Category: Digitalization

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Sustainable and/or Digital? Compendium on Digital Sustainability

tl;dr: Compendium of my research on Sustainability and the Digital Transformation

When Megatrends Collide

Sustainability is the great challenge for humanity in the 21st century: how to organize economic, political, and social systems in a way that planetary boundaries and the viability of global as well as local ecosystems can be maintained for all posterity. It is an inherently political (i.e. contested, conflict-laden) as well as social (i.e. global justice and fairness across generations) question. We are facing this from a position of fundamental un-sustainabilities and are in search for the right path ahead.… Read more

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Publication on Digital Sustainability

tl;dr: The digital economy needs Sustainability as a normative reference frame

My recent article has been published (in German) in the Yearbook on “Sustainable Economics”. In it I am reconstructing digitalization as a social phenomenon while applying social practice theory, while at the same time focusing on the material underbelly of digital technologies. My main argument: the digital economy is not a pathway to a more sustainable economy unless Sustainability is set as a clear normative reference frame.… Read more

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Digitalisation and Sustainability

tl;dr: Those who want to talk about digitalisation should also talk about the circular economy and sufficiency

Is the digital economy an enabler for a sustainable society? What role do commons, both digital as well as physical, play when it comes to inclusion, equity and mitigating climate change? How can different actors in society frame digital technologies from the normative perspective of Sustainability? These and other questions have been discussed at a recent ideas conference of the TU Berlin on digitalisation and sustainability – “digitalisation” being a very German-English description for the increased use of digital technologies throughout society and their economic, social, political and ecological implications.… Read more

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Data, Karl Marx and the End of Money

tl;dr: Data will succeed money as the lifeblood of the economy thus making money irrelevant.

What is going to be the lubricant of the Next Economy? The go-to answer most likely is “data”.  My interest here is not so much on the more technical aspects of data gathering, mining, artificial intelligence and what other buzzwords might be up in the air. I am more curious about larger scale transformations in the fabric of the economy, especially when it comes to the role of data and money. … Read more

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Towards the Next Economy

tl;dr: The Next Economy is signified by Digitalization as a social phenomenon, Postgrowth as economic context, and Sustainability as normative reference frame.

Recently I was provided the opportunity to speak about my research at 12min.me in the co-working/social start-ups incubator Wizeman.Space in Stuttgart. The format is intended to give you 12 minutes of concentrated presentation followed by 12 minutes of discussion (YouTube vid of my talk is available, but only in German). Focusing the past years of research so that they could fit into 12 minutes was a challenge, but it proved to be very productive and inspiring.… Read more