Digital Humanism

Front matter

Julian Nida-Rumelin Nathalie Weidenfeld

Digital

Humanism

Preface

It seems that there are basically two strategies of digital transformation. The first is market driven and consumer oriented. The prevailing business models are based on marketing. The strategy is accompanied by the idea to make the world a better place offering applications of communication and interaction.

The second strategy is focused on state interest, controlling citizens and stabilizing autocratic power. For each of these strategies, one of the two superpowers is in lead: the USA and China. But possibly there is a third strategy, opposed to the commercial and the state model alike. Some documents and decision of the European community lead in this this direction: human-centered AI. Until now there is no clear-cut idea of such a third, more humane strategy of digital transformation.

In this book, we develop the basic ideas of a different view, that we call “digital humanism.”

Julian has used that term for many years in talks and discussions, leading to controversy but also arousing interest in the public and political sphere. We therefore decided to write a book together in order to expose its basic ideas.

We—that is Julian Nida-Riimelin, a philosopher and former state minister for culture, and Nathalie Weidenfeld, a film theorist and author.

The German version of the book appeared in 2018 and was awarded the Bruno Kreisky prize as the best political book of the year 2018.

In the meantime, the term of “digital humanism” is widely used, especially in Austria, Italy, and Spain. In Austria, the group around Prof Hannes Werthner has called into life the “digital humanism initiative” which brings together renowned international researchers and offers an impressive lecture vi Preface series' as well as important publications.” In Spain, the government supports different organizations to help entrepreneurs understand and support a “human-centered” digital transformation.’ In Italy, Franscesca Bria, the president of the Italian Innovation Fund, speaks of “digital humanism” as an alternative to “digital capitalism.” In Italy, the term “digital humanism” has become quite popular, also due to the fact that this book appeared in Italian in 2019.

The EU has come forward with a vision of a digital transformation which needs to be “serving humans.” In the USA, the term is beginning to gain importance, mostly in the context of how economy can use and might profit from a digital transformation which “centers around human experience.”* Other voices however, such as Tristan Harris, the former Google employee, focus more on the negative effects of an economically oriented digital transformation and promote a “humane technology” based on trust.

In this book, we describe the philosophical and cultural aspects of digital humanism. It can be understood as its groundwork.

Munich, Germany Julian Nida-Riimelin Nathalie Weidenfeld

"https://dighum.ec.tuwien.ac.at/dighum-lectures/ (last accessed on April 29 2022).

3 For more information on the Spanish involvement, see https://espanadigital.gob.es/sites/agendadigital/ files/2022-03/E10M46_Fostering_Digital_Humanism.pdf (last accessed on April 29th 2022).

‘For further information, see the website of the EU https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/ priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/shaping-europe-digital-future_de (last accessed on April 29th 2022).

` https://www.trackmind.com/digital-humanism/

Contents

Introduction Robots as New (Digital) Slaves Digital Simulations of Emotions

The Problem of Autonomy and Determination in the Digital World

The World as the Perfect Machine Universe Digital Optimization, Utilitarianism, and AI Economic Rationality as a Software Program Why Robots Don’t Have Moral Judgment Ethical Non-comparability

Afterword

References

Lay

About the Authors

Julian Nida-Riimelin is a philosopher and well-known public intellectual in Europe. He teaches Philosophy and Political Theory at the University of Munich. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences. He served as state minister for culture and media in the German government.

Presently he is a board member of the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation and vice president of the German Ethics Council. He taught philosophy in the USA (State University of Minnesota, California Institute of Technology) and Italy (Calgiari, Trieste, Torino, Milano). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University Trieste, Italy. Since 2001, he is also Honorary Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Nida-Riimelin publishes inside and outside academia on topics including economics, democracy, education, ethics as well as the digitalization of our society. Ihe German version of this book received the Bruno Kreisky prize as the best political book of the year 2018. Nida-Riimelin’s specific and most original account of practical philosophy that combines pragmatism, rational choice, and morality is presented in A Theory of Practical Reason (Palgrave Macmillan 2023).

Nathalie Weidenfeld was born in France and has lived mostly in Germany and partly in the USA. She is a film theorist and author of fictional and nonfictional books. She received her doctoral degree in American Culture Studies at the University in Berlin and teaches creative writing and film studies. She has three children with her husband Julian and lives with her family in Munich.