TAMING THE MACHINES

Big data, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and other digital technologies have, with little doubt, enhanced our knowledge and improved our well-being. These technologies help to make new scientific discoveries and medical breakthroughs, and they may in the future surpass—or, in some cases, have already surpassed—human performance in mundane and critical tasks from Vacuuming to the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases.

These powerful technologies, however, cannot by themselves guarantee a better future for humanity. It should also be clear that the benefits and risks of these technologies could be unevenly distributed among different races, gender groups, and social class. To maximize the benefits, and to ensure that the benefits and risks are being distributed fairly, it is essential for us to consider how to design, use, and regulate digital technologies. This public lecture series invites internationally renowned scholars to discuss major normative questions related to the design, use, and regulation of information technology for a good society.

programme winter 2019/20

Recommender systems and personalisation algorithms, search engines and chatbots, big data and machine learning: digital technologies play an increasingly prominent role in the creation, collection, organisation, and dissemination of information in our digital world. These technologies have the potential to reshape our traditional practices and concepts of knowledge, to transform processes of learning and knowing. For example, personalised recommender systems have complemented, if not replaced, testimony from friends and expert opinion. Students increasingly depend on search engines for factual knowledge in lieu of rote learning, and scientists rely on big data and machine learning for novel insights.

These powerful technologies, however, also can be—and, indeed, have been—misused and abused: fake news and “alternative facts” are spread online via chatbots and trolls; personalisation may lead to filter bubbles and echo chambers; correlations are mistaken as causation in decision-making powered by data analytics. As a result, information technologies and data practices are challenging our basic understanding of 'knowledge' and related concepts such as truth, trust, reliability. 

If societies want to ensure that these new technologies and practices are conducive to our knowledge, it is essential to examine more closely these novel knowledge practices, their underlying assumptions and implications. This public lecture series invites internationally renowned scholars to discuss major epistemic questions related to information technologies.

programme summer 2019

stream all talks on Universität Hamburg's video platform lecture2go

Powered by algorithms, music and video streaming platforms can offer us a unique personalized entertainment experience. Robots can replace humans to complete tedious and dangerous tasks. Big data analytics has become a powerful tool for scientific research. Yet, the destructive potential of information technologies should not be overlooked: software has been shown to be discriminatory, people were killed in accidents involving self-driving cars, and the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica showed that social media platforms can be exploited to spread fake news and disrupt democracy. It is therefore imperative to critically reflect upon the social, ethical, and political dimensions of information technologies. This public lecture series invites internationally renowned scholars to explore and discuss promises and perils of Information technologies for our society.

programme winter 2018/19

stream talks on Universität Hamburg's video platform lecture2go