The bidt at re:publica and TINCON

Three days full of inspiring talks, bright minds and digital food for thought: In lectures and panel discussions, bidt researchers brought important topics to the stage of Europe’s largest digital trade fair: disinformation, digital generational silos, toxic entertainment, AI in the classroom and the question of authenticity in politics. Under the motto “Generation XYZ”, participants scrutinised, discussed and shared knowledge – scientifically sound, practical and to the point.

AI for teachers: interactive session with live prompting

Artificial intelligence has long since found its way into everyday school life. But how can AI tools be used cleverly and critically at the same time? Which biases need to be recognised and which misconceptions need to be dispelled? In her interactive TINCON presentation, bidt director and AI professor Ute Schmid, together with bidt junior researcher Sonja Niemann, used practical live prompting examples to show how AI can be used in schools in a reflective way: not as a replacement for teachers, but as a complementary methodology and an opportunity for critical debate and discussion in the classroom.

Both pupils and teachers are called upon to do this: pupils should learn to question AI correctly, recognise its limits and help decide when it is appropriate to use it without losing their own depth, reflection and ability to engage in discourse. For teachers, on the other hand, didactics and expertise are decisive: How much AI? When? Why? For the two speakers, one thing is clear: for AI to be used sensibly, subject-specific competence goals must be developed together, didactic discussions must be initiated and more diversity must be introduced into the development of AI systems.

Digital generational silos: Digital divides between the generations – separation or new alliances?

The third generation of digital natives is just entering the school world, while the second is leaving it and the first has long since arrived in professional life. Digital natives are increasingly displacing those generations that experienced analogue times – with course books, corded telephones and a world without the internet. But what does this change mean for our society? Empirical studies show: Digital and data-related skills are unevenly distributed – not only between educational levels and genders, but especially along age lines. As a result, digital generations are increasingly growing apart.

Different worlds of experience, codes and media use create separation instead of connection. Dr Roland Stürz, Head of the bidt Think Tank, took part in a panel that highlighted these developments in keynote speeches and discussions: How deep are the digital divides? What risks does the drifting apart of the generations harbour? And above all: what opportunities does the digital transformation offer for new alliances and intergenerational exchange?

(Dis)inform yourself! Three researchers get to the bottom of three myths about disinformation

Myths such as “disinformation reaches a broad audience”, “disinformation has a massive influence on behaviour” and “warning against disinformation does no harm” do not stand up to research. Together with the two researchers Miriam Milzner and Josephine B. Schmitt, bidt Director Andreas Jungherr explained why this is the case. The joint panel of the three research institutes bidt, Weizenbaum Institute and CAIS showed that we must not rest on simple explanations for election results; the topic of disinformation must be viewed in a very differentiated way.

Alarmism is risky, because if you warn too loudly, you sow doubt – also about journalism and democracy. “If you warn people about disinformation in an alarmist way, the result is that these people also become more sceptical about democracy and the public”, says Jungherr. Common tenor of the researchers: We need a resilient democracy instead of disinformation panic.

Toxic entertainment: humorous hate speech has reached a new dimension

Many people use social media for entertainment – and TikTok is the perfect platform for this. This often blurs the boundaries between humour and hate speech or toxic language. Emotions increase our attention and also make toxic content potentially socially connectable. What is the best way to react? Ursula Kristin Schmid says: Strengthen media skills, expand contextual knowledge for platform use and increase platform responsibility.

Authenticity in politics – a strategic staging

It is not honesty and integrity that are decisive for authenticity, but the feeling that someone is and remains true to themselves. Simon Lübke explained how an authentic image is created and how much our own preconceptions influence our perception. His examples from various elections showed that it is all a question of staging – and attribution, because authenticity is not a characteristic of politicians.