Digitalization

Cover WZB Mitteilungen Digitalisierung mit zwei Vögeln

Gunnar Knechtel

180

June 2023

Automation and digitalisation are advancing, and there is no area of life that is not affected by them. The June issue of WZB-Mitteilungen focuses on the digital transformation and its effects - on the economy and the world of work, on democracy and bureaucracy, on families, science and education.

The print in German language issue is available as a PDF here. The online articles on our new focus can be found on this page.

Gesine Born/KI: Midjourney

Not fair at all

The digital platform economy is experiencing rapid growth, but its impact on employees remains a pressing concern. The Fairwork project sought to address this issue and shed light on the situation at nine platforms for languages services. The results are far from encouraging when it comes to basic standards for fair work.

Keystone Schweiz/laif

A solution for whom?

The crisis of social reproduction refers to the fact that many households have less time and energy for housework and care work. Digital platforms seem to provide a solution. But how does the platform model affect the everyday lives of those who relieve others? Isabella Stingl investigates this question in a new study.

fotografixx / E+ / Getty Images

ChatGPT, Cobots & Co

Artificial intelligence and automation are hot topics at the moment. How can these new technologies and applications help people do their jobs? Will jobs be replaced by AI? A new WZB study seeks to answer these questions.

Gesine Born/KI: Midjourney

Digitalization needs communication

Organizations in all industries are faced with the task of programmming industry-specific software or having it programmed. The part of software development in which the concepts for programming are formed, is called software shaping. It hasn’t received much attention in previous research. Johannes Sonnenholzer has taken on the topic.

Rene Zieger/ OSTKREUZ

Smile, you are being watched

Surveillance has long been one of the primary strategies employed by states to prevent or halt undesirable activities of their citizens. But how has state surveillance evolved in the digital age? Mariana Canto investigates the historical origins of surveillance, its impacts, and the utilization of new technologies by law enforcement authorities.

David Ausserhofer

Podcast: Shaping technological change

Do the new tools and programs take away our work? Are we being monitored and losing our self-determination? In this interview, Martin Krzywdzinski explains what will change as a result of automation and AI and how employees, especially through trade unions, can help to shape this process.