Ambiguities - The Vulnerable Explorers

Three existential dimensions are being significantly challenged by technological progress: Spatial references, social spaces and world views.

Since the 1950s, space travel has expanded our concept of space and at the same time revealed the beauty of the blue planet. However, it has also made the vulnerability of its atmosphere visible. Digitalization, on the other hand, condenses space and time by enabling us to experience distant events in real time through accelerated communication. All knowledge is immediately available at any time and in any place. Although digital technologies are creating enormous new opportunities, making everyday life easier and improving living conditions, they are also challenging people's traditional self-image.

Where do people stand in this new world? Have we been degraded to a commodity in the wake of big data and find ourselves in unwanted dependencies, as some dystopias suggest? Or are we happily defining ourselves as consumers and innovators? How should (or can) people react to developments that they can no longer control and often no longer understand?

With Academy President Christoph Markschies, Joachim Klose (Konrad Adenauer Foundation), Markus Reichel MdB and Academy member Anita Traninger (Freie Universität Berlin).

The event series is part of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's debate forum “Ansichtssache” and takes place as part of the BBAW 2025|26 annual theme “Resolving Conflicts!”. Further information and registration for the event.

🔊 - DE