On 29 May, the DIZH Midterm Conference took place at the Museum für Gestaltung to review the activities carried out so far within the Innovation program and to foster dialogue within the growing network. Since the program began, 15 calls for proposals have been issued and 140 projects have received funding. The Innovation panel, comprising four representatives from each partner university, invited the reviewer community and funded project teams to a session on ‘Steering Uncertainty – Promises and Risks of Digital Development’.
Following an address by Hanja Hansen (Chair of the Innovation panel) and a musical performance by Seçil Metin, Nadine Bienefeldt delivered a keynote speech on human agency in the age of AI. Who bears responsibility in a human-AI system, and how does this shift over time? She emphasised that AI is most useful in high-risk contexts when it deliberately maintains uncertainty, thereby allowing humans to remain capable agents within the system.
At the Innovation Fair, project teams presented their work from DIZH projects, ranging from inclusive communication (IT-Commit) and cultural education (Partners in a Trading Zone) to autonomous navigation (LINA) and design thinking in healthcare (Digital Health Design Living Lab), as well as artistic explorations of ecological vulnerability (Augmented Ecospheres) and the programming of robotic behaviours (YuRo). A quiz and informal discussions over drinks and snacks rounded off the evening.
A big thank you to the organising committee, the exhibiting project teams, the PHZH Centre for Digital Learning for their technical support, and all participants, whether in person or via livestream.
The first part is available as a video.
