Conditions of modern technical-scientific culture

Ethical assessments of technology are based on considerations from the philosophy of technology. The latter analyse human-technology relations in concrete application cases, uncover forms of subjectivation and objectivation of typical socio-technical configurations and highlight epistemic aspects that are intertwined with normative questions (e.g. explainable AI). Philosophy of technology also examines the differences between various understandings of technology and helps to reflect theoretically on the ongoing mechanisation of the modern world.

AI is about to permeate all fields of society. Much of the technology contributing to this success is opaque. It is not immediately obvious why it is behaving in a certain way - for various reasons. This opacity can be problematic from an ethical perspective, for example when doctors have to justify decisions they have made using software that they only partially understand.

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One research focus of the department is the (post-) phenomenological analysis of automated and connected driving. How do autonomy and agency change with increasing levels of vehicle automation? How can the interaction between man and machine be ethically evaluated? What ideas of the good life underlie various visions of (fully automated) autonomous driving?

A further research project of the specialist group on the energy history of data centres is in preparation. Firstly, an overview is to be compiled of when and how the energy requirements of data centres have been assessed. Secondly, the epistemological and normative assumptions of the various standards, concepts and data sources used will be explicated. Thirdly, these findings will be discussed in the light of the news EU recommendations in accordance with the "Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres".