Centre Responsible Digitality
Who shares data with whom? Why? How? How not? And what new approaches are there? Over the course of thirteen episodes, we’ve explored these questions, looking at different areas of data and various approaches to data sharing.
In this bonus episode, the team takes a look behind the scenes at the podcast’s production, highlights unanswered questions and draws a (provisional) conclusion.
Valuable works of art and historical documents are kept in secure locations that the general public can access only under certain conditions — if at all. If digital images capture what we consider essential about an object, it is often sufficient to view the copy. As is expected in democratic societies, access to these images should be as unobstructed as possible. Open access is the keyword here. Additionally, digital processing goes beyond mere reproduction, creating entirely new possibilities for access and potentially breaking down barriers to reception. However, digital reality also includes software, hardware, and license agreements, which are subject to historical developments, decay processes, and the power of private, global companies that operate according to their own rules. What does this mean for a contemporary sense of responsibility in the arts and culture sector?
Reinold Schmücker, a professor of philosophy at the University of Münster, is the spokesperson for Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”. In this episode of Digitalgespräch, the expert explains which aspects of access to art and culture are important when developing ethical and legal standards. He demonstrates how digitalisation creates new opportunities and self-evident truths for democratic access, as well as highlighting the new risks and problems that the rules of the digital world give rise to. Hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring discuss with Schmücker how exhibition spaces can maintain their status as physical places for experiencing art and culture, and whether it is still possible to assert the special aesthetic value of the original over its copies, justifying the journey to see it.
Website of the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”: https://www.uni-muenster.de/KFG-Zugang/en/index.html
Digitalgespräch Episode 64 “Simplifying Literature – using AI? Digitality and Cultural Participation” feat. Thomas Kater: https://zevedi.de/en/digitalgespraech-064-thomas-kater-2/
Publication Series Access Points of the Centre for Advanced Study Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change: https://www.uni-muenster.de/KFG-Zugang/en/publikationen/accesspoints/index.html
all episodes of Digitalgespräch
The podcast is in German. At the moment there is no English version or transcript available.
Cultural participation, including in literature, is a human right. Access to cultural assets and works of art, which can be individually enriching and shape our society, should be open to as many people as possible. ‘Access’ means, on the one hand, experiencing the essential aspects of a work through the senses, and, on the other hand, having the opportunity to understand it. However, sophisticated written language is an obstacle for many people when it comes to literature. According to studies, up to 17 million adults in Germany have impaired reading comprehension for various reasons, making it difficult or impossible for them to access literature. Should we intervene by changing literary works themselves, perhaps even using AI? In any case, there is a passionate controversy around radically simplifying literature in terms of vocabulary, grammar, content and meaning. There is a demand on the market for simplified classics. On the other hand, it is not only a question of the dignity of great works of art, but also of whether the simplification of literature actually delivers what it promises. Can a work of art whose complexity has been reduced still be appreciated, or are the texts published as simplified literature simply new works that bear little resemblance to their originals in terms of wit and effect? Enter generative AI: the first publishers and online communities are using large language models to create simplified literary works, bringing the idea of ‘simplification at the touch of a button’ within reach. While some see this as a promising aid, others categorically reject it as cultural sacrilege. Still others believe that generative AI is not at all suitable for this type of task, for both technical reasons and reasons inherent in the nature of literature itself.
Thomas Kater is a literary scholar who studied German language and literature, as well as philosophy and Catholic theology. He is currently conducting research at the University of Münster as a senior fellow in the Centre for Advanced Study “Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change”. In this episode of “Digitalgespräch”, the expert explains which characteristics of literary works pose barriers to reception, how these barriers are being broken down, and the dilemma faced by those who want to enable cultural participation by simplifying works. He introduces the participants and central arguments of the discussion, and explains which aspects of digitality play a role in participation in literature and the literary world, as well as the relevant legal and practical issues. With hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Kater discusses how digitalisation is changing publishing practices, the new stakeholders promoting cultural participation, how writers are positioning themselves, the core questions of literary studies that the debate on simplifying literature raises, and whether using AI to translate into simple language is a viable way of making important literary works accessible to previously excluded audiences in a short period of time – and which alternative approaches besides simplification can enable participation.
Website of the Centre for Advanced Study Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change: https://www.uni-muenster.de/KFG-Zugang/en/index.html
Publication Series Access Points of the Centre for Advanced Study Access to Cultural Goods in Digital Change: https://www.uni-muenster.de/KFG-Zugang/en/publikationen/accesspoints/index.html
all episodes of Digitalgespräch
The podcast is in German. At the moment there is no English version or transcript available.
In the thirteenth episode, we address the topic of trust. Trust has long been a buzzword in German digital policy, which is hardly surprising. After all, new data intermediaries designed to promote data exchange in business, science, and society will only be successful in the long term if people trust them. So what does trust mean in the context of digitalization and data sharing, and how can new data services create new reasons for trust?
