Media and Technology

The finalists
Image + Bias

We invited artists, designers, and the general public to submit creative representations on the subject of bias and technology’s growing ability to alter people’s visual perception of reality. An international jury selected the ten best works from over 150 submissions.
 

Podcasts
In the most forthright terms

The fact that Germany is colourful and diverse is only partially reflected by the media landscape. The situation is different on the podcast scene – that is where minorities are expressing themselves about what energises them.

Education
Lessons to learn

What do young people need to know about artificial intelligence (AI) in order to use it responsibly and make informed decisions? Stephanie Hankey, co-founder of the Tactical Tech non-governmental organisation (NGO), talks about her experiences with young digital natives and the need for educational institutions and civil society to join forces to promote digital literacy.

Diversity in the media
“Good intentions are not enough”

Too few journalists with an ethnic minority background or from disadvantaged social groups: how can we manage to reflect social diversity in the members of editorial teams? 

German Series in the USA
Binge Fever!

Television “Made in Germany” is having a golden moment with the rise of international streaming services. In this dossier, we highlight binge-worthy German serials and fill you in on where to watch them in the USA.

AI development
Taking the outside lane

Europe has fallen behind in artificial intelligence (AI) development, but this disadvantage may soon become an advantage.

Ethics and Law
“Let’s decide on our own European standards and stick to them”

Do we need to establish common standards for artificial intelligence? In this interview, Karen Yeung, Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics at the University of Birmingham, explains why the legal regulation of technological developments is crucial – and urgent.

Cultural expression and machine learning
The wolf we feed

Whether it is composing music or painting pictures, artificial intelligence has the technical and creative capacity to make art. Argentinian publisher Octavio Kulesz predicts this could lead to an explosion of creativity and increased market concentration at the same time.

Embracing artificial intelligence to preserve dying languages

As more language preservation initiatives inspired by artificial intelligence emerge, researchers argue that while they cannot fully capture the essence of language, they are a crucial aspect of preserving what is now deemed to be a global linguistic catastrophe.

Digitalism as a cultural technique: From alphanumerics to AI

Artificial intelligence is undoubtedly already influencing our traditional cultural techniques. But have we reached the point where the use of AI itself could be described as a cultural technique? One thing is certain: We have long utilised digital systems in our daily lives despite not having the slightest idea how they work.
 

Artificial Intelligence
The machine that unleashes our creativity

British mathematician Marcus du Sautoy is convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) can be as creative as humans and might even attain a state of consciousness in the future.

Data protection
Digital self-defence

Popular apps often use data in ways their users would not appreciate, but there are alternatives. Digital expert Markus Beckedahl has some tips.

“Net September” Social Technologies Conference
Dance of the Algorithms

In early September, Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good and the Goethe-Institut Moscow held an online conference on the social implications of digitisation: “Net September” dealt with the challenges and possibilities of new technologies. 

Digital Services Act
Taming the data kraken

The content we find on the internet – which search results, videos and social media posts come up first – is increasingly determined by a few giant internet corporations. As such, they influence not only our consumer behaviour, but also how we form our political opinions. The EU’s Digital Services Act is designed to ensure greater transparency.

New Edition of “das goethe”
Digital Colonialism

The new edition of “das goethe” with the theme “Digital Civil Society” was issued in January 2020. On The Latest at Goethe, journalist Ina Holev explains how colonisation continues in the digital space.

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