremist endeavors. Security agencies and mass media ascribe online-media an (at least) amplifying function in radicalization processes. It is thus not surprising, that a growing corpus of scholarly literature and a rising interest in the empirical substantiation of theories and concepts exists among scholars, practitioners and policy makers alike. Yet, dealing with (de)radicalization online as well as offline confronts researchers and practitioners with specific ethical challenges.
In consequence, a renewed debate on ethical implications of radicalization research is overdue. The fast moving juxtaposition of the highly politicized topics of radicalization and extremisms, on the one side, and the particular sensitivity of the empirical field(s) in online and offline contexts, on the other side, creates a delicate tension that revolves around the (re)definition and affirmation of ethical standards.
The aim of the proposed workshop is, in a first step, to answer the questions arising from (de)radicalization research and assess the multiple challenges and tensions that define research practices at present. It will serve as an interdisciplinary platform for exchange on good research practices, deriving from different fields such as communication and media sciences, conflict and violence research, criminology, religious studies, sociology, anthropology and psychology. The workshop will also inform the suggestion of a reformulation of ethical principles and standards taking into account the specific technical and empirical aspects of the field to guide future research and deduct best-practice recommendations.
The topic of ethics is especially relevant for independent research in a democratic and pluralistic society. For the long-term perspective, the workshop, therefore, aims to revive dialogue on ethics among scholars, practitioners and policy makers. In its endeavor, the workshop fits well the CAIS’ agenda on ‘governance and regulation’ (Governance und Regulierung). As well as ‘democracy and the public sphere’ (Demokratie und Öffentlichkeit).
Networks, Hashtags, Memes: A Quali-Quantitative Approach for Exploring Social Media Engagement
The workshop “Networks, Hashtags, Memes: A quali-quantitative approach for exploring social media engagement” with Janna Joceli Omena and Elena Pilipets addresses the complex issues of circulation, appropriation and transformation of user-generated content in networked environments of social media platforms. To do so, it combines digital methods of data extraction, network visualisation and engagement analysis with qualitative approaches of situational mapping and internet ethnography focusing on searchable visual content.
14:00 – 16:30 Uhr//Janna Joceli Omena
1. Studying Hashtag Engagement through Digital Networks (and methods!)
The first part of the workshop introduces a medium-research perspective with focus on digital networks and the study of circulation, appropriation and transformation of hashtagging activity. Undertaken as socio-technical representational schemes of trackable-retrievable actions, digital networks offer ways of understanding social and cultural phenomena. Rather than relying on the common use of statistics, the workshop brings a theoretical, practical and technical reflection that combines the knowledge of platform grammatisation with the praxis of data capture and data analysis. With the aim of exploring hashtagging engagement through the visual affordances of digital networks, we will first discuss a framework for interpreting digital networks. This will be followed by a step-by-step walk through a case study on the circulation of image content about Brazilian presidential elections in 2018.
16:45 – 18:00 Uhr//Dr. Elena Pilipets
2. Situating Internet Memes as Mediators & Techno-Social Multiplicities
In the second part of the workshop, we will experiment with some qualitative approaches to contextualising/analysing/conceptualising the circulation of user-generated content (viral images, memes, gifs) on social media platforms. Our focus will be on addressing the networked formations of internet memes, which are ephemeral and contextually situated as much as they are spreadable/durational. Beyond looking at how memetic adaptations reproduce and shift networked relations of visibility/affectivity, we will explore the highly ambiguous alliances of platform recommendation and subcultural stance in users’ practices of content appropriation. With the emphasis on understanding the digital circuits of visual social exchange through a combination of mediated thick descriptions and situational mapping, we will discuss the concepts of networked attention economy and social media affordances in the context of analysing memetic engagement.
Workshop Preparation: Please bring your own laptop, and make sure you have installed Gephi (network analysis and visualization) https://gephi.org.
How can democracy still be conceived under the conditions of digitality? The CAIS-sponsored authors' conference will address issues such as the digital public sphere, decision-making processes in artificial intelligence and transnational communities.
Matching workers and jobs online
» Main Research Topics | » Participants
Like many forms of economic exchange, the process of matching workers to jobs has rapidly migrated online in the last two decades. Thus, understanding how online labor matching mechanisms work; how they affect economic outcomes like employment, wages, and inequality; and learning how to take advantages of the ‘big data’ that are generated by online markets all have important implications for the future of labor.
Some key questions include: effectiveness of the new internet based job search methods, how workers and firms look for each other online, efficiency of matching, how to used data from online markets to study new and old labor market questions.
Participants
Pawel Adrjan
Indeed Hiring Lab
Tutan Ahmed
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Nikos Askitas
IZA
Jorge Campos
University of Reading
Michele Cantarella
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Rebecca Dizon-Ross
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Jessica Fong
University of Michigan
Nikolaj Harmon
University of Copenhagen
Daniel Kopp
ETH Zurich
Andreas Kostol
University of Bergen and IZA
Peter J. Kuhn
University of California, Santa Barbara and IZA
Vladimir Kvetan
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
Reamonn Lydon
Central Bank of Ireland
Jonas Maibom
Aarhus University and IZA
Ioana E. Marinescu
University of Pennsylvania and IZA
Davor Miskulin
Burning Glass Technologies
Alicia Modestino
Northeastern University
Efsan Nas Ozen
World Bank
Michael Niekamp
University of Kassel
Martin Noack
Bertelsmann Foundation
Wei-Fong Pan
University of Reading
André Schleiter
Bertelsmann Foundation
Kailing Shen
Australian National University and IZA
Jason Sockin
University of Pennsylvania
Anna Stansbury
Harvard University
Konstantinos Tatsiramos
University of Luxembourg, LISER and IZA
Gabriel Zech
Bertelsmann Foundation
Shuo Zhang
University of California, Santa Barbara
Main Research Topics
Gender and Ethnic discrimination
Job Search Behavior
Skills and Tasks
Thickness and Tightness of the labor market
Online Vacancies
8.10.2019, Bochum
CAIS Forum 2019: How AI sees the world. And how we see AI.
Artificial intelligence and images belong together. Whether diagnostic procedures, facial recognition in video surveillance or the identification of traffic signs: The recognition of patterns is one of the most frequent areas of application of artificial intelligence. As a result of AI applications, images also play an important role. They range from data visualisations to deceptively manipulated videos to portraits drawn by artificial creativity. How does artificial intelligence capture our world? What images do self-learning algorithms create? And last but not least: What image do we actually have of artificial intelligence? Experts from medicine, culture, media and computer science report on their work between visualisations, data and code. Join us to discover how AI sees the world and discuss the use, opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence.
The following will discuss with you
PROF. DR. ULRIKE ATTENBERGER
// Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Mannheim University Medical Centre
DR.-ING. STEFAN EICKELER
// Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS
PROF. DR. SIMON HEGELICH
// Political Data Science, Technical University of Munich
PROF. DR. MARION G. MÜLLER
// Media Science, University of Trier
DR. MATTHIAS BEGENAT (Chair)
// Center for Advanced Internet Studies
Greetings
ANNETTE STORSBERG
// State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
PROF. DR. MICHAEL BAURMANN
// Scientific Director of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies
From 17:00//Meet the Scientists
In a 'Meet the Scientists' from 5 p.m. onwards, researchers will present projects on the digitisation of society that have been developed at CAIS. Using films, posters or short demonstrations, they will give an insight into their work and report on the background, challenges and goals of their research.
