Digital Humanism

Robert Misik in conversation with Hannes Werthner

Digital Humanism
The unregulated power of tech giants: A threat to democracy?

Information technology is changing us, our society and our world, from the individual level to geopolitical power games. It also influences how we see and think about the world. Have we become mere appendages of machines? This change has taken place in an extremely short period of time and at a very high speed for the history of mankind. And it is continuing - with artificial intelligence currently being the most prominent example. IT has the potential to help solve the world's crises and make our world a better place, but at the same time it is part of the problem (for some, even the cause).

Hannes Werthner addresses the topic of advancing digitalisation, including artificial intelligence, describes the enormous opportunities that arise from it and also analyses its serious shortcomings. He also describes the history and functioning of digitalisation and artificial intelligence in an accessible way.

His concept of digital humanism sees itself as a response to this situation and - in addition to analysing the interaction between man and machine - aims to shape and regulate digital technologies through active influence so that they are used for the benefit of man and nature.

Modertion: Robert Misik, Author and journalist

Hannes Werthner was a professor of computer science at the Vienna University of Technology, where he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science. Prior to that, he held professorships in Austria and abroad. His research focusses on areas such as decision support systems, e-commerce and recommendation systems. In addition to research and teaching, he has launched several initiatives at TU Wien, such as the Vienna PhD School of Informatics and the i2c / Informatics Innovation Centre. He closely observes how computer science and information technology are changing the world and us. This is his motivation for Digital Humanism, whose Vienna Manifesto he initiated in 2019.

Hannes Werthner:
Digital humanism. On digitalisation and artificial intelligence
Picus Verlag, 2025, ISBN 978-3-7117-2159-4; €24.00