Weizenbaum Library (Weizenbaum Institute)
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Big Tech Versus the Common Good. Pathologies of the Technology Race for Artificial Intelligence
Full text linkThe technology race for artificial intelligence has produced pathologies that are characterized by the dominance of a handful of powerful players and strong information and power asymmetries. Platform companies act as gatekeepers for digital infrastructures and knowledge. In the race for AI market leadership, their extensive access to data and computing capacities increases the concentration of power among tech corporations and puts smaller players at a disadvantage. Wealth and technological power are concentrated in the hands of a few, while many remain excluded from the opportunities of AI-supported value creation. Global and social disparities are widening. A widespread use of strong AI in professional and private contexts will also be associated with rapidly increasing consumption of energy, water and non-renewable resources unless solutions to conserve resources are consistently taken into account. However, the primary goals of AI development are market dominance and profit maximization: ecological, social and ethical aspects are put on the back burner. This prevents AI from being consistently oriented towards the common good, a goal which is surely necessary for such a far-reaching technological revolution. Digital infrastructures, especially in the field of AI, are characterized by technological dependencies. In geopolitically volatile times, the associated risks are exacerbated, as political actors have the ability to restrict access to essential infrastructures or to attach conditions to them. In addition, language models can be used in a targeted manner to influence public discourse. Language models shape what is visible and sayable, what knowledge is disseminated and how it is evaluated. The specific way in which models do this also reflects the political inclinations of their developers. This creates the potential for manipulation. It is clear that there is a lack of democratic negotiation on the use of generative AI
Weizenbaum Panel’s Literature Digest: December 2024
Full text linkDer Literatur Digest ist eine monatlich erscheinende Zusammenstellung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes zu Themen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Digitalisierung und Politik. Er präsentiert die neuesten Erkenntnisse zu Fragen der politischen Partizipation und guter Bürgerschaft in Zeiten der Digitalisierung.The Literature Digest is a monthly compilation of the current state of research on topics at the nexus of digitalization and politics. It presents the latest findings on issues of political participation and good citizenship in times of digitalization
Chat groups as local civic infrastructure: A case study of “Solidary neighborhood help” Telegram groups during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
Full text linkMessaging groups are emerging as “meso-spaces”—digital environments that enable sustained dialogue and collective action through their distinct affordances. We examine how such spaces facilitate civic self-organization through their hybrid online/offline, public/private, and local/global dynamics and how they function as local civic infrastructure during times of crisis. Using a mixed-methods analytical approach, we examined 47 public Telegram groups from Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified a fundamental tension between political discussion and practical help in these spaces, resolvable through active horizontal participation (including norm negotiation and self-moderation), or strict vertical moderation. Additional challenges included a lack of access to vulnerable groups and limited outreach to local civil society actors, both of which hindered group activity and structural connections within local civic infrastructure. Despite these challenges, our study highlights the potential of local chat groups for self-organization, albeit primarily among privileged urban individuals. We discuss the implications for democratic theory and practice
Comparison of the Draft and Adopted Delegated Act on Data Access. (DSA 40 Data Access Collaboratory)
No full textFirst release of the materials for the comparison between the draft delegated act on data access (DDA) and the adopted delegated act (DA).
