Nach zwei Jahren Forschung zu ethischen Herausforderungen der Digitalisierung und Strategien zu deren Überwindung hat das internationale, interdisziplinäre Forscher:innen-Team nun ihren Abschlussbericht veröffentlicht. Beteiligt waren Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz, Prof. Dr. Matthias C. Kettemann, Martin Fertmann und Vincent Hofmann.
Auszug aus dem Vorwort
Digital technologies have fundamentally changed the ways in which we communicate and collaborate with each other, how entrepreneurs and businesses operate and innovate, how people express themselves and engage with the knowledge ecosystem, and how governments build systems and structures for and interact with their citizens. Today, digitalization is playing a major role in almost all areas of our lives. At their best, digital technologies can facilitate meaningful engagement among individuals, enable businesses to develop more equitable processes, support education and learning during COVID lockdowns, or help reflect on key spaces and what we as humans expect from them. At their worst, digital technologies exacerbate inequalities, amplify surveillance concerns, and strengthen existing power structures and asymmetries. As we grapple with the opportunities and challenges of technological development and deployment, it’s crucial to understand the technologies themselves but more importantly to also develop a nuanced—including a global, multi-sectoral, and interdisciplinary—understanding of the underlying and overarching ethical dilemmas and priorities.
Led by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University (BKC), the Digital Asia Hub (DAH) and the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research I Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)—under the patronage of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and supported by Stiftung Mercator—and in collaboration with the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers (NoC), “The Ethics of Digitalization: From Principles to Practices” project tackles some of the most pressing ethical challenges with the aim of advancing dialogue and action at the intersection of science, politics, digital economy, and civil society.