Online Lecture: Megatrend Digitalisierung

Information from the organisers

Since the 1990s, digitalisation has been regarded as one of the key drivers of social and political change. However, expectations surrounding it have changed fundamentally: the early euphoria about the internet and new opportunities for networking was followed by debates about surveillance, disinformation and manipulation on social media – and today, the question of how artificial intelligence is transforming public discourse, political decision-making and the governance of society.

Professor Thorsten Thiel (University of Erfurt)’s lecture therefore does not view digitalisation as a single, uniform force, but instead examines its various technologies, actors and effects. The focus is on the interactions between technological and social change:

• How are digital platforms and AI transforming the democratic public sphere and political participation?
• What dependencies are emerging in relation to large technology conglomerates?
• And above all: where do opportunities for political and societal shaping lie?