📢 WJDS Special Issue: "Well-Being in the Digital World" is out now.

Five interdisciplinary papers explore how digital technologies affect user well-being, covering dark patterns, online mental health support, eudaimonic virtues, technostress, and digital disconnection. Open access to all papers here:

➡️ https://ojs.weizenbaum-institut.de/index.php/wjds/issue/view/5_3

via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society #wjds #openaccess
#wellbeing #MentalHealth #HumanTechInteraction #research #socialscience #psychology #computerscience

💳 Pay cashless, but do you know who accesses your payment data?

Marek Jessen maps Europe’s payment chain, showing privacy risks, data monetization, and law enforcement tensions. Alternatives like Wero & the digital euro could increase transparency and reduce risks.

🔗 Full paper: https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.4.4

via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society #WJDS #OpenAccess #DigitalPayments #Privacy #FinTech #DataGovernance #DigitalEuro #law #computerscience #research #digitalization
@zevedi

Can digital signatures stop misinformation?

A new #WJDS paper by @xot argues they can’t: Digital authenticity alone doesn’t guarantee truth, there are major practical barriers, and potential negative side effects.

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.34669/WI.WJDS/5.4.3

#Misinformation #DigitalTrust #Research #HCI #DataEthics #computerscience #socialscience #openaccess

How can OER strengthen European university alliances?

A new paper, "Beyond Open Access" by @sandra_schoen & Martin Ebner highlights how open resources provide legal clarity across borders, support sustainable reuse, and enhance digital sovereignty—key elements for collaborations like Unite!.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.4.2

#OpenAccess via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society #WJDS

#OER #HigherEducation #Copyright #OpenEducation #DigitalSovereignty #Sustainability #Research

🚀 How is Generative AI reshaping knowledge work?
A new #WJDS paper explores its impact in IT programming, science, and coaching. Interviews + survey show AI augments human expertise but also raises risks like “good-enough” automation & hollowed-out professions.

📖 Read more: https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.4.1

#OpenAccess via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society
#GenerativeAI #STS #SociologyOfWork #DigitalWork #AIResearch #research #Knowledge #FutureOfWork #TechPolicy #socialsciences #sociology

New #WJDS paper: Julian M Jörs & Ernesto W De Luca introduce the Eudaimonic Interaction Inventory (EII), a new tool to measure how technology supports deeper well-being.

Validated across three studies, this 12-item scale captures four core aspects of eudaimonic well-being, helping advance research by quantifying meaningful, flourishing-oriented tech interactions.

🔗 https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.3.4

#Eudaimonia #EudaimonicWellBeing #UXResearch #DigitalWellBeing #TechForGood #Research #OpenAccess

New #WJDS paper by Jun Ho Jeong & Hyung Je Jo finds that in Korean manufacturing, AI adoption leads to job and wage growth, while robotics often reduces both. Korea’s focus on cutting labor costs causes “so-so automation” with limited productivity gains.

📖 https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.2.5

#AI #Robotics #Automation #Korea #FutureOfWork #labor #work #research #sociology #economics #socialscience

🚨 How has automation in the auto industry evolved—and how does it affect productivity and labor? A new #WJDS paper by Ulrich Jürgens @WZB_Berlin compares Ford, Toyota & VW.

It shows that outcomes depend not just on #technology but also on outsourcing & customization:

"Organizational and institutional dynamics remain key to how technological change unfolds in practice."

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.2.4

#research #socialscience #economy #sociology #labor #automation #work #openaccess

How can we ensure democratic oversight of intelligence agencies – especially when it comes to hacking operations?

In his new #wjds paper, André Ramiro compares the legal and institutional frameworks in Germany and Brazil to examine how democratic societies can regulate intelligence services that operate under high secrecy and evolving surveillance practices.

#CyberSecurity #Democracy #Surveillance #Hacking #Transparency #PublicPolicy #ComparativeLaw #civilrights #research #law @claraigk

New #wjds paper published:

Author Xin Ye explores how online platforms use manipulative, attention-grabbing tactics that undermine user autonomy. Current #EU laws fall short - this study offers 3 key policy fixes.

