News 2021

Here you can find the published news in 2021. Subscribe to the ITAS news via RSS-Feed.

2021
news_2021_042_Cover_TATup_2New TATuP issue “Designing and experiencing AI systems”

Artificial intelligence and big data are major topics in business, society, and science. TATuP explores ways to strengthen society’s understanding of AI and to shape the technology’s use in a meaningful way.

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news_2021_tab_004_arbeitsberichtHuman genome editing - hopes or hubris?

A new TAB report gives an overview of potential applications of human genome editing, ethical and regulatory aspects are discussed. The corresponding Policy Brief (TAB-Fokus no. 30) is now available in English.

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news_2021_041_ETACEuropean TA Conference: Registration open

From 20 to 23 March 2022, ITAS and its partners in the globalTA network invite you to the fifth European TA Conference “Digital Future(s): TA in and for a Changing World” in Karlsruhe. Participants can register now.

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news_2021_040_JuBotStaying young with robots?

Assistance robotics is seen as a solution for the problems of aging societies. In the JuBot project, ITAS is looking into the possible implications of the use of technology and the ethical, legal, and social aspects that need to be considered.

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news_2021_039_Prisma_Standard_01New standard for “Responsibility by design”

How can we ensure that innovations meet societal needs and find a broad consensus within society? Together with European partners and experts, ITAS has developed guidelines for research and business strategies to innovate responsibly.

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Portrait of the guest researcher Nikita LinVisiting scientist combines research and art

What role can artistic research play in technology assessment? The Chinese curator of media art Nikita Lin is pursuing this question for one year at ITAS as a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

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news_2021_037_2_4zu3Real-world lab team wins social innovation award

Oliver Parodi and his ITAS team have been awarded the Joachim Reutter Prize 2021 for their “District Future – Urban Lab” project. The prize money will be used, among other things, to support visiting researchers from abroad.

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logo_tab_400mal300What can European societies learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?

The European Network of Parliamentary Technology Assessment Institutions (EPTA) will present a report at their annual conference on 9 November 2021.

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Deepfake von PutinDeepfakes: Approaching a complex phenomenon

Media content manipulated by AI provokes new questions regarding the authenticity, credibility, and verifiability of information. Researchers from different disciplines analyze the social implications and options for regulating this technology.

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news_2021_035_Handbuch_Technikethik_2New publication: Handbook on the ethics of technology

Technological progress always requires societal responsibility as well. What are the ways to deal with this responsibility? Armin Grunwald and Rafaela Hillerbrand introduce the principles and applications of ethics of technology in a new handbook.

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news_2021_033_Wahlpflichtfach_TAElective subject “Technology Assessment”

The winter semester 2021/2022 is about to start. For the first time, KIT students will be able to enroll in the elective subject “Technology Assessment (TA)”.

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news_2021_032_Urbane_Wälder_CoronaUrban forests help against Corona stress

Urban and peri-urban forest areas contributed significantly to the well-being of city residents during the pandemic. This is the conclusion drawn by ITAS researchers in a recently published study.

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news_2021_030_MehrDiversitaetimReallabor_1Increasing diversity in Real-world labs

Science and society are shaping the future together. Real-world labs provide the space for, in which sustainability is advanced and researched. ITAS research projects advocate for more diversity among the participants of their Real-world labs.

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news_2021_029_PolitikberatungLanguage and reasoning in scientific policy advice

What and how do researchers write when they provide policy advice? How do they remain scientific, neutral, and independent? A new project examines scientific policy advice from linguistic and epistemological perspectives.

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news_2021_028_Holzbasierte_BioökonomieNew bioeconomy project explores “wood futures”

Wood has a long tradition – and is the world’s most important renewable raw material in terms of quantity. A project group of acatech with the participation of ITAS explores the role wood can play in a bio-based economy in Germany in the future.

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news_2021_027_TATuP_Next_Generation_Sequencing_1TATuP on „Next generation sequencing“

Today, DNA sequencing is part of the standard repertoire of biological and medical research. However, the abundance and quality of the data obtained pose challenges for society and science. These are topics of the new TATuP issue.

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news_2021_tab_003Sustainability assessment of agricultural systems

TAB-Arbeitsbericht No. 188 examines the possibilities of a comparative sustainability assessment of agricultural systems in order to generate more differentiated information on agricultural sustainability.

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logo_tab_400mal300New topic short profiles from Horizon-Scanning

What will the toilet of the future look like? What added value does the digitization of cultural assets offer? Compact answers to current questions and impulses for future research and innovation are provided by the five new thematic short profiles from TAB's Horizon-Scanning.

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Gregor Wolbring, ITAS fellow and future full professor at the University of Calgary (Quelle: SFIS / Arizona State University)ITAS fellow promoted to Professor

Since the mid-2000s, Gregor Wolbring has been involved in TA projects on such topics as neurotechnologies, human enhancement and assistive technology. The permanent ITAS fellow has now been appointed full professor by the University of Calgary.

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news_2021_022_CfA_Lernende_SystemeRetreat on learning systems

What characterizes a trustworthy technology? ITAS invites young researchers from all disciplines to exchange ideas on this question and practice their scientific skills. Abstracts can be submitted until 16 June 2021.

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Let communities leadGlobal initiative for community energy transition

With local investments in clean energy technologies, communities can improve food security, health, human rights and more. The initiative “Let communities lead” by ITAS and ASU aims to empower marginalized communities in planning their energy futures.

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logo_tab_400mal300New projects for 2021/2022

The German Bundestag has approved the further work programme of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag.

