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What are the implications of digital technologies for contemporary democracies? What light and shade do we see in digital democracies?
In the midst of current debates about the societal implications of digital technologies stands the fear that they are about to doom democracies as we know them. This view stands in stark contrast to the early days of computers and the internet when digital technologies promised to liberate humans from hard labor, achieve free speech for all, enable better politics and administration, and many more blessings. This event series draws from the rich legacy of political theory to scrutinize digital societies and their ambivalent relationship with democracy. A first series of events explores the glorious tales of democratic theory; the second approaches the tales of democratic disaster and failure. All sessions take a dive into democratic theory and into recent digital technologies and socio-technical trends.

Each lecture will have a keynote, followed by a discussion. First year students will prepare short reflections. The lectures are addressed to faculty, students, and the wider public.

Jeanette Hofmann: Demokratievorstellungen im Lichte des digitalen Wandels: Kritik und Gegenentwürfe

Montag, 18.12. 18.30-20.00 Uhr (in German)

Die aktuellen Debatten über KI und Demokratie unterstellen eine Art Konkurrenzbeziehung, aus der die Demokratie als Verlierer hervorgehen könnte. Ausgehend von der Frage, ob man sich das Verhältnis zwischen Technik und Politik auch anders vorstellen kann, knüpft dieser Vortrag an das Konzept der "political imaginaries" an und plausibilisiert dieses anhand eines historischen Beispiels. Daran schließen sich dann Überlegungen über den möglichen Einfluss der Datenanalytik auf das künftige Demokratieverständnis an.

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TL;DR

What are the implications of digital technologies for contemporary democracies? What light and shade do we see in digital democracies? This event series draws from the rich legacy of political theory to scrutinize digital societies and their ambivalent relationship with democracy.

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