PD DR. MERJA MAHRT
// Hide and See(k) - Visibility in the Digital Age
PROF. DR. HERMANN ROTERMUND
// Broadcasting in the Digital Transformation
DR. ARMIN BEVERUNGEN
// Algorithmic Management in the Logistics Centre: Automation, Work, Capture
DR. WITOLD MUCHA
// Cooperative Teaching and Open Educational Resources (OER) in a North-South Context
DR. FABIAN HOOSE, PAUL-FIETE KRAMER
// What do platforms offer the crowd? Self-descriptions of platform companies and their search for workers
DR. ELENA PILIPETS
// #bots: Automated values on Instagram and Tumblr
L. FREDERICK BACHMANN, NIELS DAVID KUNZ
// Digital Libraries for Malawi
Under the patronage of the Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen
Digitalization and Religious Contact
The workshop will take place on 14-15 November 2019 at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr University Bochum. The first day will be dedicated to presentations from international and national scholars followed by responses. On the second day will host a round table that will bring together senior researchers and early career scholars. Young researchers are invited to participate in the round table, where they can present and discuss their current research.
Religion in contemporary Europe is undergoing dynamic and compelling changes: for example, migrations are changing the religious landscape, creating the need for minorities to enter in public debates; discrimination and racism compel scholars to reflect on the role of media and free speech; the risk of radicalization of certain minorities is an urgent social and political issue. These changes often regard contacts between religious groups, involving minorities that have to confront mainstream religiosity and different religious traditions that coexist in the same environment.
Digitalization has a central impact on these religious changes. As digital media became increasingly pervasive in the European public sphere, interpersonal relations and cultural actions are inevitably conditioned by the presence of the Internet. Religious groups address each other and frame their identities through digital spaces, which are often intertwined with physical spaces.
However, scholars still need to find compelling methods and theories to address the ethical and social consequences of digitalization on religious groups and religious contact. While, in certain circumstances, existing methods and theories in media and religious studies can prove useful, there are some questions to be explored: How can scholars collect data about digital religion and analyze them? Which framework can better capture the role of the Internet in relation to religious contact? What kind of impact does digitalization have on religion, and how can it be analyzed?
Image: Dr. Giulia Evolvi
Program
Thursday14th November 2019
Introduction
09:30 – 09:40 am
// Welcome Address & Presentation of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg
Tim Karis (Bochum)
09:40 – 09:50 am
// Presentation of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS))
Michael Baurmann (Bochum)
09:50 – 10:00 am
// Presentation of Entangled Religions
Maren Freudenberg (Bochum)
10:00 – 10:15 am
// Introduction to the Workshop
Giulia Evolvi & Nina Hahne (Bochum)
Session 1Chair: Michael Baurmann (Bochum)
10:15 – 11:15 am
// Digital Religion in the Era of Hybrid Media Environment – Mapping Theoretical and Methodological Challenges for
Current Research
Johanna Suminala (Helsiniki)
Response
Maren Freudenberg (Bochum)
11:15 – 11:30 am
// Coffee Break
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
// Analysing Religious Discourse Online: Theories, Methods, and Challenges
// Capital and Religious Networks in the Age of Digitalization
Mehmet Karacuka (Izmir/Bochum)
Response
Mouli Banerjee (Duisburg)
03:00 – 04:00 pm
// „Kill Jesus!“: Imagining the Other in Christian Videogames
Tim Hutchings (Nottingham)
Response
Anna Neumaier (Bochum)
04:00 – 04:30 pm
// Coffee Break
04:30 – 05:30 pm
// The Politics of Affect & Online Contestations of Religious & Cultural Identities
Mona Abdel-Fadil (Oslo)
Response
Abeer Saady (Dortmund)
06:00 pm
// Dinner
Friday15th November 2019
Session 3Chair: Eduard Iricinschi (Bochum)
10:00 – 11:00 am
// Religious Authority Online: Pope Francis‘ Instagram Account and Jewish Ask-The-Rabbi Sites
Oren Golan (Haifa)
Response
Victor Khroul (Bochum/Moscow)
11:00 – 11:30 am
// Coffee Break
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
// Of Modes and Materialities: A Media Anthropological Approach to Religious Change and Forced Migration
Susanne Stadlbauer (Bochum/Boulder)
Response
Samira Tabti (Bochum)
12:30 – 01:45 pm
// Lunch
Round Tables
01:45 – 02:00 pm
// Introduction
Giulia Evolvi & Nina Hahne (Bochum)
02:00 – 03:00 pm
// Round Table I
Moderator: Nina Hahne (Bochum)
Social Media and the Religious Subjectivities of MinorityGroups: A Case Study of Muslim and Druze Young Adultsin Israel
Sawsan Kheir (Turku/Haifa)
Fighting Polarization Online? The Rise of ‚Muslim‘ PoliticalParties in the Netherlands and the Role
03:00 – 03:30 pm
// Coffee Break
03:30 – 06:00 pm
// Round Table II
Problems and Challenges in Presenting Religious Heritage:The Case of Athos Digital Heritage Project
Lamprous Alexopoulos (Athens)
New Producers of Patriarchal Ideology: matushki in DigitalMedia of the Russian Orthodox Church
Nadia D. Zasanska (Lviv)
Religion Contested in Hypermediated Spaces: A DimensionalApproach to Hashtag-based Hijab Controversies in Iran
Rasool Akbari (Mashhad)
06:00 – 06:30 pm
// Concluding Remarks
The series of events, which CAIS is organising together with the Further Education Group of the Ministry of Culture and Science, is aimed at representatives of further education work in NRW. The focus will be on phenomena of digitalisation and new challenges for continuing education work.
Digital Ethics Working Group
The working group is organised jointly by the Digital Society and Media Competence Department of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). It focuses on new ethical challenges of the digital transformation - in each session on one sub-area. In addition to scientific impulses, the main focus is on open dialogue and an intensive exchange between science and actors from administration and civil society in NRW. The goal: to acquire more knowledge at the cutting edge of research, to describe problems more sharply and to identify fields of action in perspective. In total, the Digital Ethics Working Group has already brought together over 140 participants from more than 45 organisations.
2021
Artificial Intelligence - Trust, Decisions and Discourse, 11 November 2021
Impulses
Prof. Dr Hanno Gottschalk (Bergische Universität Wuppertal): Six ways to (mis)trust AI. What sources of knowledge do we have to determine the trustworthiness of AI and why do we need to continue this discussion?
prof. Dr. Susanne Hahn (CAIS/Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf): AI algorithms, pattern recognition and decision-making
Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): Orient AI towards humans! Are people prepared for it?
2019
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, 5 December 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What individual and societal benefits can the use of artificial intelligence have?
Which (old) questions might arise anew through the use of AI applications (e.g. solidarity-based insurance models)?
Do we need a (new) set of values for AI? Which values are relevant?
Impulses
Ralph Müller-Eiselt (Bertelsmann Foundation): "Man with machine - how algorithms change our lives and we can usethem for ourselves."
Prof. Dr Barbara E. Weißenberger (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Uber yourself before you get Kodak'ed! Opportunities and limits for the use of artificial intelligence in companies."
Prof. Dr. Laurenz Wiskott (Ruhr University Bochum): "How does AI work and what can it do today?"
Digital Culture, 4 July 2019
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What does culture have to do with digitalisation? What is the overall impact of digitalisation on culture? To what extent is the way of collaborating, communicating, creating innovations and sharing knowledge changing?
To what extent has the culture of debate and discussion changed as a result of digital discussions?
What role does a "digital safety culture" play? How can this safety culture be described and evaluated?
Impulses
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Marc Ziegele (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digital Discussion Culture: Empirical Findings on the Quality, Effect and Moderation of Online Discussions
Prof. Dr. Christiane Eilders (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Dissonance as a Feature of Current Online Public Spheres: Counter- and Juxtaposition instead of Consensus Orientation."
Matteo Cagnazzo (AWARE7): "h4ck th3 pl4n3t - Digital Security Culture in Transition."
Data use: potentials and regulation, 14 May 2019
The following exemplary questions, among others, will be discussed:
To what extent do processes change through the collection and evaluation of digital data?
