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About the Digital Autonomy Hub

The Digital Autonomy Hub is a competence center that coordinates an interdisciplinary network of 43 institutes and organizations. The hub makes visible the partners' research and ideas they are developing to strengthen the individual digital sovereignty. The aim of this knowledge transfer is to enable all people to handle their data, devices and applications in a reflective and self-determined way. The competence center prepares current research results for civil society, politics, science and business and advises the various players on ethical, legal and social aspects of data use.

The Digital Autonomy Hub is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and supported by the German Informatics Society (GI) and AlgorithmWatch.

Mission

Encourage

We encourage users to engage with complex technologies and systems by showing that they can be regulated. In this way, we reduce users' fear of contact with complex, digital services. Furthermore, we encourage users to question technologies and systems and strenghten the fact that their voice, their experiences and their knowledge are relevant for the further development of technologies and digital services, as well as for the way society interacts with them. We inspire enthusiasm for strengthening one's own digital sovereignty by setting impulses that arouse curiosity.

Provide insights

We make it easier for users to engage with digital sovereignty by illustrating and explaining how companies and the state use and process personal data. We inform users directly about where and in what form they can have a say in the processing of their data – in this way, users experience their own ability to act.

We also explain to policymakers in a clear and understandable way who uses and processes data and in which manner. We provide policymakers with practical approaches and tools that they can use to promote users‘ autonomy.

Empower

By educating and imparting knowledge, we empower users to act in a self-determined manner. In addition, we encourage policy makers not to be deterred by the complexity of new technologies and systems, in order to ensure users' autonomy in dealing with their data. We support policymakers in this by showing them suitable tools and practical examples that enable them to find and design solutions for self-determined conduct.

We also show companies how they can design technologies in such a way that users retain control over their data.

Contact

Elisabeth Schauermann

Project management Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI)

Telefon: +49 (0) 176 73226292
E-Mail: info[at]digitalautonomy.net