Weizenbaum Publikationen

Dauerhafte URI für den Bereich

https://www.weizenbaum-library.de/handle/id/1

Listen

Gerade angezeigt 1 - 20 von 217

A Digital Euro for the EU: A Comment on Potential Impacts
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Florian, Martin; Pernice, Ingolf G.A.
Access and benefit-sharing on digital sequence information: Policy paper in view of the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December 2022
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Klünker, Irma
Agile Methods on the Shop Floor: Towards a "Tesla Production System"?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2022) Daum, Timo
This discussion paper investigates two questions: To what extend can Tesla be regarded as a digital firm, and do we - as a result - see elements of a distinct "Tesla production system"? While the EV-startup is widely approached as a competing automaker focusing on the electric drive train, which it certainly is, this paper argues that it can only fully be understood as a digital firm - a digital car company with a digital product embedded in a digital ecosystem. Its roots in Silicon Valley, its software-first approach, and its strategic exploitation of user activity data point into this direction. In the second part, this paper explores to what extent Tesla's rootedness in software and its Silicon-Valley ancestry gave reason to introduce methods borrowed from software development on the shop floor. To a certain degree, concepts from agile software development found their way to the very assembly-line at Tesla. Although it might be exaggerated to speak of a distinct "Tesla Production system", indications for a considerable and possibly enduring alteration of Lean Production paradigm can be determined.
AI and Inequality in Hiring and Recruiting: A Field Scan
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2023) Dinika, Adio-Adet; Sloane, Mona
This paper provides a field scan of scholarly work on AI and hiring. It addresses the issue that there still is no comprehensive understanding of how technical, social science, and managerial scholarships around AI bias, recruiting, and inequality in the labor market intersect, particularly vis-à-vis the STEM field. It reports on a semi-systematic literature review and identifies three overlapping meta themes: productivity, gender, and AI bias. It critically discusses these themes and makes recommendations for future work
AI Literacy for the Common Good
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-07-16) Ullrich, Stefan; Messerschmidt, Reinhard
Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not provide solutions to pressing social questions, such as those pertaining to a peaceful, sustainable, and socially acceptable world. However, when employed in a purposeful and critically reflective manner, it can assist in formulating more effective inquiries that can enable a better understanding of the terms “AI” and “common good.” Through implementation in response to sustainability issues and given its potential as an inclusive technology, AI could be a powerful and useful tool for the common good. Despite the possibility of useful machine learning applications in terms of a positive cost-benefit calculation for its life cycle energy and resources, the majority of AI is far too energy-hungry for model training and to scale inferences. Despite the considerable variation observed in terms of certain aspects, it is evident that AI is currently neither sustainable in itself nor primarily used for sustainability purposes to address the grand challenges of global society in a world characterized by rapid acceleration. This demands a critical understanding of how AI systems work to enable society to decide upon the areas in which we should, can, or even definitely must not use AI. Based on the UNESCO Framework for AI Competency and the Dagstuhl Declaration of the German Informatics Society, we advocate for a type of critical AI literacy that can be best taught through practical use, that is, “learning by making.” This approach leads to a concise overview of existing options that facilitate a more reflective approach to using and understanding AI, including its potential and limitations. We conclude with a practical example.
Akzeptanz des Einsatzes von Wearables im Betrieb durch Betriebsräte und Beschäftigte
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-04-26) Krzywdzinski, Martin; Pfeiffer, Sabine; Ferdinand, Jonas; Yosefov, Or
Wearables (z.B. Datenbrillen und Smartwatches) sind ein besonders sichtbares, aber auch umstrittenes Element von Industrie-4.0-Anwendungen. Sie versprechen eine Verbesserung der Arbeitsqualität durch Unterstützung von Beschäftigten, bergen zugleich aber auch Gefahren der Rationalisierung und vor allem Überwachung von Arbeitsprozessen. In dieser Studie wird untersucht, unter welchen Bedingungen Betriebsräte und Beschäftigte den Einsatz von Wearables im Betrieb akzeptieren. Konzeptionell baut die Analyse auf Forschung über die Rolle von Betriebsräten in Digitalisierungsprozessen sowie dem Technology Acceptance Model auf. Empirisch fußt die Analyse auf 16 qualitativen Fallstudien sowie einer Befragung von 1.046 Erwerbstätigen. Die Studie zeigt Unsicherheiten beim Umgang mit der Wearables-Technologie, aber auch insgesamt erfolgreiche Einflussnahme der Betriebsräte. Ein interessanter Kontrast zeigt sich im Hinblick auf die Wahrnehmung der Betriebsräte und der Beschäftigten. Während einige Betriebsräte die geringe Mobilisierungsfähigkeit von Beschäftigten für Datenschutzfragen beklagen, bewerten die befragten Beschäftigten den Datenschutz als Bedingung für die Akzeptanz von Wearables deutlich höher als den Nutzen für die Arbeit. Potentielle Erklärungen sind das „Privacy Paradox“, aber auch eine Unterschätzung der Potentiale der Datenschutzthematik seitens der Betriebsräte. Wearables (e.g., data glasses and smartwatches) are a particularly visible but also controversial element of Industry 4.0 applications. They promise to improve the quality of work by supporting employees, but at the same time also harbor dangers of rationalization and, above all, surveillance of work processes. This study examines the conditions under which works councils and employees accept the use of wearables in the workplace. Conceptually, the analysis builds on research on the role of works councils in digitalization processes and the Technology Acceptance Model. Empirically, the analysis is based on 16 qualitative case studies and a survey of 1,046 employees. The study shows uncertainties in dealing with wearables technology, but also overall successful influence of works councils. An interesting contrast emerges with regard to the perceptions of works councils and employees. While some works councils complain about the difficulties to mobilize employees around data protection issues, the employees surveyed rate data protection as a condition for accepting wearables significantly higher than the benefits for work. Potential explanations are the “privacy paradox”, but also an underestimation of the potential of the data protection issue on the part of the works councils.
Algorithmic Governmentality, Digital Sovereignty, and Agency Affordances: Extending the Possible Fields of Action
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2023) Pop Stefanija, Ana; Pierson, Jo
In today’s socio-technical constellations, our daily online and offline lives are increasingly governed by what can be termed algorithmic governmentality. Understood as the governing of the social based on the algorithmic processing of big data, algorithmic governmentality significantly limits human agency and individuals’ abilities to control data inputs and algorithmic outputs. An antidote and a solution to governance of this kind require assembling conditions for enabling digital sovereignty. Seen as a counter-conduct to governmentality, sovereignty concerns agency, control, autonomy, authority, self-reflection, and self-determination. Foregrounded on empirical research that relates specifically to platform algorithms, this article discusses the requirements for the digital sovereignty of individuals and the socio-technical conditions that should enable that sovereignty. By introducing and conceptualizing the notion of agency affordances, the article provides several illustrative examples of how this sovereignty can be inscribed through the technical and unfold via the societal.
Algorithmic Management in the Food Delivery Sector – a Contested Terrain?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-10-04) Wotschack, Philip; Hellbach, Leon; Butollo, Florian
Forms of algorithmic management (AM) play an essential role in organizing food-delivery work by deploying artificial intelligence-based systems to coordinate driver routes. Given the risks of precarity and threats posed by AM, which are typically related to (migrant) platform work, the question arises to what extent structures of co-determination can positively shape this type of work and the technologies involved. Based on an in-depth case study within a large food-delivery company, this article is guided by two questions: (1) How do companies use algorithm-based management and performance control, and how do the couriers perceive them? (2) What priorities, strategies, resources, and achievements do works councils and trade unions have with regard to co-determination practices? Our analyses indicate that algorithmic management poses problems of non-transparency and information asymmetry, which in turn call for new forms of and procedures for co-determination. Our study does not find evidence that AM practices aim to individually profile and discipline couriers. The main challenges for the works council and trade unions arise from the couriers’ generally precarious working and employment conditions; data- and AM-related issues do not represent the central area of conflict. However, our study identifies new demands regarding the co-determination of AM and underlines the importance of institutional regulation at the legal and sectoral level.
Algorithmic Management in the Food Delivery Sector – A Contested Terrain? Evidence from a Form-Level Case-Study on Algorithmic Management and Co-Determination
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2023) Wotschack, Philip; Hellbach, Leon; Butollo, Florian; Ziour, Jordi
Forms of algorithmic management (AM) play an essential role in organizing food delivery work by deploying AI-based systems for coordinating driver routes. Given the risks of precarity and threats posed by AM that are typically related to (migrant) platform work, the question arises to what extent structures of co-determination are able to positively shape this type of work and the technologies involved. Based on an intense case-study in a large food delivery company, this paper is guided by three questions: (1) How is algorithm-based management and control used by the company? (2) How is it perceived by the couriers, also in relation to other aspects of their work? (3) What are the works council’s priorities, strategies, and achievements regarding co-determination practices? Contrary to the prevalent perception in the literature on the subject of AM, our analysis shows that human agency is still pivotal when algorithm-based systems are used to manage work processes. While data- and AM-related issues do not represent a central area of conflict, we find that co-determination rights in this domain can translate into a powerful bargaining resource of the works council with regard to the companies’ digital business model. Our study also shows that algorithmic management poses problems of non-transparency and information asymmetry, which calls for new forms and procedures of co-determination.
