The Ethics of Digitalisation – From Principles to Practices

According to which criteria must chat bots be programmed to communicate without discrimination? What rules must apply when programming AI so that they serve the good of all? How do we design the algorithms that shape our society?

The international research project "Ethics of Digitalisation - From Principles to Practices" aims to develop groundbreaking answers to challenges in the area of conflict between ethics and digitalisation. Innovative scientific formats, research sprints and clinics, form the core of the project; they enable interdisciplinary scientific work on application-, and practice-oriented questions and achieve outputs of high societal relevance and impact.

The project promotes active exchange at the interface of science, politics and society and thus contributes to a global dialogue on an ethics of digitalisation.

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SPRINTS AND CLINICS OF THE PROJECT

AI and Content Moderation

AI and Content Moderation – Research Sprint

Algorithmic moderation of content on platforms raises many questions, for example: Do algorithms crack down on legitimate expression too much, or do they fail more to limit hateful content on their pages? This sprint explored where the boundaries between hate speech and free expression lie. It also worked out how policymakers can ensure an appropriate level of transparency and accountability in platforms' algorithmic content moderation processes. .

Results

Policy Brief: Making Audits Meaningful

Policy Brief: Disclosure Rules for Algorithmic Content Moderation

Policy Brief: Freedom of Expression in the Digital Public Sphere

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Tender · Fellows

Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

August until October 2020

Covid-19 and Access to Education and Learning Spaces

Covid-19 and Access to Education and Learning Spaces – Research Sprint

At best, digital technologies can be used in times of crisis to support and enhance learning and education - at worst, they create new social inequalities and reinforce existing concerns about surveillance. This sprint explored the ethical, social, and political challenges in the pandemic that has drastically changed education and learning for billions of learners around the world.

Results

Report: COVID-19 and Access to Education and Learning Spaces

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Ausschreibung · Fellows

Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

October until December 2020

Increasing Fairness in Targeted Advertising

Increasing Fairness in Targeted Advertising – Research Clinic

Targeted advertising on online platforms offers advertisers the opportunity to deliver ads to carefully selected target groups. However, this relevance optimization of job ads carries many risks - from problematic gender stereotyping to potential algorithmic discrimination. New approaches are needed to prevent this and make online ads more inclusive. This clinic explored the ethical implications of targeted advertising with the goal of developing implementation-ready, fairness-oriented solutions.

Results

Report: Clinic Report

YouTube Video: Increasing Fairness in Targeting Advertising

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Tender · Fellows

Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

February 2021

Digital Self-Determination

Digital Self-Determination – Research Sprint

As our world becomes increasingly digitally connected, important dimensions of self-determination need to be examined and understood more closely. With this in mind, this sprint took a critical look at the following aspects: control over our personal data, our self-expression online, and participation in social life and the digital economy. In addition, the sprint examined the role our health and own well-being plays in living a self-determined life and building relationships.

Results

Wikipedia Entry: Open Access Resources on Digital Self-Determination

Living Syllabus: Digital self-determination

Wikipedia Entry: Digital self-determination

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Tender · Fellows

Digital Asia Hub

March until May 2021

Toward an African Narrative on Digital Sovereignty

Toward an African Narrative on Digital Sovereignty – Research Sprint

This research sprint focused on digital sovereignty in Africa and developed new solutions for a digital economy to realize the national and individual interests of the continent's citizens. Participants addressed specific issues related to data colonialism, balancing the use of digital technologies with protection against the commodification of data, and digital surveillance.

Results

Video recording: German Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier in exchange with our Sprint Fellows

Publication: Digital Sovereignty: African Perspectives

Blog series: Outcomes of the Virtual Research Sprint

Wikiversity Syllabus: Digital Sovereignty in Africa

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Tender · Fellows

South African Research Chair in Industrial Development at the University of Johannesburg

June until July 2021

Challenges & Opportunities of Public Sector AI Policy

Challenges & Opportunities of Public Sector AI Policy – Research Clinic

This Clinic was a collaboration with the City of Helsinki Education Department and AI transparency company Saidot. It explored how technology can be used to support learning, student well-being, and staff retention in Helsinki's vocational schools.

Results

Comprehensive manual: The Playbook on participation and accountability in City Challenges

Overarching Policy Paper : AI Policy Research Clinic

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Tender · Fellows

Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

July 2021

Explainable AI

Explainable AI – Research Clinic

Understanding AI is not easy. But explanations of how automated decisions are made are of great importance in times of automated systems. Explanations from within the system can be helpful in this regard. This clinic explored what a good explanation of AI needs to include and how to design an explanation of the logic of an automated decision that is meaningful to users and also complies with the GDPR.

Results

Clinic Abstract: what to explain when we cannot easily explain?

