Technologies of the information society |
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The information society is increasingly marked by changes in communication technologies and infrastructures. The core issues in this development are the radical innovations in fixed and mobile networks, in IP (internet protocols) and peer-to-peer networks or the convergence of media and telematics towards "mediamatics". The internet is a classic example of a newly forming social communication system that brings comprehensive economic, political and societal effects in its wake. The research focus is concerned with the consequences of these radical innovations and disruptive technologies on public (broadband) infrastructures, on the development and diffusion of applications, changes in market structures and business models, the need for new governance structures and with the effects on data protection and the vulnerability of the information society. Even more deep-going societal consequences can be expected from the combination of miniaturised computer technology, sensorics and robotics, which on the basis of the new communication infrastructures are penetrating ever wider areas of everyday life - and of the human body itself: pervasive computing, ambient intelligence or cyborgs are increasingly metamorphosing from visions into realistic application options. These open up multifarious opportunities for the extension of human abilities and for new services, but also involve new risks. These include the loss of autonomy as a result of self-driven "invisible" technologies with sensory abilities and analytical capacities, possible behavioural changes as a consequence of comprehensive networking, or security problems conditioned by new technological dependencies. The sought-after "invisibility" and "imperceptibility" of these technologies, combined with increasing sensory abilities and analytical capacities, which also target intentions, emotions and thoughts, throw up weighty research questions in the area of basic rights and democratic development. Specific research subjects concern, for example, the effects of complex, autonomous systems on the autonomy and role of people and their consequences for the vulnerability of society, consequences for the private sphere and the societal effects of networked human beings, or the effects of "cyborgs" on the social and economic fabric and on human existence and human identity. Similarly, the framework of this research field includes the analysis of the influence of the use of new media on geographic and social structures and forms of work in science with a focus on new forms of publication and knowledge presentation (key word "cyberscience"). Ongoing projects are concerned with the question of the copyright consequences of the digitalisation of archives and whether and how innovative online journal concepts can be transferred from the natural and social sciences (living reviews).
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