An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Data Culture and Vocational Training
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Etsiwah, Bennet; Hecht, Stefanie; Hilbig, Romy
In this interdisciplinary paper we discuss the intersection of organizational data culture and vocational education and training (VET). Building on a preliminary definition of data culture and an explorative analysis of data-related value propositions in the German VET market, we analyze how VET providers address organizational challenges in the wake of big data and digitization that affect many of today’s organizations, regardless of their traditional industry. We argue that if organizations want to implement a data culture, their employees have to receive appropriate trainings that convey relevant skills and competencies.
An Introduction to Open Educational Resources and Their Implementation in Higher Education Worldwide
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-07-03) Atenas, Javiera; Ebner, Martin; Ehlers, Ulf-Daniel; Nascimbeni, Fabio; Schön, Sandra
The digitization of (higher) education has exposed copyright infringement issues, as the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials has become more visible. This article explores the importance of open educational resources (OER) in higher education, focusing on their development, how they are understood, and the opportunities they offer. OER are defined as learning materials released under open licenses, allowing no-cost access, reuse, adaptation, and redistribution. The article discusses the OER movement, its milestones, and its integration into educational practice. It also presents arguments for OER: they enable free access to education, improve teaching practice, diminish legal issues, and foster open science. In addition, it highlights criticisms, including resistance from traditional publishers and concerns about marketing influence. The article concludes by examining current OER implementation in higher education and its promise of innovation. While OER are increasingly adopted, proprietary resources still dominate. The article emphasizes the need for educators to use open licenses meaningfully and innovatively and presents research on OER acceptance and usage. The monitoring of OER development in higher education is essential, but approaches may vary across countries.
Artistic Interventions in the ICT Industries: Legitimate Critical Practice or Empty Gestures in the Contemporary Digital Age?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2023) McDermott, Fiona; Šiljak, Harun
Autofictional Documentary, Situated Knowledges, and Collective Memory: On Dear Chaemin (2020)
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2023) Bae, Cyan
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities already marginalized in pre-coronavirus societies, aggravated by socio-political technologies of racialization, sexism, homo- and transphobia. Dear Chaemin (directed by Bae, 2020) is an autofictional documentary series of three video letters sent from The Hague to the director's sister in Seoul amid isolation. The film juxtaposes the Korean and Dutch contexts of state surveillance, entangled with the b/ordering technologies against queer communities in Seoul and Asian communities in Europe. This paper explores autofictional documentary as an audiovisual method to engage with contemporary dynamics of international politics. First, I summarize the arguments made in the three chapters of the film Dear Chaemin. Second, I propose autofictional documentary as an effective cinematic mode that accounts for situated knowledges and critiques collective memories. Finally, I explore how the autofictional mode is further contextualized through the use of unconventional, non-lens-based audiovisual material.
Automation, Digitalization, and Changes in Occupational Structures in the Automobile Industry in Germany, the United States, and Japan. A Brief History from the Early 1990s Until 2018
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2020) Krzywdzinski, Martin
In the current public discussion, it is considered certain that we are living in a time of rapidly advancing automation, which is driven in particular by the use of robots. Accordingly, many academic publications use robot density as the central indicator of automation. The present study challenges this perspective. It examines two central questions: First, what approaches to automation and digitalization have been pursued in the automotive industry in Germany, Japan and the USA? Second, how have employment and its occupational composition in the automotive industry developed in the three countries? The first part of the study focuses on the development of automation and digitalization approaches in the automotive industry from the early 1990s until today. It combines a qualitative analysis of press articles and a quantitative evaluation of the development of the stock of industrial robots from 1993 to 2018 based on the statistics of the International Federation of Robotics. The second part of the study focuses on the change in employment structures using occupational statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (USA), the Federal Employment Agency (Germany) and the Statistics Bureau of Japan. The study questions the perception of an automation-related threat to employment and especially to production employment. At the same time, it discusses developments in Germany, Japan and the USA in comparison and highlights differences in automation and digitalization approaches as well as different paths of change in employment structures.
Between Anarchy and Order: Digital campaigning heuristics in hybrid media environments
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Schäfer, Andreas; Gardner, Beth Gharrity