What potentials arise when it comes to the future (automated) collection and evaluation of digital data?
What obstacles arise that stand in the way of extensive data use and its potential for innovation?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Mario Martini (Chair of Administrative Science, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law and European Law, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer): "Smart City - between vision and reality."
Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
Alice Wiegand (Office for Statistics and Elections, City of Düsseldorf): "Open Data: Good Things Take Time
2018
Digital Working Worlds and Markets, 29 November 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
What ethical challenges and opportunities do digital worlds of work face?
What about consumer protection in digital markets?
What challenges do digital markets face? And how should a regulatory framework be designed?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of online services that explicitly do not function according to market principles?
Impulses
prof. Dr. Ulrich Heimeshoff (Adjunct Professor of Economics, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Digitalisation and Platform Markets: Innovations, Competition and Legislative Challenges
Prof. Dr. Peter Kenning (Professor of Business Administration, in particular Marketing, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Consumer Protection in Digital Markets - Selected Ethical Aspects
Alice Wiegand (Head of the Open Data project in the state capital Düsseldorf): "How Wikipedia, Open Data and other open projects are changing the world we live in"
Digital Privacy, 13 September 2018
The following exemplary questions will be discussed, among others:
How is the meaning of privacy changing in the digitally networked world?
What are the consequences, e.g. with regard to data protection or media education?
How is the image of man and action changing as a result of advancing datafication?
Impulses
Prof. Dr. Julian Krüper (Chair of Public Law, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Privacy in a Fundamental Rights Perspective
Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte (Chair of Media Psychology, University of Hohenheim): "Privacy vs. self-revelation - attitudes, perceptions and behaviours towards privacy on the internet."
Ralf Bendrath (European Parliament): "The EU General Data Protection Regulation - European Digital Regulation with a Global Impact
Prof. Dr. Sascha Fahl (Chair of Usable Security and Privacy, Ruhr University Bochum): "Privacy Engineering from the perspective of IT engineers."
Digital Democratic Publics, 29 June 2018
Impulse
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Vowe (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf): "Public communication in transition. The three central challenges posed by digitalisation."
Dr. Lena Frischlich (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster): "Political-Manipulative Online Communication as an Ethical Challenge for Science and Practice."
Prof. Dr Christoph Neuberger (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich): "Clickbaiting, fake. news, high speed: Ethical challenges for journalism on the internet"
Dr Cornelius Puschmann (Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research): "Diverse or one-sided? Empirical Findings on News Usage in Algorithmic Personalised Information Environments."
Participants
Representatives from the following institutions have participated in the sessions so far:
State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Parliament, Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conservation and Consumer Protection, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V., Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of the Interior, Local Government, Building and Equality, State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Agency for Civic Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Cartel Office, Federal Association of German Startups, Center for Advanced Internet Studies, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer, eco - Verband der Internetwirtschaft e.V., Protestant Office NRW, Society for Media Education and Communication Culture, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Grimme Institute, Catholic Social Institute, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Catholic Social Academy FRANZ HITZE HAUS, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, LfM Foundation for Local Journalism, MERCUR Science Policy Network, NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Stadtbibliothek Düsseldorf, Städtetag Nordrhein-Westfalen, Technische Universität Dortmund, Universität Hohenheim, Unternehmer NRW, Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen, Vor Ort NRW, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Zentrum für Wissenschaftsdidaktik.
The future of digitisation research
11. February 2020, 12:00 to 16:30House of the UniversitySchadowplatz 14, 40212 Düsseldorf
CAIS presented the concept for a new Institute for Digitisation Research in NRW at the Haus der Universität in Düsseldorf on 11 February 2020. The aim of the institute is to participate in shaping digitisation in society through research that puts people at the centre.
At a Meet the Scientists, pilot projects on artificial intelligence, the digitalisation of sustainable behaviour and the principles of transparent scientific research were presented.
PROGRAMME
12:00 - 13:00
Get Together
Meet the Scientists
13:00 - 13:30
Welcome
Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann// Director CAISTim Pfenner// Commercial Director CAIS
Greeting
Prof. Dr. Anja Steinbeck// Rector of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Greeting
State Secretary Nathanael Liminski// Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
13:30 - 14:00
Keynote
Prof. Helen Margetts// Director Public Policy Programme Alan Turing Institute, Oxford Internet Institute
14:00 - 14:15
Perspectives: NRW Institute for Digitisation Research
Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann// Director CAIS
14:15 - 15:15
Panel: Challenges of interdisciplinary digitisation research
Dr. Frauke Gerlach// Director Grimme InstituteProf. Dr. Nicole Krämer// University of Duisburg-EssenProf. Dr. Martina Angela Sasse// Ruhr University BochumProf. Dr. Christoph M. Schmidt// President RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic ResearchProf. Dr. Stefan Dietze// Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf / GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social SciencesModeration: Dr. Matthias Begenat// Head of Knowledge Transfer and Public Relations CAIS
15:15 - 15:30
Presentation of CAIS Research Projects 2020
Dr. Esther Laufer// Programme Manager CAISDr. Nina Hahne// Head of Networking and Promotion of Young Researchers CAIS
15:30 - 16:30
Meet the Scientists
Research Incubator: Dr. Josephine Schmitt// CAISArtificial Intelligence Opinion Monitor: Prof. Dr. Frank Marcinkowski// Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfGovernance of Artificial Intelligence: Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber// CAIS / University of Duisburg-EssenArtificial Intelligence in State and Administration: Prof. Dr. Mario Martini//German University of Administrative Sciences SpeyerDigitisation of sustainable behaviour: Dr. Mark Andor// RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic ResearchOpen Science Strategies: Dr. Katharina Kinder-Kurlanda// GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
In connection with digitalisation issues, it is often demanded that one must also deal with them normatively, that ethical questions must be taken into account, and so on. But what is meant by this? What constitutes an ethical, what constitutes a legal perspective, what are norms in the first place, how do moral, legal and other norms differ? How do norms influence the expectations of actors, how do they come into effect and how can they be justified? And how do norms shape themselves in a specific area, for example in (digital) communication on political issues?
The introductory intensive course on norms of digitalisation is aimed at doctoral students working on digitalisation topics who have not yet dealt with the basics of normative questions. Based on three different disciplinary approaches (philosophy, law, communication studies), participants will acquire the ability to reflect theoretically on the concept of "norm" and to understand it in digitalisation-specific application contexts. The knowledge acquired can also be used to question one's own academic work in terms of the extent to which it directly or indirectly refers to norms or is shaped by them. The course is structured accordingly in three parts:
(Conceptual) foundations of normativity: What are (moral, legal, other) norms, what function do norms have? What is morality, what is ethics? What problems are there in justifying norms? What is "ethics by design"?
Digitalisation law for non-lawyers: I. Basics of legal theory (e.g. What is law? What distinguishes legal regulation?), II. Basic knowledge of constitutional law (e.g. hierarchy of norms, structure of the state, constitutional principles) and III. Main features of the law of digitalisation (How is the law challenged by digitalisation - here using the example of data protection law)
Normative expectations of digital political communication - An application example for normative considerations: What normative expectations are placed on digital political communication? Where do these expectations come from? Which statements are judged to be violations of communication norms? What conclusions can be drawn from this in relation to the moderation of online discussions and in relation to the regulation of political communication?
Programme:
10:00 - 11:30: (Conceptual) foundations of normativity
11:30 - 11:45: Coffee break
11:45 - 12:30: Digitalisation law for non-lawyers
12:30 - 13:30: Lunch Break
13:30 - 14:15: Digitalisation law for non-lawyers
14:15 - 15:00: Normative expectations of digital political communication
15:00 - 15:15: Coffee Break
15:15 - 16:00: Normative expectations of digital political communication
PhDnet@CAIS. Webinar on network analysis in Wikipedia with Gephi
Due to the Corona pandemic, PhDnet@CAIS continues its series on digital methods for humanities scholars virtually.