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news_2021_020_TA_Handbuch_querNew handbook on technology assessment

Leading TA researchers have presented a comprehensive account of their research field. Their handbook describes the history, theory, and practice of TA as well as its institutional entrenchment – and opens up new perspectives for its further development.

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news_2021_019_technikkontroversThematic evening “Clean and affordable energy - for everyone?”

Environmentally friendly, fair and safe. The power supply of the future must undergo fundamental change - in Germany and worldwide. We will be discussing how this can be achieved and what each individual can contribute on 20 May 2021, at "technik.kontrovers".

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news_2021_018_European_TA_conference_KarlsruheCall for abstracts: European TA conference “Digital Future(s)”

In March 2022, the international TA community will meet in Karlsruhe to discuss the digital transformation and its challenges for policy, society, economy, environment, and research. Abstracts can be submitted until 15 June 2021.

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news_2021_017_Profilregion_Mobilitätssysteme_1Urban mobility in transition

Fewer parking spaces, more quality of life! Residents of Karlsruhe’s Oststadt would agree with this if the conditions fit. This is the conclusion reached by ITAS researchers in a study for the “Profilregion Mobilitätssysteme Karlsruhe”.

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Batteries of the future Batteries of the future: Project on „Circular economy“

How must design processes for new batteries be organized to ensure that all their materials can be reused in a “circular economy”? A new project at ITAS in cooperation with POLIS and CELEST is looking for ways to achieve this ambitious goal.

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news_2021_015_DeepGenPolicy brief: AI, genomics, and medicine

The use of artificial intelligence in medical genomics has developed rapidly in recent years. A policy brief from the “Deepen Genomics” project highlights potentials, challenges, and policy recommendations.

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news_2021_014_TA-Kooperation_CovidTA for a changing world

ITA and ITAS, the two major TA institutions in Austria and Germany, are currently trying to figure out the role of technology assessment in a world that is shaped by COVID-19.

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news_2021_013_TATuP_2021_1_01TATuP “Climate-neutral and intelligent cities in Europe”

Although often called for, urban transformation is a long time coming. The new TATuP issue explores how integrative approaches that combine smart technologies with social innovations could make European cities more sustainable.

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news_2021_012_Erweiterung_InstitutsleitungNew deputy heads for the institute

ITAS – and the tasks for its heads – have grown steadily in the recent past, along with new challenges and fields of activity. In view of this development, Rafaela Hillerbrand and Torsten Fleischer have been appointed as new deputy heads of the institute.

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news_2020_021_Promotionsprojekt_KI-EthikAI competence center for Karlsruhe

Learning systems play an increasingly important role in the fields of work and education. Together with partners in the region, ITAS is involved in the establishment of a regional competence center on the topic, focusing on the human being.

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news_2021_006_3D-Druck3D Printing: Innovations for the post-Corona world?

During the pandemic, 3D printing technologies proved to be very helpful. Experts at a public event on Tuesday, 23 March 2021 will discuss which potentials the technology offers for our society after Corona.

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news_2021_010_KARLAKARLA: Real-world Lab for Sustainable Climate Protection

Many people have long been aware of the importance of climate protection. With the “Karlsruhe Real-world Lab for Sustainable Climate Protection,” ITAS, the city of Karlsruhe, and many other partners will bring the topic even more into everyday life.

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news_2021_009_KurzvideoreiheNew video series “ITAS kompakt”

In the short videos, researchers present their work – comprehensibly, vividly, and to the point. The first part of the series is about future visions of 3D printing technologies and the question of how society can benefit from the technology.

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news_2021_tab_002New Space - new dynamics in space flight

The TAB-Kurzstudie No. 1 provides an overview of current developments and future prospects for German space research and industry, taking particular account of new development and start-up dynamics.

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news_2021_008New research group “Sylvanus”

Rising temperatures, droughts, and pollutants threaten forests worldwide. The ITAS research group Sylvanus is looking for ways to improve their resilience. Its goal is to combine the technical with the societal perspective.

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news_2021_007Armin Grunwald appointed to the German Ethics Council

The head of ITAS will henceforth advise the Federal Government and the German Bundestag as a member of the renowned council of experts. With his work, he wants to contribute to the responsible shaping of scientific and technological progress.

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news_2021_005Societal transformations: Subject of TA?

Energy transition, autonomous driving, and the transformation of agricultural systems change our society. Researchers reflect on the role of TA in analyzing and shaping these far-reaching transformations in the recently published conference proceedings.

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news_2021_004FutureFiction – a creative competition

What if climate protection measures could be systematically implemented and global warming could be stopped? The FutureFiction competition is looking for stories that present a positive image of the future.

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news_2021_003Shaping the energy transition locally

Cities and municipalities play a central role in the energy transition. In the ZuSkE project, ITAS is working with three municipalities to find ways of coupling individual sectors locally in order to save resources and CO2 emissions.

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news_2021_tab_001_quer30 years of TAB - contributions to forward-looking policy-making

TAB-Brief No. 51 explores the questions of how forward-looking the analyses were, what constitutes the special value of the investigations and what perspectives new technologies open up for the work of parliamentary technology assessment.

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news_2021_002_012000 Revisited: Publication on visions of the future

Astrofuturism and the GDR’s visions of the future on the one hand, current visions of technology on the other hand: A new anthology bridges the gap between the science of history and TA and asks how the two disciplines can complement each other.

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New grid structures for the energy transitionNew grid structures for the energy transition

The energy transition in Germany is already on its way. However, there are numerous possibilities to shape the way to carbon neutrality. ITAS wants to assess the sustainability of such future paths in the ENSURE project together with civil society.

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