| Titel | Zeit | Ort | Dozent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 08.10.2025 14:30 - 16:30 (Mi) | Quantum/ Parkring 35-39, 85748 Garching/ room 8102.EG.104 | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 22.10.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 05.11.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 12.11.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 03.12.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 10.12.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 17.12.2025 16:00 - 18:05 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
| Digital Humanism (CS) | 07.01.2026 16:00 - 18:00 (Mi) | Online | Klaus Staudacher |
The course Digital Humanism is aimed at doctoral students in the fields of computer science, business informatics, AI and data science. In the first session, the position of Digital Humanism and its core ideas based on the concept of human authorship will be presented in more detail. The second session discusses the philosophical and ethical foundations of Digital Humanism, taking a stand against both the position that humans are just complex machines and the view that complex AI in the sense of “Strong AI” theory has intentional states (propositional attitudes, such as beliefs, desires, intentions, expectations, hopes). This will be followed by two ethics sessions. The first ethics session deals with the foundations, possibilities and prerequisites of ethical reasoning and knowledge. In the second one, the main representatives of ethical theories and their relevance in the context of Digital Humanism will be presented. The fifth session is dedicated to the question of how ethical principles and considerations can be taken into account during the development of software. The Session 6 deals with the connection between the concepts of responsibility, reason and freedom and explains why today's AI does not have the degree of autonomy required for the attribution of responsibility. In the final section, the specific ethical requirements arising from Digital Humanism are discussed using a number of selected examples from the field of computer science.
· Familiarity with the position of Digital Humanism and its prerequisites and implications
· Familiarity with the most important ethical theories and the ability to apply these to ethical issues of digital transformation.
· Familiarity with the main philosophical objections to the concepts of Strong and Weak AI
For code developers and designers in particular, it is essential to understand that even complex AI systems will not have the degree of reason and freedom required to attribute responsibility in the foreseeable future, and that the responsibility for the use of such systems therefore lies with humans, even in the event of damage. It is decisions made during programming and application that determine the positive or negative consequences that can result from the use of this technology. The course teaches what the concept of responsibility actually means, how the increasingly impressive performance of AI should be classified and evaluated in comparison to human capabilities, and what kind of tasks should and should not be assigned to AI from an ethical perspective. A separate session is dedicated to the question of how ethical principles and considerations can be taken into account during the development of software.
In each session, the material is presented by the lecturer. There is always enough time for questions from the participants both during and after the presentation. The lecturer also prepares questions, which serve as a learning and understanding aid.
The aim of each session is a broad discussion of the topics covered.
All phases of the doctorate
This course is intended as a subject-specific course only for doctoral candidates of CS, CE and EE. Other doctoral candidates of the CIT can later enter it as a transferable skills course
You need to take part in at least 80% of the course to have it approved for your qualification program
none necessary
none necessary
"The lecturer was very competent, friendly, and eager for interactive discussions, which I appreciate!"
"The interdisciplinary perspective on ethics in computer science and the small number of participants resulted in a very comforting environment"
"(I liked) discussions and open-ended exploration of the topic"
Klaus Staudacher is a researcher in the field of Digital Humanism at the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt). The graduate philosopher (MA in Philosophy, French and International Law) previously worked as a research assistant at the chair of Philosophy and Political Theory (Prof. J. Nida-Rümelin), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Mu-nich, along with other chairs of practical philo-sophy. His main research interests include the philosophical foundations of Digital Humanism and the ethical and political consequences to be drawn from this position, as well as more generally ethical questions related to the digital transformation, such as the question of the attribution of responsibility in the use of AI systems. He is also a lecturer in ethics, AI ethics and Digital Humanism at several universities.
Since May 1, Klaus Staudacher has been working at bidt as part of THE EUROPEAN DIGITAL HUMANISM INITIATIVE (EUDHIT) the EU-Project: „HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-03-03 - Digital Huma-nism - Putting people at the centre of the digital transformation”.