The webinar on 26 May 2020 will focus on the analysis of digital data. Dr Björn Ross (University of Duisburg-Essen) will give an introduction to the analysis of networks in Wikipedia with Gephi.
First, it will be presented how social networks can be obtained from Wikipedia article discussion pages, which map the relationships between the authors. Importing other network data and filtering the networks to a manageable size are also addressed. It is presented how various network metrics can be calculated with Gephi and what significance they have for quantitative and qualitative analyses.
Afterwards, the participants will have the opportunity to gather their own experiences with the analysis of networks with Gephi in small groups. Finally, the results and collected experiences will be compiled and discussed. Previous knowledge is not required. Any software to be installed will be announced in good time.
The PhDnet@CAIS is an open networking offer of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and supports PhD students in the long term - even beyond the completion of their dissertation. The network offers academic contacts across disciplinary boundaries. It organises events for PhD students whose projects deal with the social opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
Due to the Corona pandemic, the PhDnet@CAIS continues its series on digital methods for humanities scholars virtually.
In the webinar on 9 June 2020, Svenja Boberg M.A. (University of Münster) will give an insight into the possibilities and limitations of automated text analysis. Different methods will be presented and discussed with examples of use, as well as advantages and limitations of these methods. Both the occurrence of typical terms or words that occur together as well as more complex methods such as the detection of emotions or topics will be dealt with.
At the same time, the participants get to know the most important R packages in order to independently carry out automated content analyses using smaller questions as examples. The tools and methods presented can be tried out directly in the webinar. The participants will critically discuss their possibilities and limitations and share their own experiences.
The event will be held via Zoom. Previous knowledge is not required. Any software that needs to be installed will be announced in good time.Please note that the webinar is already fully booked. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nina Hahne (nina.hahne@cais-research.de).
Programme
10:00 - 11:00 a.m
//Welcome and input
11:00 - 12:30
//Application phase in small groups
12:30 - 13:00
//lunch break
13:00 - 14:00
//Feedback round and further input
The PhDnet@CAIS is an open networking offer of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and supports PhD students in the long term - even beyond the completion of their dissertation. The network offers academic contacts across disciplinary boundaries. It organises events for PhD students whose projects deal with the social opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
Digital everyday worlds in the Corona pandemic
19. June 2020, 12:00 - 16:30
Digitaltag 2020
All videos of the streams and recordings can be found on our Youtube channel.
The Corona Pandemic has completely changed daily life in many ways. In its streaming programme for the nationwide Digitaltag 2020, the CAIS is dedicated to three aspects of the new digital everyday life:
Information Worlds: Every day we are confronted with new headlines, news and reports about the virus. This information is partly serious and correct, but also partly created under time pressure or deliberately misleading. In our theme world "Keeping track: Information about Corona" is about how citizens can orient themselves in their search for trustworthy information on the internet. Here we discuss, among other things, with psychologist Pia Lamberty from the University of Mainz why conspiracy myths and fake facts about Corona are so widespread right now and how to deal with them.
Data worlds: Soon, digital data will help fight viruses. How do politicians in NRW support the digitalisation processes that are necessary in various areas? What is the basis for trust in the use of apps and what forms of data processing are appropriate? The thematic world "Data, Apps, AI and Co(rona)" asks about the significance of digitalisation in the context of the pandemic. After an opening statement by Minister Andreas Pinkwart (FDP), we discuss "tracing apps" for tracking infections. We also talk to software developers who want to simplify communication between citizens and the health system.
Educational worlds: With the closure of schools, universities and further education institutions, the entire education system is being put to the test and must now reassert itself online. How do teachers and students assess the changed situation? Do approaches like agile education now have a better chance of being implemented? And how do you clear your head in times of digital learning and working? In addition to the challenges of Corona measures for teachers and learners, the thematic world "Educational (r)evolution through Corona? Homeschooling and digital (further) education" examines the opportunities of the digitalisation in the educational landscape promoted by the pandemic. Julian Panze, teacher at the Friedrich-List-Berufskolleg in Bonn, shows in an interview why and to what extent schools can benefit from digital and innovative teaching methods.
Finally, in our "Live Conversation: Digital Everyday Life in the Corona Crisis", experts from our interviews discuss with members of the CAIS team and other participants in a live Zoom conference. We will look back at the topics of the day and deepen individual aspects - but above all, this is an opportunity for interested visitors to the Digital Day to contribute their own views on things. Access to the conference is open. We welcome every guest who wants to take part in the discussion.
Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen - Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
"The Corona pandemic presents us with major challenges in almost all areas of life and at the same time accelerates the digital transformation. Science and research are of particular importance in the context of the rapidly advancing digital transformation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the challenges of the digital transformation are being researched in an interdisciplinary manner at CAIS. I wish you interesting insights and a stimulating exchange at the Digitaltag at CAIS!"
Nathanael Liminski - State Secretary and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
"Digital for all" - right now it is becoming clear how important this is for everyone - in order to be well informed, to continue working while mobile, to stay in touch and to conduct necessary debates. With the CAIS (Center for Advanced Internet Studies) and an intensive exchange between science and practice, with the #DigitalCheckNRW and customised competence offers, North Rhine-Westphalia is taking a look at social issues of digitalisation. We look forward to an exchange on this at Digitaltag 2020."
Conspiracy myths and fake facts about Corona - Interview with Pia Lamberty (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) and Dr. Nina Hahne
Introducing the #DigitalcheckNRW - Interview with Anja Pielsticker (Society for Media Education and Communication Culture) and Dr. Nina Hahne
(Counting) the Virus: Data journalism in Corona times - interview with Nele Heise (freelance media researcher and consultant for digital media and communication, Hamburg) and Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber (CAIS)
Study results homeschooling / digital all-day school - Screencast with Prof. Dr. Ivo Züchner (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
Pupils' views on digital school life - screencast
Digitisation of Adult Education Centres - Challenges and Opportunities - Interview with Doris Teutsch (Pedagogical Director of the Adult Education Centre South Tyrol) and Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt
Clear your head with the Improkokken, improv theatre with Sonja Thöneböhn and Mareike Schlote
Agile education - How digitalisation can change school education - Interview with Julian Panze (teacher at Friedrich-List-Berufskolleg Bonn-Bad Godesberg) and Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt
Live discussion with experts from all three thematic worlds, moderated by: Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann, Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber, Dr. Esther Laufer
Participants
Introducing the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Simon Rinas
Fellow at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Dr Kathrin Friedrich
Fellow at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Birte Keller
Research assistant at the Chair of Communication and Media Studies I, Institute of Social Sciences, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Kimon Kieslich
Research Associate at the Chair of Communication and Media Studies I, Institute of Social Sciences, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Lukas Tomberg
Researcher in the Competence Area "Environment and Resources", RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
Tim Pfenner
Commercial Director, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Dr Esther Laufer
Programme Director, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Dr. Esther Laufer designed and organised the welcome to the Digitaltag programme at CAIS.
Information worlds: "Keeping track: Information about Corona"
Pia Lamberty
Psychologist and expert in the field of conspiracy ideologies
Anja Pielsticker
Project management #DigitalCheckNRWdiploma in Education / Media Education at the Gesellschaft für Medienpädagogik und Kommunikationskultur e.V. (GMK) (Society for Media Education and Communication Culture)
Nele Heise
Freelance media researcher and consultant for digital media and communication
Dr. Nina Hahne
Networking and Promotion of Young Researchers, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Dr. Nina Hahne was responsible for the planning and implementation of the 'Information Worlds'.
