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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

Brand new: encore Volume 2017

encore is just off the presses – transformed into a high-profile magazine on internet and society research. Share the latest issue with your friends, colleagues and family members and read what Manuel Castells, Tarleton Gillespie,…

We are hiring!

You are interested in internet-enabled innovation, open innovation and entrepreneurship? Then apply as a scientific project manager at our institute and join HIIG’s international research team – we look forward to meeting you!

Out now: HIIG Quarterly

2018 has gotten off to an exciting start! Read HIIG’s Quarterly newsletter to learn more about our plans for this year, digital research mining, micro-targeting voters, artificial intelligence and human rights, the academic lecture series…

Kick-off: Digital REseArch Mining (DREAM)

How can we facilitate accessing scientific literature in the digital age? The aim of our new project with FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik is to develop an app with a personal publication feed, which will allow its…

Special Issue on political micro-targeting

Since Cambridge Analytics, micro-targeting is hyped as a tool capable of tailoring political messages to individuals. Shifting the focus away from the US, Internet Policy Review’s new special issue takes a closer look on its…

Dossier: Algorithmic decisions and human rights

From smart assistants in the justice, over systems in the administration sector to highly developed portable devices: Innovations in AI are impacting nearly every area of our life. However, algorithmic decision-making leads to complex human…

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

Forum. Venturing Futures.

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

Explore the forum

UPCOMING EVENTS

Further events

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

    • More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    More to come soon.

    Explore our current issues
    while we reshape our research agenda…

    Featured Topics

    Platform governance

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

    Data governance

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

    Artificial intelligence and society

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

    Digitalisation and sustainability

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

    Open higher education

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

    Digital future of the workplace

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

    Experts for Media

    HIIG Expertise – Startseite - Micro - single

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

    AI Compass

    KI Kompass Startseite

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

    Data Governance Guide

    smart city_startseite

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

    DIGITAL SOCIETY BLOG

    Further articles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Daniel Pothmann on 5 August 2026