Read more: https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.3.2

The paper is part of a special issue on "Well-being in the Digital World"

@dougaparry #DarkPatterns #AddictiveDesign #TechEthics #DigitalRights #PlatformRegulation #GDPR #DSA #research #law #socialscience #computerscience

📄 What if we viewed digital economies not just as systems, but as labor-atories - sites of active class struggle and experimentation? In his new #wjds paper, Rafael Grohmann (@uoft) explores how digital labor in Latin America reflects this dynamic.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.1.6

#research #socialscience #work #DigitalLabor #DigitalEconomies #PlatformWork #LatinAmerica #GlobalSouth #DigitalSovereignty #AI #DataColonialism #TechGovernance #WorkerOrganizing
@DAIR @towardsfairwork

Which structural features are important in shaping countries' vulnerability & resistance to disinformation amid democratic decline?

A #wjds paper by Antonia Peißker, Mike Cowburn, @ulrikeklinger highlights factors to consider when assessing #disinformation resilience. The paper examines countries that are experiencing various degrees of democratic backsliding, like Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.2.2

#research #media #democracy #socialscience #politicalscience

“Meta’s recent changes are part of a larger shift by US tech companies to align with conservative leaders, which will have implications for global efforts towards information integrity.”

New #wjds paper by Ned Watt, Silvia Montaña-Niño, and Michelle Riedlinger:

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.2.1

#FactChecking #Disinformation #DigitalMedia #PlatformGovernance #ContentModeration #DigitalPolitics #DigitalDemocracy #research #socialscience

How can we reduce energy waste in high-performance computing without compromising performance? This new #WJDS paper introduces a decision tool that leverages machine learning to optimize shutdown policies for idle computational units, enhancing efficiency.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.1.5

Authors: Chiara Fusar Bassini (Hertie School), Leonard Hackel (@tuberlin), Thorren Kirschbaum (@freieuniversitaet )

#research #computerscience #sustainable #energy #AI #KI #HPC #openaccess #climatechange

Digital labor platforms in Africa offer both opportunities & challenges, with marginalized workers facing dispossession despite tech advancements. In this study, Adio-Adet Tichafara Dinika (@unibremen, @DAIR) calls for policy reforms to protect worker autonomy & ensure equitable participation in economic shifts.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.1.3

#Digital #WorkerRights #GigEconomy #PlatformEconomy #Africa #socialscience #research #wjds @WZB_Berlin @towardsfairwork @milamiceli @tuberlin @FOKUSpublic

New paper: Caroline Stockman (University of Winchester) examines the human-technology relationship in current uses of generative AI (GenAI) through the lens of existential philosophy. #OpenAccess via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society:

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.1.2

#wjds #GenerativeAI #PhilosophyOfTechnology #Philosophy #Ethics #AI #HumanComputerInteraction #research #academia #humanities #KI @FOKUSpublic @tuberlin @freieuniversitaet @WZB_Berlin @

The second issue of the Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society's 2024 volume features contributions that explore the transformation of the public sphere in the context of digitalization from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Contributors: P Yan, R Schroeder, @damiantrilling, P Leerssen, S Mertens, D de Coninck, L d'Haenens.

Read the Editorial: https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/4.2.1

#wjds #openaccess #research #socialscience #digitalization @FOKUSpublic @freieuniversitaet @tuberlin @WZB_Berlin

What if decision-making models do more than just describe decisions? In this #wjds paper, U Meyer & R Werner argue that models from organizational theory & ArtificialIntelligence are performative, influencing how decisions are understood, modeled, and enacted.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/4.3.2

#ArtificialIntelligence #DecisionMaking #OrganizationalTheory #AIResearch #Innovation #OpenAccess #Publication #Sociology #SocialScience #Research

How are companies using algorithm-based management and performance tracking, and how do workers perceive them? What are the challenges for works councils and trade unions?

Read this paper via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society #wjds by P Wotschack, L Hellbach, F Butollo:

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/4.3.5

#research #socialscience #work ##LaborRights #AI #AlgorithmicManagement #GigEconomy #DigitalLabor #FutureOfWork #PlatformEconomy @WZB_Berlin @towardsfairwork @tuberlin @FOKUSpublic

New paper: "Polarization and Networked Framing. The Syrian and Ukrainian #Refugee Crises on X/Twitter", by Sercan Kiyak, Stefan Mertens, David De Coninck, Leen d'Haenens (all @KULeuvenDigiSoc).

More: https://www.weizenbaum-institut.de/en/news/detail/polarization-and-networked-framing-on-social-media/

#openaccess via Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society #wjds

#socialmedia #research #mediastudies #socialscience #hatespeech #zsmhlt

@WZB_Berlin @hiig_berlin @KULeuvenOpenScience