Data Worlds: "Data, Apps, AI and Co(rona)"
Wulf Pabst
Head of Division Strategic Planning and Communication, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Holz
Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-University of Bochum
Markus Hertlein
CEO and co-founder, Xignsys.com
Dr Hannah Ruschemeier
Research Officer / Habilitand, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Pero Dosenovic
Research Assistant at the Chair of Communication and Media Studies I, Institute for Social Sciences, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber
Head of Research Incubator, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Prof. Dr. Christoph Bieber designed and was responsible for the Data Worlds programme: "Data, Apps, AI and Co(rona)".
Education Worlds: "Educational (r)evolution through Corona? Homeschooling and digital (further) education"
Prof. Dr. Ivo Züchner
Professor in the Department of Education at the Philipps-Universität Marburg Main areas of work: All-day school, out-of-school youth education, youth research, social/educational professions
Doris Teutsch
Communication scientist and media psychologist
Julian Panze
Teacher of Health Economics, Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-List-Berufskolleg Bonn-Bad Godesberg
Sonja Thöneböhn
Theatre teacher BuT and actress
Mareike Schlote
Improvisation theatre actress, pedagogue and basic optimist
Dr Josephine B. Schmitt
Research Incubator Officer, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Dr. Josephine B. Schmitt was responsible for the planning and implementation of the 'Bildungswelten'.
Live Talk: Digital Everyday Life in the Corona Crisis
Prof. Dr Michael Baurmann
Scientific Director, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann planned and moderated the Zoom Live conference of the Digitaltag at CAIS.
Maximilian Brenker
Strategy and Organisation Officer, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Maximilian Brenker implemented the Zoom conference technically.
Direction & Production
Dr Matthias Begenat
Head of Knowledge Transfer and Public Relations, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Dr. Matthias Begenat directed the film, managed the production and was responsible for camera and sound.
Daniel Mlcoch
Head of Technical Infrastructure, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) Daniel Mlcoch was responsible for the camera, sound and technology at the Digital Day.
We would also like to draw your attention to the events offered by our cooperation partners on Digital Day:
"Project: Network Telemedicine in Self-Help" (Caritasverband für das Bistum Essen e.V., State Chancellery NRW, University of Applied Sciences Hamm / Lippstadt, Catholic University of Applied Sciences NRW, University of Cologne)
The triumph of digitalisation after the Corona crisis?
27. October 2020, 17:00 - 20:00 - CAIS Forum 2020
The world is under the impression of the Corona pandemic. The lockdown made it impressively clear how digital media can help to maintain everyday life at work, at school and with friends. At the same time, we were made aware of the great untapped potential of digitalisation. What can we learn from the crisis about the future in a digital society? What can scenarios of digitalisation look like after the Corona pandemic? The CAIS Forum looks at various aspects of digitalisation in the pandemic and discusses design options for the time after. Join the discussion - digitally.
Nathanael Liminski
State Secretary and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
"The Corona pandemic has provided a digitalisation boost, but it has also raised many questions about the consequences of digitalisation in all areas of life. To answer them, we need research institutes like the CAIS - and the dialogue between science and practice that the CAIS Forum offers. To ensure that no one is left behind in this rapid development, North Rhine-Westphalia also supports the provision of competence offers for all citizens with the #DigitalCheckNRW. We want to shape the digital society together."
Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen
Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
"Digital communication and organisational functions have rarely been more important than they are today. They make it possible to maintain our diverse social, cultural, political, economic and scientific relationships despite Corona-related limitations. Holistic digitisation research, such as that conducted at CAIS, is crucial for the success of the digital transformation. The planned establishment of the Institute for Digitisation Research will decisively strengthen the dynamic scientific monitoring of digitisation that has been successfully tested at CAIS."
Programme
17:00 - Digital reception
Rainer Holl (Poetry Slammer)
17:30 - Welcome & Greetings
Welcome
Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann (Director of CAIS)
Greetings
Nathanael Liminski (State Secretary and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia)
Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen (Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia)
18:00 - "Triumph of digitalisation after the Corona crisis?"
Moderation: Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann and Dr. Matthias Begenat (CAIS) Viewpoints
Prof. Dr. Jens Südekum (Professor of Economics, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) in conversation with Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann (CAIS)
Korinna Hennig (journalist, NDR, Coronavirus Update) in conversation with Dr Matthias Begenat (CAIS)
Discussion
Prof. Dr. Sandra Aßmann (Professor of Social Spaces and Places of Non-formal and Informal Learning, Ruhr University Bochum)
Prof. Dr. Eva Baumann (Professor of Communication Studies, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media)
Prof. Dr. Nico Dragano (Professor of Medical Sociology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
19:00 - Live conference
Participants
Prof. Dr. Sandra Aßmann
Professor of Social Spaces and Places of Non-formal and Informal Learning, Ruhr University Bochum
Prof. Dr Eva Baumann
Professor of Communication Studies, Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media
Prof. Dr. Nico Dragano
Professor of Medical Sociology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Korinna Hennig
Science editor at NDR Info, podcast "The Coronavirus Update" with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten and Prof. Dr. Sandra Ciesek
Prof. Dr Jens Südekum
Professor of Economics, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Rainer Holl
Poetry slammer, moderator and coach for creative storytelling.
Prof. Dr. Michael Baurmann
Scientific Director, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
Dr Matthias Begenat
Head of Knowledge Transfer and Public Relations, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
The series of events initiates the exchange and cooperation of representatives from continuing education in NRW with experts from academia. It focuses on the new opportunities and challenges for continuing education that arise from digitalisation. The aim is to acquire more knowledge about relevant social phenomena of digitalisation based on current research and to jointly explore fields of action.
The CAIS-funded research group "(In)Visibility in the Digital Age" is organising a digital workshop with international guests. The event will focus on the topic of "Unequal visibility in digital spaces".
The first guest, Olivier Driessens (PhD), assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen, takes a look at the relationship between the concepts of visibility and attention in his lecture. Joëlle Cruz (PhD), assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, will then speak on "(In)Visibility in alternative organizing from the perspective of postcolonial approaches".
The following day, an interactive input entitled "Other sensing possibilities: Permeability, leaking" by Johanna Schaffer, Professor of Theory and Practice of Visual Communication at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, and the Berlin artists MELT(Isabel Paehr and Loren Britton) is expected. Respondents will be Dr Joan Ramon Rodríguez-Amat from Sheffield Hallam University and Dr Sarah Liu from the University of Edinburgh.
Hide and See(k) - Visibility in the Digital Age" research group
In times of digitalisation, visibility and invisibility are becoming important categories for describing and explaining communication, especially on the internet. The research group "Hide and See(k) - Visibility in the Digital Age", founded in 2018 at CAIS, addresses the question: What is the significance of (in)visibility in the digital world, how does it arise and what consequences does it have for individual actors, organisations and socially relevant processes? It consists of researchers from German, Austrian, Swedish and Swiss universities, colleges and institutes who contribute expertise from central research fields of communication and media studies.
Members of the research group
PD Dr. Merja Mahrt Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Institute for Social Sciences
Dr. Helena Stehle University of Hohenheim, Institute for Communication Science
Dr Annekatrin Bock Leibniz Institute for International Textbook Research
Dr. Cornelia Brantner IWAF - Institute for Knowledge Communication and Applied Research GmbH
Dr. Hanne Detel University of Tübingen, Institute for Media Studies
Prof. Dr. Ines Engelmann Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute for Communication Science
Dr. Imke Hoppe University of Hamburg
Dr. Christine Linke University of Rostock, Institute for Media Research
Prof. Dr. Katharina Lobinger USI - Università della Svizzera italiana, Institute for Communication Technologies
Prof. Dr. Julia Metag University of Fribourg/Université de Fribourg, Department of Communication Science and Media Research
Substitute Prof. Dr. Anne Schulze Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Sciences
Dr. Nina Springer Södertörn University, Stockholm (Sweden), School of Social Sciences
Dr. Claudia Wilhelm University of Erfurt, Department of Media and Communication Studies
Anyone who approaches "data science" quickly realises that structured work and well-sorted work are extremely important. But they also realise that practice is different. Data formatted back and forth, scripts in different programming languages from different sources, make it difficult to understand one's own work a few weeks later.
