Katja Mayer and Erich Prem are organizing a session at the STS Conference, taking place from May 5–7, 2025, in Graz:
The Future of Digital Humanism: Towards a Critical Post-Post-Humanism?
We are looking for contributions: either short position papers or longer papers.
Deadline for abstracts: January 20, 2025.
Please note that abstracts must be submitted online.
The Future of Digital Humanism: Towards a critical post-post-Humanism?
Erich Prem, Katja Mayer
The Digital Humanism movement advocates for the integration of human-centred values into
technology and digital systems, emphasizing ethical design, transparency, and the protection
of human rights in an increasingly automated world. It calls for a balance between innovation
and the preservation of human dignity in the digital age (Mayer 2020, Nida-Rümelin 2021,
Werthner et al. 2022). Academics, civil society organizations, and policymakers are working
together to debate and create ethical frameworks that ensure technology serves humanity,
promoting values like equity, privacy, and social responsibility. This movement has gained
significant international visibility recently.
Like all humanisms, digital humanism is prone to criticism as expressed by (Adorno &
Horkheimer 1997). Critique concerns humanism’s perceived Eurocentrism and
anthropocentrism, argued to neglect perspectives of non-Western cultures, non-human
actors, and the environment. Critics also argue that humanism was overly optimistic about
human reason and progress, overlooking historical injustices, inequalities, and the potential
harms of technological advancements and that individual autonomy and rationality marginalize
collective social values. Digital humanism has responded with a ‘critical post-humanism’ that
fosters a global perspective, emphasizes diversity, and environmental sustainability (Prem
2024) or even a regenerative view that links regeneration with human dignity and AI (Thun-
Hohenstein 2024).
The session will analyse which aspects of the critique have been properly assessed and what
requires more action and response. It aims to deepen the dialogue around these pressing
questions and invite participants from diverse fields to explore what Digital Humanism may
offer to their own areas of work. How does Digital Humanism resonate with, or challenge, their
own commitments to fostering inclusivity, sustainability, and dignity in the digital realm? What
potential connections or divergences do they see in aligning Digital Humanism with their
personal or professional ideals? We encourage participants to critically reflect on how their
expertise and perspectives might contribute to shaping the future trajectory of Digital
Humanism.
The session will involve short stimulating lightning talks of invited speakers and panel
discussions. It is open to presenters submitting position papers and other discussants.