Lab Socio-Technical Systems and Critical Data Studies

The lab “Socio-Technical Systems and Critical Data Studies” explores reciprocal relations between digital technologies and social processes in organizations and communities (with a special focus on education). In the lab, we combine a deep understanding of technological processes with a profound sensitivity for fair and just technology design. The lab specializes in the critical exploration of the interactions and interdependencies between datafication processes, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital media on the one hand and societal processes and practices on the other hand. To achieve this, the lab leverages concepts and methods from computer science (participatory design, co-creation), the social sciences (critical datafication research), and applied research (computational social science and machine learning). The underlying assumption is that digital transformation can only be investigated through a theoretically grounded and empirically substantiated understanding of the respective application contexts.