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A breath of fresh air.

Our new research focuses are
available for exploration!

A breath of fresh air.

Our new research focuses
are available for exploration!

NEWS FROM THE INSTITUTE

Digitaler Salon: App’s Anatomy

The doctors in the phone track our cycle or analyse the blood sugar level. Have family physicians become obsolete and do digital tools turn…

Happy new year!

What was your favorite HIIG moment in 2017? Our advent calendar gives you a glimpse of the past year’s research and hot topics in…

Otfried Jarren honored by Schader-Stiftung

The HIIG congratulates Otfried Jarren, chairman of the foundation board of the Foundation for Internet and Society, which supports the institute, for his award…

Workshop: Nudging and Digital Platforms

Are digital platforms the new ‘iron cages’ of society? Will Big-Data-based nudging lead us into a technocratic future of cyber-social control? Is China’s Social…

Video: Manuel Castells in Berlin

On 12 December, the influential sociologist Manuel Castells inaugurated our new academic lecture series on “Making sense of the digital society“ at Kino International…

Castells inaugurates lecture series on digital society

The current rapid social and technological change brings about enormous uncertainties – a great need for explanations and sense-making but also of shaping our…

UPCOMING EVENTS

Further events

  • August 11
    3rd Workshop on ‘Public Interest AI’
    All Day | Messe Bremen (Exhibition Center) |

    • More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    RESEARCH ISSUES IN FOCUS

    Platform governance

    In our research on platform governance, we investigate how corporate goals and social values can be balanced on online platforms.
    Du siehst eine Tastatur auf der eine Taste rot gefärbt ist und auf der „Control“ steht. Eine bildliche Metapher für die Regulierung von digitalen Plattformen im Internet und Data Governance. You see a keyboard on which one key is coloured red and says "Control". A figurative metaphor for the regulation of digital platforms on the internet and data governance.

    Data governance

    We develop robust data governance frameworks and models to provide practical solutions for good data governance policies.
    Du siehst Eisenbahnschienen. Die vielen verschiedenen Abzweigungen symbolisieren die Entscheidungsmöglichkeiten von Künstlicher Intelligenz in der Gesellschaft. Manche gehen nach oben, unten, rechts. Manche enden auch in Sackgassen. Englisch: You see railway tracks. The many different branches symbolise the decision-making possibilities of artificial intelligence and society. Some go up, down, to the right. Some also end in dead ends.

    Artificial intelligence and society

    The future of artificial Intelligence and society operates in diverse societal contexts. What can we learn from its political, social and cultural facets?

    Digitalisation and sustainability

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

    Open higher education

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

    Digital future of the workplace

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

    Experts for Media

    HIIG Expertise – Startseite - Micro - single

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

    AI Compass

    KI Kompass Startseite

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

    Data Governance Guide

    smart city_startseite

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

    DIGITAL SOCIETY BLOG

    Further articles

    The photo shows a campus from above, showing the different paths of resilience in higher education.

    Digital by design, not by default: Resilience in higher education

    What does resilience in higher education look like? A comparison of two models from Germany and Portugal shows: there is no single formula.

    B. Deacon, A. Aust, F. Kuper on 20 April 2026
    A person climbing a steep rock face, symbolising the effort AI observatories make to scrutinise and challenge the structures of algorithmic power.

    Algorithms under scrunity: AI observatories as democratic infrastructure

    Algorithms have a profound impact on people’s lives. This article explores why AI observatories are essential for democratic governance.

    Paola Cantarini Guerra on 10 April 2026
    A volcanic eruption resembling an explosion, used to illustrate the metaphor of AI as a destructive "killing machine".

    Forget the “killing machine”: why AI is a question of responsibility, not apocalypse

    The authors challenge the metaphor of artificial intelligence as a “killing machine” that will one day surpass its human creators.

    Matthias C. Kettemann, Frederik Efferenn on 18 March 2026