To simplify documentation and structuring, there is software that supports us. Widely used is the web-based application "Jupyter" (see https://jupyter.org/). It allows the step-by-step execution of analyses in different languages and the documentation of the analysis steps.
In this workshop we want to try out Jupyter, install it on our own computer and test it with a small project using Python. After an input on Jupyter and data analysis with Python, you can familiarise yourself with the software. In the second part, we want to implement a small project in which we examine the personalisation of advertising on Instagram. If you have your own account, you can carry out the evaluation using your profile.
Previous knowledge is not required. Any software to be installed will be announced in good time. The workshop will take place digitally (via Zoom).
In the course of the digital transformation, the Design Thinking method established by the IDEO agency and the Hasso Plattner Institute has become increasingly well-known and used in a wide variety of innovation contexts, even outside of design practice.
For scientists in digitisation research, design thinking is suitable, among other things, as a structural basis at the beginning of research work in order to use natural moments of uncertainty productively and creatively to their advantage.
The borrowing of design thinking methods for the scientific context also offers impulses for iterative work and efficient evaluation possibilities of possible sub-steps in the later process, which conventional procedures sometimes do not yet offer.
We will start the workshop with a short overview of the different phases of the design thinking process and a classification that shows us that the method does not necessarily focus on thinking and has little to do with design or what one imagines by that. In short practical work units, we try out the cross-disciplinary application of the different phases in the group.
In the process, we develop design-oriented methods of research work, idea generation and problem definition, and learn how, among other things, the various protoyping and testing methods can be introduced into the scientific process.
Together, we locate design thinking in the big innovation buzzword cloud and thus create systemically meaningful and productive connections to familiar working and research methods.
The workshop will take place digitally (via Zoom).
“Sustainability in digital transformation: charting new terrain, exploring tensions”
The bidt, CAIS and Weizenbaum-Institute (WI), three leading German institutions in the field of digitalisation research, invite doctoral researchers to present their work at the newly established joint Digitalisation Research and Network Meeting – DigiMeet. Its special topic for 2021 is “sustainability in digital transformation: charting new terrain, exploring tensions.”
The main purpose of this interdisciplinary event is to provide a forum for early career researchers with a focus on digitalisation-related topics. DigiMeet offers opportunities for networking, discussing results and ideas, and gathering inspiration for new and ideally collaborative research projects.
Review & Outlook
DigiMeet took place virtually on 10 June 2021, 9am – 6pm CEST with the special topic “sustainability in digital transformation: charting new terrain, exploring tensions.” The main purpose of this interdisciplinary event was to provide a forum for early career researchers with a focus on digitalisation-related topics and to inaugurate a collaboration between the three organising institutes on this matter that was initiated by a memorandum of understanding in Spring 2021.
We briefly review here what was generally regarded as a very successful event where high-profile keynote speakers and session chairs interacted with creative and engaged doctoral researchers. DigiMeet attracted in total more than 100 participants who visited and/or contributed to two keynotes, five thematic sessions and five Open Spaces.
Proceedings opened with a keynote address by Ortwin Renn on “Digitalisation and sustainability – friends or foes?”. The relationship of digitalisation and sustainability to each other can be understood both in negative and positive terms, depending on the perspective and respective dimensions that are being taken into account. Polarisation is not very effective. Rather, successful implementation must include the following aspects: openness for design; public space; common good orientation; as well as room for creating and promoting sustainability.
After a lively exchange of views, this first talk was followed by thematic sessions. These provided time and space for interdisciplinary presentations, receiving feedback and fruitful discussions.
Session chairs as well as doctoral researchers enjoyed an “open atmosphere and the engaging discussions”, with a focus “truly on scientific, interdisciplinary exchange and not just presenting”.
Varied discussions showed that interdisciplinary perspectives on many timely topics are highly relevant:
» Regarding algorithms and technologies, what level of understanding should users ideally have/seek to achieve? And how may the level of understanding be measured in the first place, how could it be improved further?
» How can sociological analyses and qualitative methods augment current measurements of “motivated reasoning”?
» How can engineering approaches, for instance to working with “interactive tables”, also be enriched and utilised by sociologists?
» What role(s) can algorithms play in deliberative democracy? How are algorithmic decision-making systems impacting social inequality? Are social networking sites contributing to political mobilisation? If so, in what ways, considering both beneficial and harmful aspects? Are social media being frequented and used differently by different parties and their followers
Indeed, discussions were so intense that they continued in Gather.Town and throughout the lunch break.
Afterwards, participant-driven Open Spaces in Gather.Town opened and doctoral researchers discussed exciting issues with respect to: transhumanism; collecting data from social media; making data differentially private; and ways of collaborating in the digital space. Again, debate took place across disciplines and was full of insights, such as:
» Developing axioms towards a “theory of sustainable data for networked societies” (Hamm/Miceli) requires a combination of human-computer interaction research with social science methodologies to grasp the intricate arrangements and complexities of collecting, processing and using data in fields such as computer vision and civic tech initiatives
» Developing a framework for the sustainable use of digital data is a transdisciplinary and multinational task, which has to involve multiple stakeholders from science and practice. With this objective, the DiDaT white book project brings together, amongst others: politicians; mobility experts; psychologists; researchers in environmental studies and agriculture; sociologists; as well as representatives from small and medium-sized enterprises.
» Research with social media data is handled differently in the various disciplines. The debate depends largely on legal constraints covering both platforms and researchers. Overall, humanities issues have received little attention in digitalisation research to date.
As a perfect way to finish this productive day, Elisa Lindinger proposed in her keynote speech that we should visualise the internet as a park, where users can spend time relaxing in a friendly and beautiful environment rather than somewhere that is hostile and over-regulated. A key point of this talk, how a society and we as individuals would ideally like not only to experience but also shape this virtual place responsibly and equitably, formed the basis of lively discussion later at the Gather.Town bar.
All in all, we look back at a highly productive first event of a new annual series. A survey amongst all participants further confirmed this positive view of DigiMeet 2021. A large majority of respondents concluded that the meeting was in essence either a “superb” or “a really good” experience. Feedback further indicated that the formats worked well, with participants able to network as well as exchanging ideas and results as intended. Along with some ideas and suggestions for additional topics, such as platform governance, digitalisation and infrastructure, degrowth, or more generally insights from political consulting, we will plan the next edition of DigiMeet on one of our Institute’s premises and are looking forward to meeting everyone in person.
How can digitalisation help us? Current research on AI and sustainability
18. June 2021, 10:30 - 12:00
How can digitalisation help solve societal problems? What digital tools can help us in our everyday lives to pursue our professions? How can we save resources with the help of digital tools? How should we behave in the digital space in order to act sustainably here as well? How does the population assess the use and importance of artificial intelligence? At Digitaltag 2021, CAIS will present four current research projects on AI and sustainability in short talks. Watch our presentations, visit us in Gather.Town and ask your questions in a personal conversation with the researchers.
Virtual Meet-the-Scientists
From 10:30 a.m. we will open the doors to our virtual CAIS: Visit us, have a look around and get in direct contact with our researchers. Via the Gather.Town we enable you to exchange information directly with our researchers. Do you have questions or comments on the short presentations? Would you like to learn more about how the projects work? Do you have your own ideas on how digitisation can be used in different areas of life? You are cordially invited to discuss all this with our researchers. Access to Gather.Town is open. We are happy about every guest who participates in the exchange.
How Gather.Town works
You can log in to Gather.Town without registering by clicking on the link below. Assign a name and choose an avatar with which you can move around the virtual office using the arrow keys. The camera and microphone may be switched on to enable exchange with the researchers. If your avatar approaches another person, the dialogue window opens and a video chat takes place with the researchers.
