Lab Platform Governance, Media and Technology
The Lab “Platform Governance, Media and Technology” examines the interactions between regulation, discourses and the development of technologies and business models. Digital platforms and new infrastructures, algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) and data are currently fundamentally (re)organising communication, the public sphere and society. At the same time, these media, their technologies and economic structures are themselves (still) in a process of formation that is shaped by governance, regulation and public debate. How should platforms like Facebook and YouTube deal with disinformation campaigns and hate speech? What challenges does the increasing use of automation and AI bring? And how do public debates and perceptions of problems in turn impact back on regulation and technology development?
We explore these questions with a focus on three areas of work:
(1) Platform Governance and Economics;
(2) Institutionalisation of AI – Regulation, Discourses, Technology;
(3) Automation Regulation and Communication.
In several large international third-party funded projects on these topics, funded by the DFG, the EU’s H2020 framework programme, the BMBF, the Volkswagen Foundation and the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BpB), we collaborate with partners in France, UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Italy. In empirical studies, the Lab integrates computational methods and qualitative approaches. We attach great importance to the development of open data infrastructures (Platform Governance Archive), especially in the notoriously non-transparent research field of platform governance.
REMIT Roundtable on the UN Global Digital Compact
On Thursday, April 25, 2024, a public roundtable on the United Nations Global Digital Compact will take place at 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the House of Science in Bremen. The Global Digital Compact is currently being negotiated by the UN member states; a first draft text was published in early April. The roundtable is (…)
19. April 2024
New research article: Imperfect Automation and the Human Fix
Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach and Dr. Paloma Viejo Otero from the “Platform Governance, Media and Technology” Lab at the University of Bremen in collaboration with Leipzig University member Prof. Dr. Christian Pentzold have published a new open access article in the Human-Machine Communication Journal titled: “Smoothing Out Smart Tech’s Rough Edges: Imperfect Automation and the (…)
16. April 2024
“Science Comics” Exhibition opens at Haus der Wissenschaft
ZeMKI member Dr. Dennis Redeker (member of the Platform Governance, Media, and Technology Lab) organizes an exhibition of science comics at the Haus der Wissenschaft in Bremen. The communication of scientific methods and findings to the general public has been breaking new ground for some years now. This now includes media formats that were previously (…)
16. April 2024
ZeMKI Visiting Research Fellows 2024
This year, the ZeMKI welcomes a total of four Visiting Research Fellows as part of its Visiting Researcher Program. From over 85 applications, the steering committee of the Center for Media, Communication and Information Research at the University of Bremen selected five researchers who will work together with two ZeMKI labs in interdisciplinary research for (…)
12. April 2024
Behind the Scenes Online Talk Series (Session 9) with Eugenia Siapera: Civil Society Organisations (CSO) as Platform Governance Actors
Next week, Eugenia Siapera & Elizabeth Farries will talk about “CSOs as Platform Governance Actors” as part of the Online Talk Series “Behind the Scenes – Conversations on Empirical Platform Governance Research. Time and Date: April 16, 2024, 3-4 pm (CET) About the Series This talk is part of the series Behind the Scenes – (…)
10. April 2024
Disinformation and AI-generated Fakes - will the Digital Services Act save the European Elections? Panel Discussion in Brussels with Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach
ZeMKI member Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach travels to the Representation of the State of Lower Saxony to the European Union in Brussels. He is a speaker in a panel discussion on the role of platforms in the 2024 European elections. The event will take place on April 09, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (…)
8. April 2024
“Desinformationen und KI-generierte Fakes – rettet der Digital Services Act die Europawahl?” - Panel discussion in Brussels with lab member Prof. Dr Christian Katzenbach
Lab member Prof. Dr Christian Katzenbach will participate in a panel discussion on the role of platforms in the 2024 European elections in Brussels on 9 April 2024, starting at 6pm. The discussion will be held in German under the titel “Desinformationen und KI-generierte Fakes – rettet der Digital Services Act die Europawahl?” and can be (…)
28. March 2024
ZeMKI-Member Christian Katzenbach now Visiting Professor at LSE
ZeMKI-Member Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach has started his position as visiting professor at the The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). During his stay, until July 2024, Christian is working on topics ranging from AI discourses and regulation, to the role of social media platforms in society. At the department, he is teaching (…)
25. March 2024