Media and Technology

Posthumanism
At the Threshold of a New Era

What ethical, social and political questions arise when automation and artificial intelligence revolutionize the world of work? In the dossier on Posthumanism the Goethe-Institut Canada takes a critical look at these issues.

Frankly … posthuman
How robots manipulate us

Have you read the terms and conditions? No? In our “Frankly … posthuman” column, Liwen Qin reveals how our behaviour adapts to that of a machine.

Granny Trude
Data security: I know where you live

Fear of data theft and excessive data storage is widespread. But how can you guard yourselves against it in everyday life? Granny Trude shows you how to play it safe. 

Frankly ... Posthuman
How technology helps us in times of crisis

As interpersonal human contact has become a health risk, Liwen Qin outlines how advances in digitalization and information technology can help us cope with the global COVID-19 pandemic.

re:publica
Europe’s digital festival

The entire net community looks forward to re:publica Berlin every year – and not just in Germany.  The conference’s curator, Geraldine de Bastion, talks about re:publica’s history, its importance abroad, and how Germans are talking about digital issues.

Movies and books for the blind
How accessible are media in Germany?

Blind people want culture without barriers. But the supply of films and books for them is negligible. This could be easily changed.

The New German Media Makers
“Give everyone a voice”

“Bring more diversity into the media” is the motto of the New German Media Makers. In an interview, their Deputy Chairman, Chadi Bahouth, explains why the perspective of immigrants gets the short end of the stick in media coverage and how the association wants to change this.

The Big Pond
A Transatlantic Listening Series

From pretzels and beer to the Berlin Wall, from motorcycles to recycling, these 50 radio features explore the relationship between Germany and the US on all levels.

Egometer
Your position on copyright regulation

How should copyright law be regulated in line with the times? Use our egometer to pinpoint your position on this question and find out where in the world people think the way you do!

Self-Test
How do you conduct yourself when it comes to your data?

How do you conduct yourself on the net when it comes to your data? More on the cautious side? Or rather insouciant? Or balanced and pragmatic? Here is a self-test in six questions.

English-Language Radio from Berlin
KCRW Berlin

KCRW Berlin is an English-language radio station based in Germany’s capital featuring original Berlin content and nationally syndicated US public radio shows. Tune in for a glimpse of Berlin life and culture, from Berlin.

Podcast series
Psychograms, motives, tension

On German radio a new genre has emerged: the podcast series. They are exciting narratives telling the results of journalistic research in several episodes; they are often about unsolved criminal cases – which sometimes are subsequently re-opened. 

Social Bots
The power of opinion robots

They can spread messages, interact with users, and even write texts. Are programmed user profiles on social networks also able to influence political decision-making?

The “Yolocaust” Project
“I wanted to talk about the selfie culture”

For Yolocaust, Shahak Shapira combined selfies taken at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin with pictures of concentration camps. The project of the Israeli satirist came to an end after the depicted people got in touch with him. But not the discussion it provoked.

An Interview with Bastian Obermayer
“Leaks have an important control function”

Bastian Obermayer, investigative reporter at the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, played a leading role in exposing the revelations of the Panama Papers. He talked to us about journalistic responsibility and the social significance of leaking data.

European Elections
Seven websites and apps promoting digital civic courage

Hate speech and fake news can massively influence public opinion. These apps and initiatives set out to counter that by strengthening political awareness and encouraging positive online discourse. 

Privacy and Digitalization
“Facebook is not your living room”

Social media, smartphones, the Internet of Things – whatever happened to privacy? Or has privacy become an outdated idea? This is a conversation with Jan Philipp Albrecht, a staunch advocate of data protection.

Foreign language learning in the future
Will everything be digital?

How will we be learning foreign languages in 50 or 100 years’ time? What role will be played by digital media in the foreign language lessons of the future? And is it in fact possible to give meaningful answers to these questions today?
 

Artificial Intelligence
Master or Minion?

Will Artificial Intelligence rule humanity at some point? – On the insurmountable distinctions between humans and machines. An essay by Peter Glaser.

Coding da Vinci
The digitalisation of culture

Visitors to museums and archives usually interact with exhibits locked in display cases in darkened rooms. Yet modern technology has given us ways to more directly experience art and cultural artefacts. Coding da Vinci is an open, cultural data hackathon that digitally brings museum pieces to life.  

Media Initiatives
Facts Against Fake News

The German media are caught in a crisis of credibility. In order to regain trust and act against manipulated and false information in the internet, they have launched various initiatives.

Internet Security
Your Toaster’s Double Life

How can we navigate the internet without leaving a trail? Why do we distinguish between black-hat and white-hat hackers? And what exactly are crypto wars? Questions on data privacy and security in the internet often sound complicated. But many of them are answered very simply.

“Flaneur” magazine
The poetry of the street

From Montreal to Moscow: for their English-language print magazine “Flaneur”, three young Berliners travel to major cities around the world where they showcase one particular street – in collaboration with local artists. 

Working conditions in the arts
Fair-trade music downloads

Many artists live in precarious conditions, and few can make a living off their art. Initiatives like fair music providers and fair-trade certificates for music labels show how a more equitable value chain could be created. 

Female Protagonists in Games
From Victim to Tragic Heroine

The gaming industry has not only attracted more and more female customers in recent decades; it has also produced a large number of memorable heroines. Yet gender stereotypes still persist today.

Feminism and media art
On Real Life in Cyberspace

As a new genre, media art promised women artists that they would be able to break free from the art scene’s established gender roles. But they were soon forced to realize that a new direction in art does not automatically bring new social structures with it.

Virtual Reality
VR projects ‘made in Germany’

Ten German virtual reality and 360-degree video projects you should know about.

“These bodies are filled with fear”
Interview with Klaus Theweleit about violence in Germany

In recent weeks, Germany has been disturbed by images of men chasing people they perceived to be refugees through the streets of a German town. We asked Professor Klaus Theweleit, an expert on violence and male fantasies in the context of fascist ideology, for a psychological profile of these men.

Media Theory
What is Information?

What does a squeezed marshmallow have to do with information? How does something new come into the world and what happens to it? Media theorist Andreas Ströhl explores the difference that makes a difference.

Interview with Peter Weibel
Between Near and Far Sensing

Interview with Peter Weibel, Chairman and CEO of the ZKM, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, about Faith in Images; the ordinary and the sublime; and The dream of Universalism.

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