Understanding technological transformation by embracing cultural differences

The research project “Academies for Global Innovation and Digital Ethics” (AGIDE) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences primarily seeks to explore the cultural dimensions of digital ethics and global innovation – that is, how technologies are transforming our societies and global structures – by taking off the “Eurocentric glasses”, embracing differences, and going beyond familiar stereotypes or clichés. To this end, the Austrian Academy of Sciences is cooperating with other Academies of Sciences from all over the world.

The digital transformation is changing the way we live, the way our societies and our economies function, and it is shifting global power relations. It has brought about an unprecedented degree of global interconnectedness, and enhanced efforts are being made to formulate transnational ethical guidelines for dealing with emerging digital technologies.

AGIDE seeks to embrace the socio-cultural variety of perspectives from all over the world and to further explore differences and similarities without forcing uniformity or consensus. The primary aim is to explore cultural and other dimensions of digital ethics, beyond familiar stereotypes that perpetuate clichés and what has already been discussed in the literature.

As a research project AGIDE is not primarily aimed at specific applications. However, the insights gained can be fruitful in a variety of contexts, from embedding ethical values in technology throughout the product lifecycle ("ethics by design") to facilitating international efforts at legal harmonization.