To find answers to these questions, we first look at electronic trust services. These are digital “building blocks” that are designed to bring previously analog processes, such as handwritten signatures, into the digital world and thus set new standards for data sharing. Another focus is on data trustees, which we have dealt with repeatedly in the past. As neutral intermediaries, they are intended to balance the interests of data providers and recipients, thereby enabling trustworthy data exchange. If data providers and recipients find that individual services as well as common standards and norms are trustworthy, this may strengthen confidence in digitalization as a whole. Trust is something you don’t take away from each other.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaminski is Professor of Philosophy of Science and Technology at TU Darmstadt and has conducted extensive research on the topic of trust.
Lorène Slous is a consultant for digital identities and trust services at Bitkom.
Christian Brecht is an author for the magazine Behörden Spiegel and deals with the digitization of administration.
Kaminski, Andreas: Hat Vertrauen Gründe oder ist Vertrauen ein Grund? Eine dialektische Tugendtheorie von Vertrauen und Vertrauenswürdigkeit. In: Jens Kertscher und Jan Müller (Hg.): Praxis und ‚zweite Natur‘. Begründungsfiguren normativer Wirklichkeit in der Diskussion. Münster 2017, p. 167–188.
Seidemann, Till: Was heißt Vertrauen im Datentreuhandkontext? (DaTNet-Paper 01). Download: https://datnet.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/DaTNet-Paper-01_Vertrauen_2025-09-18.pdf
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Politicians have high hopes for data sharing, from faster administrative processes to scientific and economic innovations. At the same time, European data policy is navigating a geopolitical landscape that is shaping its direction. In our twelfth podcast episode, we take a closer look at this and ask: What exactly does a European path to digital sovereignty look like? What criteria does it follow?
We address the areas of tension in which politics operates with the goal of digital sovereignty and look at the role data trustees play in European digital policy.
Jan Philipp Albrecht is co-chair of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, has worked as an MEP for the Green Party, and served as a minister in Schleswig-Holstein for many years, dealing with data and digitalisation.
Petra Gehring is a professor of philosophy at TU Darmstadt and scientific director of the Centre Responsible Digitality.
Ronja Kemmer has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2014 and deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag since 2025.
Michael Kolain is Head of Policy at the Centre for Digital Rights and Democracy in Berlin, a lawyer and policy advisor, and has worked in academia and in the German Bundestag as a parliamentary advisor.
Dr Frank Niggemeier was Germany’s health attaché to the EU in Brussels for many years and was then involved in, among other things, the 2021 expert council report on ‘Digitalisierung für Gesundheit’.
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Nothing is easier than sharing data – and it is precisely this ease that makes companies in particular reluctant to share data. This is because the potential benefits of data sharing – optimisation of products and processes, cost savings, new data-driven business models – are offset by the risks: data loss, data theft, data leaks. Do you have to accept the risks in order to realise the potential benefits?
Various data trustee models attempt to provide answers to the question of how secure data sharing can be achieved. Episode 11 of ShareCast focuses on a particularly sophisticated data trustee model: the transaction-based approach. This enables data providers to share data without relinquishing control over it. It is not the raw data that is circulated, but the analysis results.
Dr Egbert Schark is a physicist and founding partner of the consulting firm d-fine.
Prof Dr Steffen Augsberg Professor of Public Law at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen.
Alldridge, Alexander: Teil 4: Transaktionsbasierte Datentreuhand als neuartiges Treuhandmodell. § 13: Technische Konzeption und Umsetzung. In: Johannes Buchheim, Florian Möslein & Sebastian Omlor (Hg.): Datentreuhand und Recht. C.H. BECK: München, 2025. S. 325-340.
Person, Christian: § 3 Gaia-X als informations- und dateninfrastruktureller Rahmen. In: Johannes Buchheim, Florian Möslein & Sebastian Omlor (Hg.): Datentreuhand und Recht. C.H. BECK: München, 2025. S. 35-63.
Buchheim, Johannes & Steffen Augsberg: Von der Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten zur personenbezogenen Datenverarbeitung – Zugleich eine datenschutzrechtliche Erläuterung und Einordnung des Modells der transaktionsbasierten Datentreuhand. In: JuristenZeitung (JZ) 79/9 (2024), S. 365-375.
Buchheim, Johannes, Steffen Augsberg & Petra Gehring: Transaktionsbasierte Datentreuhand. Nutzungsszenarien, Kennzeichen und spezifische Leistungen eines neuen Modells gemeinsamer Datennutzung. In: JuristenZeitung (JZ) 77/23 (2022), S. 1139-1147.
