Lecture Series: Major developments and challenges of digital Societies

In his presentation, Prof. Jarko Fidrmuc talks about the impact of industrial robots as well as investment in computing equipment and digital technologies on income distribution in West Europe between 2004 and 2017. This is especially important for policy formulations after the pandemic, because current rapid automation efforts can potentially have significant long-term implications for the labor market.

The presentation focuses on the current opportunities, development corridors and challenges of social robotics through the eyes of the United Robotics Group (URG). As one of the largest European service robotics players, URG unites developers and integrators of software and hardware robots. During the session, different lines of development will be presented and translated into sociologically significant highlights.

Central topics include:

- Conversion of programming interfaces to low-code meta layer software

- Frameworks of making different robots communicate with each other

- Transition from hardware robots to avatars and virtual assistants

- Switching from bilateral HRI to human-robot teaming in hybrid groups

Felix Krell, himself an avid follower of twitch culture, presents recent findings from a particular developent in livestreaming history. In 2020's pandemic lockdowns, livestreaming roleplay in games like Rust or Grand Theft Auto went viral. Millions of people watched as their favorite streaming personalities collaborated in open-ended, improvised (game)play that went on for almost a whole year and changed the landscape of livestreaming as a whole.

By analysing this phenomenon through the lens of classical theatre studies works, implications for future understandings of media audiences become apparent.

The lecture deals with the phenomenon that a significant part of communication in social media today is not generated by ordinary citizens, but by (partially) automated accounts, which aim at influencing processes of agenda setting and public opinion formation. After introducing this phenomenon, the lecture considers with the consequences of respective automated activities for the public sphere and public opinion formation in digital societies.

Audience metrics and rankings have gained importance in digital societies and are omnipresent in social media, journalism, and public discourse. This talk sheds light on how usage data trigger specific dynamics of public attention in the hybrid media system and contribute to the rapid amplification of attention across different media. Nontransparent data and narratives driven by vested interests play an important role here, which calls for more critical research and public scholarship.

In this lecture, Nico Wettmann presents insights into the Quantified Self and biohacking community with a focus on sleep. It is shown that the technological exploration and shaping of sleep does not lead to a devaluation and reduction of the passive and inactive time of life, but rather to a valorization of sleep.

Self-trackers use digital media technologies to conduct self-experiments in order to acquire knowledge - always in the search for a good night's sleep.

Avatarial Embodiment in Social VR is more than just digital puppetry. It can be a powerful tool for self-actualization of people with body dysphoria and generally a freeing way to express oneself, but also the grounds for intense feelings of derealization or a new avenue for abusers to harass and exploit. In a possible future where XR tech is widely used, understanding the implications of virtual embodiment therein is paramount.

This presentation will tackle avatarial embodiment on the Social VR plattform VRChat from multiple angles, aiming to show how current users negotiate their hybrid corporeality in everyday life. Felix Krell will give practical examples of virtual raves, drinking nights, cybersex and more.