Programme

Soon available!

The Digital Humanism Conference takes place from 24 to 26 June 2026 in Vienna. On the evening of Wednesday, 24 June, we’re opening the conference with a screening of Valerie Veatch’s documentary Ghost in the Machine (2026) at Gartenbaukino. The two main conference days follow on 25 and 26 June at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Additional side events will take place throughout the week.

Please note that some content and timings are still subject to change.

Tuesday, 23 June

Pre-Conference

Pre-Conference: Bildung im Zeitalter der KI

Schule zwischen Technologie und Digitalem Humanismus

On 23 June, the pre-conference “Education in Times of AI – School Between Technology and Digital Humanism” addresses questions around AI in schools. The day-long event features a keynote by Dr Martina Landmann, University of Cambridge, on AI in the classroom, followed by three panel discussions exploring different perspectives on artificial intelligence in education.

The panels will examine AI and school practice, AI as teaching content, and broader questions of education in times of AI. Speakers include educators, researchers, and education policy representatives from Austrian schools, universities, and adult education institutions.

The pre-conference is organised by Horst Eichinger (GRG Stubenbastei) and Hannes Werthner (TU Wien) and will be held in German at Wiener Urania (09:00–17:00). Please register separately for this event. Registration is free of charge.

Wednesday, 24 June

Opening and film screening

Valerie Veatch: Ghost in the Machine (2026)

Thursday, 25 June

1^st conference day

Orientation in turbulent times

Katja Mayer

Senior Scientist at the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) and Sociologist at the University of Vienna

Erich Prem

Chief RTI Strategy Advisor and CEO of eutema GmbH

The future of intelligence

Rumman Chowdhury

Founder of Humane Intelligence

Coffee

Human and artificial minds: what are the differences?

Chair:

Eva Wittenberg

Director of the Language Comprehension Lab at Central European University

Stefan Woltran

Chair of the steering committee of the Digital Humanism Initiative (dighum.org)

Rumman Chowdhury

Founder of Humane Intelligence

Tim Crane

Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University (CEU)

Stefan Szeider

Professor at the Faculty of Informatics at TU Wien

Digital humanism is all about taking a humanistic approach to our digital lives. But what is a humanistic approach? What is so special about the human? Can artificial digital minds, intelligences, or agents ever approximate to something human? Some people say that they will, and this will create a revolution in human lives: in culture, employment, and education. Others disagree. To answer these questions, we need a proper understanding of the contrast between the human and the digital. The speakers in this session will offer contrasting perspectives on how to do this.

Introduction: Stefan Woltran

Digital labour

Power, rights, and control

Chair:

Helene Baumgartner

Expert at the Office for Digital Agendas of the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK Wien)

Tünde Fülöp

Senior Expert in AI and digital law at the Office for Digital Agendas of the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK Wien)

Wolfie Christl

Executive Director and Research Lead at Cracked Labs

Adio-Adet Dinika

Political Scientist and AI Governance Researcher, Research Fellow at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)

Madeleine Müller

Senior Researcher and Senior Consultant at the Research Institute – Digital Human Rights Center

Camilla Salim Wagner

Research intern at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)

Good digital investment

A framework for guiding investments in Digital Humanism

Chair:

Erich Prem

Chief RTI Strategy Advisor and CEO of eutema GmbH

Georg Krause

CEO of msg Plaut

Art Min

Executive Director at Camp.org

Barbara Prainsack

Professor at the University of Vienna and Co-Director of the Vienna Centre for Advanced Studies

Raúl Tabarés

Senior Researcher at TECNALIA

Lunch

Economies of AI

Where is the value?

Cecilia Rikap

Associate Professor in Economics and the Head of Research at University College London (UCL)

AI and the end of the web?

Moderated by:

Sarah Kriesche

Science Editor at Ö1 (ORF Radio)

Moshe Y. Vardi

University Professor and the George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering at Rice University

Hannes Werthner

Former Dean of Informatics at TU Wien, Initiator of the Digital Humanism initiative

Keeping kids safe? Rethinking social media regulation

Chair:

Fabian Fischer

Academy Scientist at the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

Thomas Lohninger

Executive Director at epicenter.works

Oliver Scheibenbogen

Head of the Department of Creativity and Life Design at Anton Proksch Institut

Judith Simon

Professor of Ethics in Information Technology at the University of Hamburg

Laura Wiesböck

Head of the junior research group "Digitalization and Social Transformation" at IHS

Digital democracy and freedom of speech

Platforms, power, and the future of democratic debate

Chair:

