Welcome and Introduction

Juliane Camfield,  Deutsches Haus at NY

Ricarda Opitz, Weizenbaum Institute

Jan Lüdert, German Center for Research and Innovation New York

13.00 - 14.30

Panel 1: Algorithmic platforms and information quality

Topic: This panel approaches the role algorithmic platforms like social media and messenger services have for the spread of verified and unverified information in digital societies.

Speakers:

Felicia Loecherbach, New York University

Jeff Allen, Integrity Institute

15.00 - 16.30

Panel 2: Platforms, Ecosystems, and Our Digital Future – Regulatory Policies for the Digital Economy

Topic: In this session, we explore the complex terrain of policy challenges that arise as we navigate our way towards a digital future. By adopting an economic viewpoint, we delve into the roles of hypergiant corporations, their platforms, and ecosystems within the digital economy. We engage in a comprehensive discussion about their effects on competition and innovation, while considering the pertinent implications for regulatory policy measures and the efforts taken in the US and the EU.

Speakers:

Volker Stocker, Weizenbaum Institute

William H. Lehr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Pinar Yildirim, Wharton School University of Pennsylvania

17.00 - 18.30

Panel 3: Joseph Weizenbaum: Past and Present of Critical Thinking on AI

Topic: In the year that Joseph Weizenbaum would have turned 100, a number of scholars have joined forces to examine his professional life as a scientist and public intellectual, his work, and his intellectual environments. Christian Strippel and Magnus Rust will provide insights into the archival work and present initial findings, loose ends, and open questions of that research. Since then, the development and proliferation of artificial neural network algorithms has multiplied many times, and has become embedded in a wide range of technologies. Hannah Fitsch and Alexandra Keiner will re-examine Weizenbaum's Critique of Instrumental Reason and highlight what kind of decisions can be made by AI and what epistemological premises are embedded in them.

Speakers:

Christian Strippel, Weizenbaum Institute

Magnus Rust, University of Basel

Hannah Fitsch, TU Berlin

Alexandra Keiner, Weizenbaum Institute

10.00 - 11.30

Panel 4: "Certainly no computer can be made to confront genuine human problems in human terms" (J. Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment to Calculation, 1976)
 
Topic: When Joseph Weizenbaum wrote these words, probably his focus was not primarily on human-made ecological problems rather he thought of the impact new technologies have on individuals and societies. In recent years, however, resource consumption and reckless human behavior toward the environment have become equally significant drivers of the societal discourse in the digitalization context. In this panel, we critically reflect on the issue of AI development and usage from both social and environmental perspectives. Also, we intend to devote a forward-looking discussion to sensitization of individuals and societies and formulate competency requirements for empowering a self-determined and sustainable behavior of designers and users. This step indeed is critical to the creation of a mutual and prospering coexistence.

Speakers:

André Ullrich and Gergana Vladova, Weizenbaum Institute

Dave Rejeski, Environmental Law Institute

Caroline Woolard, Open Collective

12.00 - 13.30
 

Panel 5: The labor that fuels AI

Topic: This conversation will explore the crucial role of human workers in the AI industry. We will delve into the labor-intensive tasks involved in producing data, training models, verifying algorithmic outputs, and also shed light on a lesser-known aspect: the need for human workers to impersonate AI systems. 

Speakers:

Milagros Miceli, Weizenbaum Institute

Julian Posada, Yale University

Adriana Alvarado, IBM Research

15.00 - 18.00
 

City tour: Jewish life in New York, with focus on the German-Jewish emigration to the USA in the years 1933-1945