Program 02.06.2025 – 04.06.2025 (subject to modifications)

Thomas Kriza is Professor for Digitalization, Technology Assessment and Applied Ethics at the OTH Regensburg. He obtained his PhD in Philosophy and a Masters degree (Magister Artium) in Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology at the Free University of Berlin, as well as a Bachelors degree in Business Information Systems (Diplom-Wirtschaftsinformatiker) in a dual study concept in cooperation with IBM Germany. While studying philosophy, he worked part-time as an IT specialist for IBM Germany. After obtaining his PhD, he held positions as Lecturer for Philosophy at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts and as Professor for Digital Transformation and Ethics at the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. His research and teaching focus on the ethical issues of digitalization and modern technology in general, as well as on broader philosophical topics concerning conceptions of existential meaning and the good life in modern societies. He is the author of a monograph on the philosophical question of the meaning of life (Felix Meiner Verlag, 2018). He has published about the relevance of the ethical questions of digitalization in transdisciplinary research and teaching at universities of applied sciences (e.g. in: Interdisziplinarität in der Hochschullehre, 2023). As member of research groups like HASKI, he is conducting research on the ethical issues of AI-driven adaptive learning management systems at universities of applied sciences.

Keynote Summary

Software engineering, as a key element of the digitalization of all areas of contemporary life, raises ethical issues that press for answers. While this is true for all endeavors of rapidly innovating modern technology, software engineering is especially significant, not least because of its direct ability to shape human coexistence. Applications that harness the power of digital data are transforming society in previously unimaginable ways, and we have become accustomed to the pervasiveness of the use of digital data in every area of contemporary life, while at the same time bracing for the fundamental transformations of what we call AI. The keynote draws attention to the inherent revolutionary capabilities of information technology and the far-reaching ethical and philosophical issues it raises. These include obvious questions regarding the responsible use of digital technologies, and where to set ethical and regulatory boundaries and ban unacceptable risks in applications.  Interestingly, however, specific applications can raise much broader ethical questions:  Who are we as human beings when digitalization becomes ingrained in our lives? And what is our idea of a good life in a digitalized world? The talk explores how innovative technological capabilities and concrete applications directly affect fundamental values such as human dignity, self-determination, and the free development of one’s personality. How can software engineering contribute to preserve the core of our fundamental ethical principles in the age of digitalization?