Category: podcast-DG-en

Valuable works of art and historical documents are kept in secure locations that the general public can access only under certain conditions — if at all.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.

Further information:

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

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.

Further information:

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

Chat forums, social media, online communities – the Internet offers many addresses and reference points that can be described as “digital spaces”. There you can meet like-minded people, get information, pursue your interests – or even identify and contact specific groups of people in a very targeted way. This is what social work does. Led by pioneers of “digital street work,” it has discovered the Internet as a means of reaching hard-to-reach or vulnerable target groups. And although small, specialized networks in particular value and support social workers as a complement and relief for (often volunteer) content moderators, outreach digital communication is not yet widely established in social work. Specific skills that “digital” social workers need to be credible and trustworthy in online communities are hardly part of their training. Political support and public demand are slow to emerge. However, the interests and business practices of large, commercial platforms are not necessarily compatible with the conditions for serious social work based on professional standards.

Christina Dinar is a social worker and cultural studies graduate. In her practical work and as a researcher and lecturer at the Catholic University of Applied Social Sciences in Berlin, she has established a focus on communities in digital spaces in social work. The expert and pioneer of “digital streetwork” explains in this episode of Digitalgespräch what professional online social work does and under what conditions it succeeds, how far the professionalization of digital social work online is today, and what skills digital streetworkers need. She describes different concepts and approaches of this form of social work and the position of digital streetwork in relation to content moderators and platform operators. With hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Dinar discusses who bears responsibility for socially acceptable, safe digital spaces, the importance of global platforms as infrastructure for social work today – and whether the funding logic for social projects that originated in the analog era applies to the digital world.

Further information:

Link to Christina Dinar’s profile on the website of Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin: https://www.khsb-berlin.de/de/profile-personal/136265

Link to information on the “Digital Streetwork” approach of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation: https://www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/good-gaming-well-played-democracy/digital-streetwork/

The digitalisation of government and administration will continue at a rapid pace – and high demands are being placed on digital solutions to fulfil public tasks. Digital government is not an end in itself, but should make processes more efficient, clearer and more accessible. In addition to a multitude of specific, demand-driven software solutions based on the analogue status quo, strategies are needed to establish digitality as the new default in the long term. This also means developing methods to ensure that regulations, laws and processes are compatible with the needs of the digital society and the requirements of the digital state from the outset. One organisation that will help to tackle this major task is the German government’s DigitalService GmbH, which was established in 2020.

IT manager Stephanie Kaiser is chief product officer at DigitalService, the German government’s central digitisation office. In this episode of Digitalgespräch, the expert in software development and IT projects describes the tasks of this unusual department, how it works and what innovations are created in the process. She explains what it means to make rules or processes ready for the digital age, who is involved and how citizens and civil servants benefit. Together with hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Kaiser discusses how working methods from the private sector can be applied in the public sector, which mediation work is helpful in this process – and how it is possible to provide high-quality digital solutions for the interfaces between the state and citizens on a long-term and large-scale basis.

Further information:

The blog post mentioned in the interview with a practical example of a “Digitalcheck” on electricity tax law: https://digitalservice.bund.de/en/blog/current-example-of-digital-ready-legislation-the-german-electricity-duty-act

The ARTE television channel is a project that aims to promote understanding and cultural exchange between the countries of Europe. The channel, and in particular its media library, is renowned for its carefully curated programme of art, entertainment, information and education. Not only the so-called linear television, i.e. the classic programme broadcast according to a fixed schedule, but also the presentation of content in the digital world is carefully put together by experts to meet the needs of a European audience. ARTE has fans who specifically seek out and appreciate its carefully prepared programming, but just like all public broadcasters, the Franco-German channel faces challenges: the highly dynamic nature of digitality requires clever strategies and a willingness to take different paths to reach target audiences. Technological innovations offer great opportunities – as long as they can be used in line with the public mandate and the broadcaster’s own self-image.

Kemal Görgülü is Chief Technology Officer at the ARTE GEIE headquarters in Strasbourg, where he is responsible for the development and implementation of digital strategies, in particular the use of artificial intelligence. In this episode of Digitalgespräch, the expert in technological innovation in the field of editorial work describes the strategies ARTE is pursuing, the considerations and values that are decisive in this regard, and what it means that the broadcaster arte sees itself as an explicitly European ‘content boutique’. It shows where there is great potential for the use of AI systems – both visible to the audience and behind the scenes – and where they are already being used as a matter of course. Together with hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Görgülü discusses how public broadcasters can respond to new media habits in the interest of the general public, which cooperation partners are available for this task, where the limits lie in terms of what individual broadcasters and media organisations can achieve – and where decision-makers and politicians should also rethink in the face of digital realities.

Further information:

Link to the ARTE website: https://www.arte.tv/en/

Link to the Beyond Platforms Initiative website: https://beyond-platforms.org/