How does the media report on artificial intelligence and what does the public think about it?
Kimon Kieslich (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf)
What is the current discussion about artificial intelligence in the media? What are the attitudes towards AI in the population? The Meinungsmonitor Künstliche Intelligenz (Artificial Intelligence Opinion Monitor) permanently and reliably monitors the public debate on the topic of AI. For example, MeMo:KI shows which aspects of the technology are particularly emphasised and what the population thinks about it. The focus is above all on people's ideas about a socially and democratically compatible design of technology. This is particularly relevant for decision-makers in politics, business and society.
How can digitisation be made sustainable?
Laura Kocksch (Ruhr University Bochum, CAIS Fellow)
How can the use of digital tools be designed in a resource-saving and sustainable way? The collection, processing and storage of digital data must meet the needs of different groups from the population. So far, however, little attention has been paid to how data management in science, business and civil society can be organised in a sustainable way.
What can we learn from the digitalisation of professional work in the Corona pandemic with regard to the design of digitalisation processes?
Dr Kathrin Friederike Müller (University of Rostock, CAIS Fellow)
Due to the Corona pandemic, professional work has been extensively digitalised in a short period of time. This is especially true for professions that previously worked predominantly in face-to-face contact. How have seminar leaders of further education providers, sports trainers and social workers managed to enter digital paths? And what difficulties did they have to overcome? What will remain after the pandemic?
How can digitalisation help us save resources?
Lukas Tomberg (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research)
How can digital measurements help to conserve resources? The growing demand for energy and water causes global environmental problems as well as social tensions and makes effective measures for resource conservation necessary. The project investigates which potentials for resource conservation are opened up by digital measurements in the household. Specifically, digital shower heads were tested that show how much water and energy is being consumed while showering.
Participating researchers
Kimon Kieslich
Kimon Kieslich is a researcher at the Opinion Research Group on Artificial Intelligence [MeMo:KI] at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. He is particularly interested in public perception and media coverage of ethical aspects of AI.
Laura Kocksch
Laura Kocksch is currently doing her PhD on cybersecurity as an acute challenge of postmodern societies. As an anthropologist, she is interested in the technical design of the "anthropocene". In her work at the Ruhr University Science and Technology Studies Lab (RUSTlab), she develops collaborative and participatory methods for mediating between science, the public and technology development.
Dr Kathrin Friederike Müller
Dr Kathrin Friederike Müller is a communication scientist at the University of Rostock and currently a fellow at CAIS. She researches the use and appropriation of digital media and deals with questions of mediatisation.
Lukas Tomberg
Lukas Tomberg is a researcher in the research group "Prosocial Behaviour" at RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research. He works in various contexts on the question of how behavioural economics can solve social problems in everyday life.
Review of the Summer School 2021: Quo vadis Digitalisation Research?
The diverse effects of digital structural change in the social, cultural, political, medical and economic spheres open up great opportunities and perspectives as well as challenges and risks. For example, the increasing relevance of data, the emergence of new digital platforms or the technological developments in artificial intelligence and robotics lead to as yet unresolved questions of data protection, data security, dependence on digital power and control structures or cybercrime. In this context, the digital transformation should not be understood solely as a question of technological development, but always also as social change, at the centre of which are people whose lifeworlds are increasingly influenced by the opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
Against this background, the interdisciplinary Summer School "Quo vadis Digitalisierungsforschung?" addressed the question of how digitalisation research that focuses on people and the social consequences of digitalisation can research, critically accompany and help shape the digital transformation of society at present and in the future. The Summer School was jointly organised by the NRW Digital Society Research Center and the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS).
For one week, the 19 participating young researchers from all over Germany exchanged ideas with experts on current developments in digitisation research in a hybrid setting (Bonn/Bochum/virtual). This also addressed the question of their own self-image as digitisation researchers. Current scientific issues were communicated and discussed in lectures and workshops. The focus was on the following topics:
1. Self-conception and task of digitisation research
What are the tasks, subject areas, focal points and goals of interdisciplinary digitisation research that focuses on the opportunities and challenges for people and society? What socio-political contribution can or should digitisation research make? What has it already achieved? Which technical and/or societal developments will possibly pose a particular challenge in the coming years?
2. Interdisciplinarity as an opportunity and a challenge
What can the various disciplines of the social sciences, humanities and technology contribute to interdisciplinary digitisation research? In particular, how can the dialogue between the social sciences and humanities on the one hand and the technical sciences on the other be organised? What makes interdisciplinary digitisation research more than the sum of its individual disciplinary parts? What is the relationship - also in terms of science and funding policy - between interdisciplinary digitisation research and other disciplines and research fields such as data science, socioinformatics, computational social sciences, technology assessment or digital humanities?
3. Ethical questions of the digital transformation
What are currently the most pressing ethical issues of the digital transformation? What do approaches such as ELSA/ELSI (Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects/Implications Research), which conduct interdisciplinary research into the social consequences of technologies, achieve? How can ethical challenges be overcome in concrete applications, for example through algorithm ethics in the development and implementation of new types of AI applications?
The Internet’s attention economy requires the users to „pay“ with their attention for contents and services. It assumes that the users concentrate on an advertisement once it is displayed. But what if this model does not conform to practices of attention?
Mothers are known for splitting their attention between children and work, yet the notion of attention has not been much studied in feminist research. Moreover, splitting of attention is generally classified as distraction, and hence as a negative practice.
In the workshop we will explore how feminist studies can contribute to the research of attention, and how new concepts of attention can enrich feminist theories.
Mothers vs. Pilots, or how gender shapes the views on multi-attention
The workshop leader, Marie-Louise Timcke, is a data journalist and heads the "Interactive" department of the Funke Mediengruppe. Together with an interdisciplinary team of developers, designers and journalists, she uses new research methods and visual narrative forms. From her studies in data journalism at TU Dortmund University, she founded Journocode and works there as managing director and trainer.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/datentaeterin
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-louise-timcke-266223129
The workshop is purely virtual. Previous knowledge is not required. The workshop is limited to 15 participants. The PhDnet@CAIS is an open networking offer of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) and supports PhD students in the long term - even beyond the completion of their dissertation. The network offers academic contacts across disciplinary boundaries. It organises events for PhD students whose projects deal with the social opportunities and risks of digitalisation.
The aim of this interdisciplinary workshop is to explore how the power of digital platforms manifests itself within different political regimes. Seeking to contribute to theory-building on how platforms govern, the workshop will identify and question key assumptions about how platform power intersects with democratic and autocratic politics. Is it possible to move beyond the democracy/autocracy dichotomy that permeates much of the scholarship? And if yes, what would this more complex conceptual model of platform power look like?
The concept of platform power refers to the accumulation and (ab)use of power in online networked environments, which extends beyond the concentration of economic power and the existence of market asymmetries to the societal and political power platforms wield (Van Dijck, Nieborg & Poell, 2019). As government regulation of platforms accelerates across the globe, gaining a more nuanced understanding of how platform power interacts with politics is essential.
To initiate interdisciplinary debate, the workshop commences with four short provocations:
Cultural Heritage Institutions have started digitizing their assets about twenty years ago. Since then, a range of legal problems accompanying digitization efforts have been identified, and usage scenarios have changed a lot. The cultural legitimacy of private corporations making use of these resources is challenged. This workshop takes an understanding of cultural heritage as a cultural commons as its starting point, presents the results of the ongoing research project entitled „The Tragedy of the Cultural Commons“ focusing on cultural heritage institutions, identifies and discusses relevant legal questions that need to be addressed, and takes further research into perspective.
