Conference Session Report

Date & Time:
6 May 2025, 10:15–11:45

Location:
Room Nikolai, STS Conference 2025, Graz

Chairs:
Erich Prem (Association of Digital Humanism),
Katja Mayer (University of Vienna)

Session Overview

This interdisciplinary session explored the conceptual future and practical direction of Digital Humanism in light of critical posthumanist, feminist, and STS perspectives. The panel brought together scholars to examine tensions between universalist humanist ideals and the need for situated, pluralist approaches to digital ethics and governance in the digital transformation.

Key Contributions

Erich Prem argued for Digital Humanism as a pragmatic ethical-political framework that resists the dehumanizing tendencies of contemporary information technologies. He cautioned against misapplying abstract posthumanist critiques and emphasized the movement’s societal focus and democratic aims. His intervention called for philosophical responsibility and stressed that digital humanism must not be dismissed due to historical critiques of humanism but rather re-appropriated for contemporary political agency.

Katja Mayer on the other hand explicitly called for a critical reorientation of Digital Humanism through the lens of Science and Technology Studies (STS). She highlighted how important it is to connect these thought-schools to counter universalist concepts such as “the human”, and thus “autonomy” and “dignity” risk reproducing exclusion if not grounded in relational and situated ethics. Her call was for a “resignification” of digital humanism as a practice attentive to power, embodiment, and epistemic diversity.

Maria Zanzotto focused on the trust paradox in generative AI, arguing that probabilistic systems like LLMs undermine traditional models of epistemic trust. Maria advocated for critical digital literacy and reflexive user engagement, aligning this approach with Digital Humanist values, bridging traditions from French and German literature. Her argument underscored the urgency of developing new epistemological frameworks for trust, moving beyond reliability toward contextual understanding.

Philip Birkner critiqued the limits of regulatory approaches and stressed the need for systemic alternatives to “techno-feudalism.” He argued for treating core digital infrastructures as public goods and called for institutional innovation rooted in STS insights and public value frameworks. His contribution emphasized the necessity of reimagining state roles and building infrastructures for democratic digital sovereignty beyond market logic, but based on better understanding of the current extraction of wealth and outsourcing of social and environmental impacts.

Pia-Zoe Hahne and Alexander Schmoelz traced the environmental implications of AI back to the Enlightenment-era, which has partially overwritten the emancipatory project of humanism. They proposed an ethics of care and relationality as an entry point for a more ecologically attuned Digital Humanism. Their analysis invited a philosophical deepening of the rationalisation of nature in the enlightenment phase and the humanist protections of nature that does not fall into anti-humanism, which would endanger human well-being. We propose a Digital humanism by confronting the difference between humanist and enlightenment ideas of nature and drawing on the history of ideas for a renewed engagement with nature within the realm of Digital Humanism.

Discussion Highlights

Participants debated how to position Digital Humanism as both a movement and a boundary object that enables collaboration across academic, civic, and policy spheres.

There was strong support for better connecting the worlds of computer science and social science and not abandoning the commitment to shaping technology responsibly.

A recurring theme was the need to broaden the epistemic foundations of Digital Humanism and to resist epistemic hegemony, particularly by acknowledging contributions from feminist, decolonial, humanist and STS traditions.

Conclusion

The session underscored that the future of Digital Humanism depends on its ability to evolve into a more reflexive, inclusive, and action-oriented framework. It must balance normative clarity with contextual sensitivity, and universal aspirations with situated practices—transforming from a rhetorical project into a lived, institutionalized ethics of the digital age. It should better recognize where it is already happening and engage with its communities of practice.

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Session Report: Get Together – Exploring Digital Humanism

Date & Time:
6 May 2025, 19:00

Location:
esc medien kunst labor, Graz

On the evening of May 6, around 40 people came together at esc medien kunst labor in Graz for an open conversation on Digital Humanism. The event was initiated by Katja Mayer and hosted in cooperation with Reni Hofmüller and the esc team, aiming to create an accessible and interdisciplinary space for reflection and debate alongside the STS Conference.

The evening began with a welcome and introduction by Reni Hofmüller, who presented the mission and activities of esc medien kunst labor(see esc.mur.at)—a long-standing hub for critical media art, feminist technology politics, and experimental sound-based practices. This was followed by Erich Prem, who offered a concise introduction to the ideas and ambitions behind the Digital Humanism movement.

The main part of the evening unfolded in a fishbowl discussion, moderated by Katja Mayer, who invited four speakers to open the conversation with their diverse personal perspectives on Digital Humanism and digital life.

• Mónica Cano Abadía, feminist philosopher and ethicist, brought in perspectives from biomedical ethics, gender integration in research, and the ethical implications of AI in the life sciences.
  
  
• Alisa Kobzar, composer and multimedia artist, shared insights from her practice of co-creating with algorithms, questioning authorship, agency, and perception in the creative process.
  
  
• Jonas Pirerfellner, social worker and gender-reflective practitioner, highlighted the importance of critical pedagogy, intersectional awareness, and care work in digital and analog worlds—especially in working with boys* and men* on equality, violence prevention, and sexuality.
  
  
• Reni Hofmüller, herself an artist, activist, and infrastructure builder, contributed perspectives on collective digital practices, community-run networks, and feminist hacker cultures.
  
  

What followed was an open and dynamic discussion lasting over 90 minutes, with strong engagement from participants and many valuable contributions from the audience. Topics ranged from posthumanist theory to lived feminist tech politics, from algorithmic agency to local infrastructures of care and resistance.

The discussion could easily have continued much longer, as the participants exchanged ideas with notable enthusiasm and mutual curiosity. The evening confirmed a shared desire for ongoing dialogue, and both Erich Prem and Katja Mayer extended an open invitation to further engage with Digital Humanism—not as a finished doctrine, but as a living, evolving space for interdisciplinary cooperation and critique.