Responsible Innovation

“Technology shapes society and society shapes technology” (Christine Wächter).

Technical developments are essentially changing the way we live or work, so that the importance of the interface between technology and society is becoming increasingly relevant. The increasing global transfer of technology requires a critical examination of the resulting consequences for people and the environment.

Diversity, i.e., ethnicity, gender/sex, age, disability, and other categories of human difference play a critical role in the design and application of technology. At the same time, technological advances have a profound impact on our understanding, material expression, and discursive understanding of human diversity. In this seminar, we illuminate the negotiation process, discourses, and politics related to technology and diversity. We take a close look at the many meanings of diversity and analyze their interactions with technology. This course highlights the crucial contribution diversity can make to innovation in technology and society and shows that in order to deal with human diversity in an appropriate and enlightened way, it is necessary to move beyond mere symbolic politics in order to responsibly shape technological progress.