In the transition to a digital society, ensuring equitable access and opportunity is essential for social and economic well-being. An important issue is bridging the digital divide, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic background or age, have access to crucial online services. Digital technologies can foster inclusion and social participation for marginalized groups, including disabled people based on age, cognitive, or physical reasons, and how these technologies can be leveraged to foster inclusion and social participation. Concerning age, we also invite research on current debates about the need to offer key services “offline”. Empowering a digital society also warrants a focus on education. Projects could explore how both formal education systems and informal channels such as civil society initiatives can equip individuals with the necessary skills to navigate and critically engage with a digital society. This includes media literacy, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind digital economies (e.g. surveillance capitalism), or equipping students with interdisciplinary knowledge (e.g. how to bring disciplines together such as medicine and AI).

The rise of digital platforms and technologies, including social media, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrencies, has created complex challenges that often transcend national borders and escape traditional forms of regulation. Tech giants have amassed considerable power that rivals or exceeds that of nation-states. Against this backdrop, projects may explore the consequences of digital capitalism, including the spread of misinformation, the polarization of public discourse, online mobbing, social media induced mental health challenges, online (sexual) harassment, or the emergence of toxic online cultures. Furthermore, proposals could address or seek to reduce the environmental and social costs of digital innovation, including the energy and water consumption of AI and data centers, or the often precarious working conditions of digital laborers such as delivery riders, fulfillment workers, or (digital) gig workers. Another aspect is bias in AI data, which may lead to unjust decisions or applications and thereby further exacerbate inequalities (e.g. bias in medical data). Effectively coping with these challenges will require combined efforts from all societal sectors (public, private, civil society).

This theme invites forward-looking projects that explore how digital technologies can be used to shape a more equitable, democratic and humanistic digital society. Digital transformation is dominated by the Silicon Valley and the Chinese-Model. There is a space for projects, theories, concepts embracing European values and ideas. We invite research to think about new infrastructures to reclaim digital sovereignty. We are interested in projects seeking to improve public institutions to strengthen the rule of law (e.g., court processes) and foster access to justice. For instance, how can courts or regulatory bodies harness digital tools to improve processes or how can governments engage citizens more effectively.

Digital technologies, in particular AI, bear great promise for healthcare institutions. Research may investigate how responsible artificial intelligence might improve healthcare services, for example, leading to more accurate diagnoses and better treatments.

We also welcome fundamental inquiries, for instance, how to improve democratic law-making, control and governance, how to innovate public broadcasters and (private) media to improve public debates, or exploring the tensions around the fundamental question of privacy, secrecy, openness and transparency in an increasingly connected world.