Report: What to explain when explaining is difficult

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Tender · Researchers

Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

September 2021

Cities, Digitalisation, and Ethics (Digital Asia Hub)

Cities, Digitalisation, and Ethics – Research Clinic

Governments and technology companies tout efficiency, convenience, innovation and sustainability to drive their visions of a city of the future. This clinic critically questioned what makes a city not only a "smart city" but also an "ethical city."

Results

Paper: Bangkok as an Ethical City

Card game: Projected futures in South Tarawa

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Tender · Fellows

Digital Asia Hub

October 2021

SIDE EVENTS OF THE PROJECT

Kick-off event

Kick-off event at Bellevue Palace

To launch the project, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited national and international experts from science, politics, business and civil society to a conference at Bellevue Palace. The focus of the conference was on ethical questions of digitalisation, such as the functioning of artificial intelligence and algorithms.

Results

Video: Recording of the of the launch conference

Transcript: Speech of the Federal President

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Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft

August 2020

Multi Stakeholder Dialogue: Strategies for an Ethics of Digitalisation

Strategies for an Ethics of Digitalisation

At the end of the series of sprints and clinics, the HIIG research team, together with invited experts from science, civil society, politics and public administration, took stock of the progress of ethically shaped digitalisation.The discussions and workshops addressed the following questions, among others: Which visions need to be further translated into practice? Where do we see ourselves in 2040, after another 20 years of digital transformation? Can digitalisation work for everyone?

Results

Blog post: Summary of the results

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Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

October 2021

Closing event

Closing event at Bellevue Palace

At the end of the project, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invited representatives of the individual research teams to a presentation of the results in Bellevue Palace. He discussed the political relevance of the findings with Carla Hustedt (Stiftung Mercator), Malavika Jayara (Digital Asia Hub), Sandra Cortesi (Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University) and Wolfgang Schulz (HIIG Research Director, spokesperson for the European section of the NoC).

Results

Video: Recording of the presentation of results and discussion

Transcript: Speech by the Federal President

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Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

Febraury 2022

Project Partners

Project partners include HIIG, the Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut, the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University and the Digital Asia Hub.

The project is funded by Stiftung Mercator. The Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier is patron of this project.

Duration	07/2020 - 06/2022
Funding	Stiftung Mercator

Contact

The international and interdisciplinary research project is a joint initiative of the Global Network of Internet and Society Research Center (NoC).

Digital Ethics

Whether civil society, politics or science – everyone seems to agree that the New Twenties will be characterised by digitalisation. But what about the tension of digital ethics? How do we create a digital transformation involving society as a whole, including people who either do not have the financial means or the necessary know-how to benefit from digitalisation? And what do these comprehensive changes in our actions mean for democracy? In this dossier we want to address these questions and offer food for thought on how we can use digitalisation for the common good.

Discover all 12 articles

Media reception

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier invites to the launch of an international research project "Ethics of Digitisation" at Bellevue Castle. The launch conference on August 17 will focus on ethical questions of digitization, for example in the functioning of artificial intelligence and algorithms, according to the Office of the Federal President.

— Deutschlandfunk Kultur

In the 3sat program Scobel, Research Director Prof. Wolfgang Schulz speaks on the topic "Ethics for the Digital" (minute 42:00) about research in the course of the project "Ethics of Digitalisation".

— 3sat

Under the patronage of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the project "Ethics of Digitisation" has been launched. One of the directors of research, Prof. Wolfgang Schulz, talks about digital communication at WDR as an opportunity and challenge.

— WDR

Research Team

Publications

Conference contributions and other activities

Research Team

Matthias C. Kettemann, Prof. Dr. LL.M. (Harvard)
Head of Research Group and Associate Researcher: Global Constitutionalism and the Internet
Wolfgang Schulz, Prof. Dr.
Research Director

Former employees

Alexander Pirang
Former Associated Doctoral Researcher: AI & Society Lab
Friederike Stock
Former Student Assistant: Ethics of Digitalisation | NoC
Hanna-Sophie Bollmann
Former Student Assistant: Ethics of Digitalisation & NoC
Nadine Birner
Former Coordinator: The ethics of digitalisation | NoC
Vincent Hofmann
Former Researcher: AI & Society Lab

Publications

Working paper

Drobotowicz, K., Vidal, V., Ziosi, M., Au, Y., Rawal, K., & Schneider, G. (2021). The playbook on participation and accountability in city challenges. Berkman Klein Center. Publication details

de Castro e Silva, B., Ly, E., Poszler, F., Marvez, G. R., Balasubramaniam, N., & Vogl, T. (2021). Municipal stakeholder engagement strategies for learning analytics and AI in education: participatory design, accountability and oversight mechanisms. Berkman Klein Center. Publication details

Kitikamdhorn, A., Chua, R., Bettay, D., Adhikari, A., Huth, L., & Atabey, A. (2021). Bangkok: An ethical city in 2030. Digital Asia Hub. Publication details