Includes:
- – source documents (draft delegated act on data access + appendix [DDA] and the adopted delegated act on data access + appendix [DA])
- – .csv table with aligned text passages from the source documents and their positions (excluding appendix) (changes_DDA_DA.csv)
- – python script to generate the html for visual comparison (compare_DDA_DA.html)
- – the resulting html to be rendered by a browser (compare_DDA_DA.html)
- – The python requirements (requirements.txt)
- – The README.md (README.md)
Comparison is available at: https://dsa40collaboratory.eu/dda-da-comparison
The Art of the (Platform) Deal
Full text linkIn January 2025, the platform company Meta abruptly announced that it would be ending its industry-leading third-party fact-checking (3PFC) program starting with fact checkers in the United States. This decision aligns with recent changes in the US administration and heralds a cultural shift in how big tech platforms approach both content moderation and political relations. Specifically, it marks a move away from policy that emphasizes consensus building towards more explicit political deal-making. This decision also highlights the vulnerabilities faced by fact checkers, whose economic model and democratic initiative largely depend on platform-supported fact checking. This article addresses the critical implications of these developments, considering the history of 3PFC as it relates to US politics, recent changes to digital information ecosystems, and the dynamics of power structures around the politics of information, technology, and truth.The Weizenbaum Institute is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF
Weizenbaum Panel’s Literature Digest: July 2025
Full text linkDer Literatur Digest ist eine monatlich erscheinende Zusammenstellung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes zu Themen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Digitalisierung und Politik. Er präsentiert die neuesten Erkenntnisse zu Fragen der politischen Partizipation und guter Bürgerschaft in Zeiten der Digitalisierung.The Literature Digest is a monthly compilation of the current state of research on topics at the nexus of digitalization and politics. It presents the latest findings on issues of political participation and good citizenship in times of digitalization
Perceptions, hopes, and concerns regarding the possibilities of artificial intelligence in weather warning contexts
Full text linkArtificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in disaster risk reduction, including early warning systems (EWS) for weather hazards. While AI promises faster data processing and improved forecast accuracy, concerns remain about automation bias, reduced human oversight, or accountability, and erosion of professional judgment. Despite rapid technological advances, the perceptions of the weather warning community remain underrepresented in current research. To address this, we conducted an Argumentative Delphi study with experts from the 2024 WMO HIWeather Final Conference. Participants assessed AI's impact on 13 key aspects of weather warnings – including quality, interpretability, accountability, and social bias – and shared hopes and concerns. Overall, participants expressed cautious optimism. AI is expected to improve the goodness of warnings, potentially cascading into broader dimensions of warning efficacy, public trust, and institutional responsibility. However, concerns include over-reliance on AI, erosion of human involvement, and challenges in maintaining a single authoritative voice in warning communication. Rather than viewing AI as replacement for human decision-making, it is seen as decision-support tool that augments professional expertise. Tailored warnings and multilingual communication emerged as promising areas for AI application, though issues of data bias and accessibility remain. Thus, ethical implementation is vital to ensure inclusiveness and alignment global disaster risk reduction goals. Finally, the introduction of AI touches the ‘professional core’ of weather warning as an occupation and prompts experts to define their evolving roles and core competencies in the face of technological advancements. Future research should explore how generative AI may reshape forecasting and the profession itself
Zooming in on Smartphone Habits: Identifying Behavioral Indicators of Perceived Automaticity
Full text linkResearch suggests that a large portion of media use is driven by habit. Yet our ability to measure habitual processes directly remains limited, suggesting that more naturalistic methods are needed. Leveraging a deep mobile event log and experience sampling dataset of German Internet users (N = 889), we probe the situational dynamics of smartphone habits. We investigate how moment-to-moment smartphone behavior corresponds to the perception of automaticity, with implications for the measurement of habitual behavior more generally. Contrary to expectations, duration – rather than frequency – of smartphone behavior emerged as the more consistent predictor of situational habit perception at both within- and between-person levels. However, these links varied by the type of behavior, with sessions and episodes (but not glances) relating to perceived automaticity. Additionally, home screen and gateway app use were not associated with perceived automaticity. Our results generate new insights – and deep questions – into the nature of real-world media habits
Conference, „Digital Communities – Social proximity from a spatial distance“, 18th and 19th July 2024, Kiel University
Full text linkTagungsberich
Beyond Open Access
Full text linkOpen educational resources (OER) are widely recognized for improving access to education and enabling the sharing of knowledge. However, in the context of European university alliances such as Unite!, OER offer additional, often underappreciated benefits that are crucial for cross-border collaboration and sustainable development in higher education. This paper explores three key aspects of OER that are particularly relevant to European alliances. First, OER enable the legally secure use of educational resources across national borders, addressing uncertainties about copyright laws, particularly for translations and adaptations. This ensures compliance with different legal frameworks while fostering collaboration. Second, OER support sustainability by ensuring that investments in educational materials are not limited by restrictive usage rights. This is especially critical in alliances where shared resources are central to fostering long-term cooperation and aligning with sustainability goals, a priority for Unite!. Finally, OER contribute to digital sovereignty by empowering institutions and educators to create, adapt, and share resources without relying on proprietary platforms or licenses. This coincides with European alliances’ broader strategic objective of promoting autonomy and resilience in their digital ecosystems. By highlighting these often-overlooked benefits of OER, the present research aims to broaden the perspective on their strategic importance in fostering collaboration, sustainability, and sovereignty within European university alliances.The Weizenbaum Institute is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and the State of Berli