|
There is a broad array of expectations of digital development, such as technological and economic progress, immediate access to information, increasingly precise scientific data, entertainment on all levels, and maintaining social contacts worldwide around the clock.
For their part, the so-called “users” don’t have to put much thought into everything going on behind the scenes and that has to remain available to organize the data streams skyrocketing worldwide.
But “data processing” is no longer the exclusive domain of computer scientists and nerds by any means. And the impacts on society are increasingly coming into view. A central question remains, however: What goal is humanity even pursuing with all the possibilities the digital world is developing for an ever-increasing number of people at breakneck speed? Does the idea of a goal even exist? And what sensible approach can we take to the fact we’re not just networked together worldwide – we’re also constant suppliers of data, subject to increasing control?
Natural philosophers, futurists, computer scientists, and psychologists are reflecting on how to provide a framework for digitalization so that it promotes social cohesion, ecological sustainability, and social justice – while remaining future-oriented.
|