Other publications

Hofmann, V. (2022). Explaining AI – How to explain the unexplainable? Digital society blog. Publication details

Deacon, B., Laufer, M. & Sokolovska, N. (2022). Sharing knowledge: Impact of Covid-19 on digital teaching. Digital society blog. Publication details

Asghari, H., Birner, N., Burchardt, A., Dicks, D., Fassbender, J., Feldhus, N., Hewett, F., Hofmann, V., Kettemann, M. C., Schulz, W., Simon, J., Stolberg-Larsen, J., & Züger, T. (2022). What to explain when explaining is difficult. An interdisciplinary primer on XAI and meaningful information in automated decision-making. HIIG Impact Publication Series. Publication details

Hofmann, V. (2022). Towards an African Narrative on Digital Sovereignty. Digital society blog. Publication details

Gehl Sampath, P., & Tregenna, F. (Eds.) (2022). Digital Sovereignty: African Perspectives, . Publication details

Gehl Sampath, P., & Tregenna, F. (Eds.) (2022). Wikiversity Syllabus: Digital Sovereignty in Africa, . Publication details

Birner, N., Hod, S., Kettemann, M. C., Pirang, A., & Stock, F. (Eds.) (2021). Increasing Fairness in Targeted Advertising. The Risk of Gender Stereotyping by Job Ad Algorithms. HIIG Impact Publication Series. Publication details

Butters, N., Bollmann, H., Hofmann, V., & Kettemann, M. (2021). Digitalisierung definieren: Eine Verteidigung ethischer Prinzipien im digitalen Zeitalter. Digital Society Blog. Publication details

Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (2021). A New Approach to Experiential Learning: Scholars inform the City of Helsinki on ethical AI applications for schools during BKC’s AI Policy Research Clinic. Berkman Klein Center. Publication details

Digital Asia Hub (2021). Fall 2021 Research Clinic on Cities, Digitalization, and Ethics. Digital Asia Hub News. Publication details

Conference contributions and other activities

Organisation of events

Closing Event: Ethics of Digitalisation
with attending Vip: Sandra Cortesi, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University; Malavika Jayaram, Digital Asia Hub. From 07.02.2022 to 07.02.2022. Schloss Bellevue, Berlin, Germany. Co-Organised by: Office of the Federal President of Germany, Network of Centers, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Digital Asia Hub (International) Further information

Hanna-Sophie Bollmann, Vincent Hofmann, Nadine Birner, Matthias C. Kettemann, Wolfgang Schulz

Stakeholder-Dialog – Ethik der Digitalisierung
From 06.10.2021 to 08.10.2021. Humboldt Institute für Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany. Co-Organised by: Berkman Klein Center, Digital Asia Hub (International) Further information

Nicole Butters, Hanna-Sophie Bollmann, Nadine Birner, Christian Grauvogel

Virtual research clinic – Cities and the ethics of digitalisation
From 01.10.2021 to 31.10.2021. Online, The Digital Asia Hub, Hong Kong, HKSAR. Co-Organised by: Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berkman Klein Center (International) Further information

Nadine Birner

Research Clinic: Explainable AI
From 08.09.2021 to 12.09.2021. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (National) Further information

Digitaler Salon: Cookies make you lose control
25.08.2021. Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Deutschland (National) Further information

Judith Faßbender, Natasha Vukajlovic, Christian Grauvogel

Virtual research clinic – Challenges & opportunities of public sector AI policy
From 01.07.2021 to 31.07.2021. Online, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA. Co-Organised by: The Digital Asia Hub, Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (International) Further information

Nadine Birner

Research Sprint – Toward an African Narrative on Digital Sovereignty
From 08.06.2021 to 27.07.2021. Online, South African Research Chair in Industrial Development at the University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa (International) Further information

Nadine Birner, Matthias C. Kettemann

Clinic Closing Event – Increasing Fairness in Targeted Advertising
23.03.2021. Online, Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany (International)

Shlomi Hod, Friederike Stock, Nadine Birner, Matthias C. Kettemann, Alexander Pirang, Wolfgang Schulz

Research Clinic – Increasing fairness in targeted advertising – The risk of gender stereotyping by job ad algorithms
From 01.02.2021 to 14.02.2021. Online, Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Deutschland (International)

Shlomi Hod, Friederike Stock, Nadine Birner, Matthias C. Kettemann, Alexander Pirang, Wolfgang Schulz

The Ethics of Digitalisation – From Principles to Practices

SPRINTS AND CLINICS OF THE PROJECT

AI and Content Moderation – Research Sprint

Results

key data

SIDE EVENTS OF THE PROJECT

Kick-off event at Bellevue Palace

Results

key data

Project Partners

Contact

Nadine Birner

More articles in our dossier

Digital Ethics

Media reception

Working paper

Other publications

Organisation of events

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