Matthias Pfeffer

Founding Director at the Council for European Public Space

Julia Haas

Adviser to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

David Passarelli

Director of UN University’s Center for Policy Research

Coffee

Geopolitics of AI

Chair:

George Metakides

Honorary President of the Digital Enlightenment Forum

Joanna J. Bryson

Professor of Ethics and Technology at Hertie School

Dario Guarascio

Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Sapienza University of Rome

Francis Saa-Dittoh

Computer Scientist and ICT4D Researcher at the University for Development Studies

From pessimism to promise

Practices of digital inclusion from the Global South to Europe

Chair:

Astrid Mager

Senior Academy Scientist at the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)

Payal Arora

Professor at Utrecht University and Founder of Inclusive AI Lab

Juliane Jarke

Professor of Digital Societies at the University of Graz

Gilberto Vieira

Researcher at PUCPR and Co-Founder of data_labe

Industry and Digital Humanism

How to cooperate productively

Chair:

Peter Biegelbauer

Head of AIT AI Ethics Lab and Deputy Head AIT AI Taskforce

Cornelia Reiter

Scientist at the Center for Innovation Systems and Policy at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT)

Björn Fanta

Managing Director at Fabasoft Research

Marie-Louise Lackner

PostDoc Researcher at the research Unit Databases and Artificial Intelligence at TU Wien

Mathias Nöbauer

CEO of Exoscale

Rania Wazir

Co-founder and CTO of leiwand.ai

Friday, 26 June

2^nd conference day

Keynote by Bruce Schneier

Bruce Schneier

Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard University and the University of Toronto, Chief of Security Architecture at Inrupt, Inc.

Coffee

Digital sovereignty in practice

Learning from those who build, implement and maintain it

Chair:

Misha Glenny

Journalist, Presenter of In Our Time at BBC radio 4, former Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)

Nicole Beckendorf

Head of Open Source Program Office Schleswig-Holstein

Cristina Caffarra

Founder and Chair, EuroStack Initiative Foundation

Nicolas Stocker

The Austrian Armed Forces

Measuring Digital Humanism

Designing indicators for Digital Humanism

Chair:

Erich Prem

Chief RTI Strategy Advisor and CEO of eutema GmbH

Ferdinand Ferroli

Director of Policy & Research at IDENTITY Valley

Sophie Woodville

Digital Program Manager at Bordeaux Metropole

Urban digital participation

Opportunities, challenges, and threats

Chair:

Katja Bühler

Scientific Director, Head of Biomedical Image Informatics Group at VRVis

Jan Maly

Assistant Professor at the Institute for Data, Process, and Knowledge Management at WU Wien

Joachim Pranzl

UIV Urban Innovation Vienna

Elisabeth Unterfrauner

Scientific Director of the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI)

Milena Vuckovic

Head of Participatory Visual Systems Group at VRVis

Alexander Wrabetz

AI Commissioner for Media at the City of Vienna, former Director-General at ORF

Explore the transformative potential and complex realities of digital participation across a range of fields – from participatory budgeting and social innovation to urban planning, collaborative design and citizen science.

Together, we will address the crucial question of what influence and effectiveness digital tools have on policy-making and the strengthening of civil society, and where they might fall short. In doing so, we will examine how the transition from in-person participatory processes to digital spaces is reshaping our dialogue and our shared understanding. Who is given a voice in these digital processes, and who might be left behind? How does technology influence the clarity and openness of our collective decisions? How can data protection and privacy rights be handled responsibly in this sensitive area, and how can a sustainable and broad basis of trust be established among citizens? The audience will have the opportunity to gain hands-on insights into the latest technology used in digital participation and to discuss this with the experts on the panel.

Lunch

Accelerate Responsible AI in Austria

Chair:

Christoph Bock

Principal Investigator & Head of the Biomedical Sequencing Facility at CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine

Agata Ciabattoni

Full Professor at TU Wien Informatics

Brigitte Krenn

Deputy Director of the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (OFAI)

Karl Kugler

Head of AI Factory Austria (AI:AT)

Karin Tausz

Managing Director of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG

Empowering public institutions

Chair:

Michael Stampfer

Managing Director of the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF)

Klemens Himpele

CIO of the City of Vienna

Ursula Rosenbichler

Head of the Austrian School of Government (ASG)

Mirko Tobias Schäfer

Co-founder and the Sciences Lead of the Data School at Utrecht University

On Personal Power

Chair:

Alexander Schmölz

Professor of Digital Humanism at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna and Managing Director of the Austrian Institute for Vocational Training Research