Key Learnings:
Gain insight in current legal debates on copyrights, intellectual property rights, intangible cultural heritage, and regulations pertaining to access to cultural heritage
Deepened understanding of the recently developed „cultural commons framework“ and the application of a systematic analytic approach to an existing research field
Comprehension of the interaction between legal norms and societal as well as technical developments
Getting an idea about how scientific debates are driven by new terms and concepts presented in the academic arena
Confirmed Participants:
Brett Frischmann, Charles Widger Endowed University Professor in Law, Business and Economics, Villanova University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Michael J. Madison, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Innovation Practice Institute at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Madelyn Rose Sanfilippo, Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois, Illinois, USA.
Jörg Lehmann, Fellow 2021/22 at the Center for Digitization Research, Bochum, Germany.
The workshop will take place digitally. The event language is English.
In the 1990s there were euphorical hopes connected to the Internet, e. g. Barlow wrote his much-discussed ‚A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace‘. Nowadays it seems that the internet is normalized, policed and commercialized. What were the utopian hopes connected to the net? Are there new imaginary futures emerging – e. g. the ‚metaverse‘? Or is this just a reenactment of the ‚cyperspace‘? What futures are implied in the quantum internet? Can there be new perpectives for collectivity or coordination? The workshop will discuss possible ‚futures of the internet‘ and their political implications.
The innovation method Design Thinking, as established by the Hasso Plattner Institute and consulting agencies like IDEO and others, is increasingly applied in various business settings. Why not as well in academia?
For scientists in digitization research, design thinking can support both as a structural approach at the beginning of research work as well as an inspiring mindset to tackle challenges with new perspectives. Adapting Design Thinking methods for scientific contexts also offers rich impulses for agile work and efficient evaluation possibilities of any phase in your process. In the workshop you will learn to use natural moments of uncertainty productively and creatively to your advantage.
We will start the workshop with a short overview of the different phases of the Design Thinking process and a classification that shows us that the method does not necessarily focus on thinking and has little to do with what we understand as design.
In short, practical work units, we experiment with the interdisciplinary application of the different phases in the group. In doing so, we tap into design-oriented methods of research work, idea generation and problem definition, and learn how, among other things, to bring the various prototyping and testing methods into the scientific process.
Together, we locate design thinking within the big innovation buzzword cloud, while creating systemically meaningful and applicable connections to familiar work and research methods.
The workshop will take place digitally. The event language is English.
Maximum number of participants: 15
The current Internet-based digital culture is increasingly being determined by modern Artificial Intelligence (AI). Above all, the machine learning methods (ML) of so-called Deep Learning (DL) are significantly involved in the current transformation of information technologies. The latest advances in AI are noteworthy, not least in one respect: DL is not new at all, but has been known for decades as the connectionist paradigm of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN).
Apart from rare phases of increased academic interest, however, ANN were considered a dead end of AI research for a long time. This changed considerably a few years ago, when Krizhevsky/Sutskever/Hinton’s research (2012) in particular strongly demonstrated what DL methods can achieve, for example, in the area of image recognition, provided that the training of ANN is not only used in conjunction with access to very large amounts of data but consistently on high-performance hardware (e.g. fast, parallel organized GPU processors).
In addition to technical, ethical, economic, and social aspects – and not least due to the numerous advances in the field of AI – the manifold political dimensions of DL and other AI/ML technologies are increasingly being negotiated in public discourse. ML/DL approaches can be deployed, for instance, to identify potential terrorists; in simple ways they can already generate political speeches; or they are used to evaluate the behaviour of users on social media platforms for the purpose of political targeting.
As the latter example clearly shows, AI technologies are also crucial to understanding the medial and political developments and transformations of the Internet. Conversely, technologies with regard, for instance, to the access to large (correctly) labeled data sets are heavily dependent on Internet platforms, applications, and technologies (e.g. program libraries such as TensorFlow or crowd-sourcing platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk).
The aim of the conference is to discuss the diverse political dimensions of Internet and AI technologies. Two perspectives, which are closely related to each other, are at the center: On the one hand, there is the question of how AI approaches, not least with regard to their connections to the Internet, can be characterized as black box technology. On the other hand, industrial-scientific projects such as, in particular, the non-profit research company OpenAI shall be discussed, which, at least according to their mission statement, strive to democratize AI. The event therefore not only wants to critically examine the claims of such companies and projects with regard to their concrete practical realization. Rather, it is about illuminating the media configurations and constellations of the production of these technologies in an interdisciplinary manner as well as placing them in a theoretically and historically appropriate way, especially with regard to their political implications, functions, and effects. Among others, the following questions shall be addressed: What does it mean to critically investigate efforts of net politics in the age of learning algorithms? How is it even possible to explore the political aspects of modern machine learning approaches if many experts in the field of Computer Science consider ANN technologies as a black box, fundamentally opaque to human understanding? In what way does such an assumed opacity of ANN/DL approaches affect questions of accountability and political agency? Are technological strategies of an Open or Explainable AI already able to reduce the opacity of ANN/DL methods? What political and/or critical concepts guide the technological process of making modern AI technology more accessible? And how can we think about suitable ways of democratizing AI beyond abstract aspects of transparency or accountability?
How the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms is changing the world of work was discussed by citizens and experts in the Jahrhunderthaus in Bochum on Friday evening (28 September 2018) at this year's forum of the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS). Companies are already selecting applicants with the technical support of algorithms, chatbots are taking over initial information interviews and it is not uncommon for employees to be evaluated using Big Data.
Personnel decisions prepared by artificial intelligence through data analysis raise hopes and fears at the same time. At the CAIS forum, experts explained how procedures work that use artificial intelligence. With the help of algorithms used in human resources, they made it clear what criteria they use to make decisions, what data they draw on and what scenarios they forecast. Dr Daniel Mühlbauer, who develops corresponding systems himself with his company functionHR, pointed out that decisions should never be made by algorithms alone: "Work in companies should be improved through the combined use of human empathy and creativity and data science. In the end, however, it is always the HR department that decides."
Matthias Spielkamp, co-founder of AlgorithmWatch, criticised the frequent lack of transparency in the use of algorithms and called for better control - for example, by public institutions or co-regulation in which experts agree on fundamental requirements. The Minister of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, who opened the event as patron, emphasised how important it is not to see artificial intelligence as a superpower, but rather as a tool and to use it for the benefit of people. Professor Michael Baurmann, scientific director of CAIS, emphasised that digital innovations in the world of work are a challenge for corporate culture: "Science must help ensure that artificial intelligence can be embedded in this culture in an ethically responsible way, protecting and developing it and not endangering it."
The p2p search engine YaCy forms the departure point for the Indexathon, with its open source code, privacy searching and ‘freeworld’ of thousands of peers, making it the largest distributed search engine in the world.
During the Indexathon, each researcher is asked to contribute to the public index of YaCy with their interests or research topic: legacy software, full text search, video archives, radical open access, censoring, digital libraries, code, public commons, anonymity, meta search and internet security.
The Indexathon intends to analyse YaCy’s divergent search results from mainstream search engines along with carrying out ‘comparative’ search models. Furthermore, questions about the ‘future of search’ regarding information retrieval, federated approaches to vertical search, natural language processing and search ranking criteria surrounding the notion of ‘relevancy’ will be addressed.
Yet another Cyberspace developer Michael Christen will illuminate YaCy’s latest developments in search such as susi.ai and the forthcoming YaCy Grid project.What are some of the outcomes? How do YaCy results differ from other search engines? What kinds of use cases have been developed?
Moreover, the potentials of the next ‘Indexathon’ or ‘Searchathon’ will be proposed and discussed.
Concept, research and organisation: CAIS fellow Renée Ridgway
Tech lead: Michael Christen (YaCy)
Moreover, the potentials of the next ‘Indexathon’ or ‘Searchathon’ will be proposed and discussed.
Concept, research and organisation: CAIS fellow Renée Ridgway
Tech lead: Michael Christen (YaCy)