Big Data: Inequality by Design?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Prietl, Bianca
This paper proposes to tackle the problem of digital inequality by introducing digital technologies of knowledge generation and decision-making to a feminist critique of rationality that is informed by discourse theory and intersectional perspectives on gender and gendered relations of inequality. Therefore, it takes a closer look at the epistemological foundations of Big Data as one prominent representation of digital technologies. While Big Data and Big Data-based results and decisions are generally believed to be objective and neutral, numeral cases of algorithmic discrimination have lately begged to differ. This paper argues that algorithmic discrimination is neither random nor accidental; on the contrary, it is - amongst others - the result of the epistemological foundation of Big Data - namely: data fundamentalism, post-explanatory anticipatory pragmatics, and anti-political solutionism. As a consequence, a critical engagement with the concepts and premises that become materialized in the design of digital technologies is needed, if they are not to silently (re)produce social inequalities.
Can Sustainable Shopping Recommendations in Online Retail Help Reduce Global Warming?
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-04-25) Hoffmann, Marja Lena; Nanevski, Ivana; Gossen, Maike; Bergener, Jens; Flick, Alexander; Santarius, Tilman; Biessmann, Felix
Two dominant and contradictory narratives describe the apparent contribution of information and communication technology (ICT) to climate change. On the one hand, ICT can reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by, for example, supporting energy efficiency or promoting sustainable consumption. On the other hand, the increased energy demands of emerging software components leveraging artificial intelligence or machine learning can be directly and indirectly responsible for GHG emissions. This makes it critical to assess whether ICT mitigates or exacerbates net climate impacts and the contributing factors. The impacts of software have received relatively little attention and require the development of new approaches to conduct such assessments. In particular, the net effect of complex real-world applications is frequently not measured. In this study, we provide a detailed step-by-step assessment to quantify the net global warming potential of an online shopping recommendation system that encourages users to make sustainable consumption decisions. We consider the energy consumed and associated GHG emissions in the development and use of the software and compare these to the potentially avoided GHG emissions associated with more sustainable recommended options. The results demonstrate that the software has the potential to indirectly avoid more emissions than it causes and that changes at different steps of the software can amplify this.
“Can we please stop yelling at each other just because it’s the Internet?” Comparing incivility perceptions of community managers, users, and activists in online comment sections.
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2021) Bormann, Marike; Heinbach, Dominique; Ziegele, Marc
Challenges of Online Participation: Digital Inequality in Party-Internal Processes
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Thuermer, Gefion
Parties adopt online participation methods in the hope of engaging a wider group of participants. However, literature on the digital divide suggests that this is unlikely to happen, as online participa-tion remains dependent on the same factors as offline participation: income, class, education. Based on a mixed methods study of members of the Green Party Germany, this paper discusses the expected and actual effects of online participation tools on the participation of party members. Expectations are that these tools will benefit nearly everyone, but in practice, the goal to engage inactive members is only partially achieved: Younger members and those with lower educational attainments are mo-bilised, but women are not. These effect differ depending on the type of technology. I argue that this is an expression of the prevailing digital divide, which needs to consider not only a socio-demo-graphic divisions, but also the multifaceted effects of different technologies.
ChatGPT and Its Text Genre Competence: An Exploratory Study
(Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-06-24) Brommer, Sarah; Frick, Karina; Bursch, Adriana; Rodrigues Crespo, Marina; Schwerdtfeger, Laura Katrin
Being able to reciprocate and produce different kinds of texts is a key quality and a core professional competence. Therefore, genre competence is fundamental in not only educational and academic contexts but also professional environments. This paper addresses the extent to which text-generating AI tools could support the development of genre competence and how suitable they are as a tool for genre-based writing didactics. To answer this, it is necessary to examine whether AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are competent in terms of text genres. To do this, the research explores whether ChatGPT is capable of producing and revising genre-specific texts or identifying and analyzing genre-specific patterns and whether it produces different outputs in terms of genre. To examine these questions, we have conducted a pilot study that includes several different text types and several areas of application (generating, revising, summarizing, classifying, and analyzing). The paper’s results relate to three aspects of “Education in the Digital World”: a) competencies, b) possible changes to educational and learning processes using AI tools, and c) appropriate tools for education in general.

Listen

Auflistung Weizenbaum Publikationen nach Titel

Treffer pro Seite

Sortieroptionen