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Data sharing is no longer a marginal issue, but a central pillar for many forms of innovation. Switzerland is well aware of this and has been systematically pursuing the goal of profitable and trustworthy “multiple use of data” since 2024 with the establishment of a “data ecosystem.” In this episode, we are talking to a Swiss data expert to find out how this is being achieved, whether Switzerland’s approach is consistent with or diverges from European regulations, and present a use case from the agricultural sector. We also discuss whether Switzerland’s size offers a strategic advantage for the efficient development of infrastructure, or whether it makes scaling up in global competition more difficult.
André Golliez is a computer scientist and president of the Swiss Data Alliance.
Noémie Zink is the deputy head of the Digitalization and Data Management Division of the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture.
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We encounter data protection modules everywhere. Whether we accept or reject cookies when browsing, sign a consent form at the doctor’s office agreeing to the processing of our data, or agree to the new terms and conditions when updating our smartphone—we are always dealing with data protection consents. On the one hand, data protection sets limits on data sharing. On the other hand, it can also be seen as a pull factor for data sharing.
What data protection regulates, for whom, and for what purpose—we want to take a closer look at this in our ninth ShareCast episode and examine both how data protection interferes with data sharing and where it offers potential.
Prof Dr Anne Lauber-Rönsberg is Professor of Civil Law at TU Dresden.
Prof Dr Steffen Augsberg is Professor of Public Law at Justus Liebig University Giessen.
Dr Sven Hetmank is an employee and lawyer at TU Dresden.
Prof Dr Thomas Wagner is Head of the Reference Center for Rare Diseases at the University Hospital in Frankfurt.
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There is no shortage of reports highlighting Germany’s and Europe’s serious technological dependencies: social networks, cloud services, artificial intelligence – they are lagging in many areas and in danger of being left behind altogether. The lack of digital sovereignty did not arise suddenly, but in times of intensifying geopolitical conflicts, it now appears threatening. Europe is missing economic opportunities and has no influence on the design of the technologies. The technological dependencies also affect data sharing: citizens and companies in Europe are exposed to the risk of critical data being leaked. But what exactly are these dependencies and how do they affect everyday data sharing? What are the prospects for developing greater digital sovereignty?
Dr Martin Kraushaar is a lawyer and chief executive of the Architekten- und Stadtplanerkammer Hesse.
Rat für Informationsinfrastrukturen (2022): Ramin Yahyapour: IT-Riesen und Softwaremonopole: Das Ringen der Hochschulen um digitale Souveränität. Digitalgespräch Folge 55 vom 3. September 2024. https://zevedi.de/digitalgespraech-055-ramin-yahyapour/ (24.11.2025).
Architekturkooperative auf gutem Weg. In: DABregional 10/2024, S. 6. https://www.akh.de/deutsches-architektenblatt (24.11.2025).
Petra Gehring: Datensouveränität versus Digitale Souveränität: Wegweiser aus dem konzeptionellen Durcheinander. In: Steffen Augsberg & Petra Gehring (Hg.): Datensouveränität: Positionen zur Debatte. Frankfurt am Main, New York (Campus) 2022, S. 19-44. https://www.campus.de/e-books/wissenschaft/datensouveraenitaet-17434.html (24.11.2025).
Alexander Roßnagel: Anspruch und Wirklichkeit: Wie steht es um den Datenschutz? Digitalgespräch Folge 9 vom 5. Oktober 2021. https://zevedi.de/digitalgespraech-009-alexander-rossnagel/ (24.11.2025).
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The seventh episode deals with an entire area of modern society: science. We explore the significance of sharing digital data for scientific work and discuss the opportunities and challenges currently being debated in this field. Data sharing is a fundamental prerequisite for science, because in order to verify the validity of theories, models, and measurements, the relevant data must be made available to the scientific community. The digital transformation has given rise to various technologies that enable new forms of data generation, processing, and linking, and scientific methods themselves have also evolved. The concept of open science has become prominent in this context. It embodies something of a dream for humanity: the idea of open, freely circulating knowledge that all people can use to improve their livelihoods or satisfy their thirst for knowledge. In order for science to help shape social development and accompany economic change in an innovative way in a digitalized world, openness is needed, but so are sensible regulations and reliable infrastructures.
Prof. Torsten Schrade is Academy Professor for Digital Humanities at Mainz University of Applied Sciences and heads the “Digital Academy” research department at the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stäcker is Director of the University and State Library in Darmstadt.
Rat für Informationsinfrastrukturen (2022): Datenpolitik, Open Science und Dateninfrastrukturen: Aktuelle Entwicklungen im europäischen Raum, Göttingen. https://rfii.de/?p=7743 [07.10.2025].
Rat für Informationsinfrastrukturen (2025): Leistung in Verantwortung. Zur Zukunft der wissenschaftlichen
Informationsinfrastrukturen in Deutschland, Göttingen. https://rfii.de/?p=12040 [07.10.2025].
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