Workshop at the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)
Technical University of Munich (TUM), July 7th and 8th
Embodied Knowledge - Embedded Ethics – Enhanced Technologies
Philosopher in Residence, Prof. Dr. Walther Ch. Zimmerli
TUM-IAS Focus Group Philosophy of Technology as Philosophy of Digitalization
The Digital is changing the game
The digital paradigm is reshaping epistemological frameworks and ethical considerations at a fundamental level. Digital culture is not merely an analytical lens for technological development but an ontological shift in how knowledge, agency, and responsibility are constituted. In this context, philosophical inquiry must engage with fundamental transformations in human cognition, behavior and decision-making, particularly as machine-learning systems progress beyond deterministic logics toward self-adaptive algorithmic architectures.
This prompts an urgent need for transdisciplinary reflection: are there forms of semantic or hermeneutic intelligibility beyond computational machine-readability, or does human cognition risk being subsumed into algorithmic formalization, ultimately rendering human reasoning obsolete? Such questions concern not only cognitive science and philosophy of mind but also the assumptions embedded in programming paradigms, AI ethics, and the socio-political consequences of pervasive digital systems.
Reassessing Human-Machine-Interaction
The workshop “Embodied Knowledge - Embedded Ethics – Enhanced Technologies” at IAS TUM interrogates the structural implications of digital intelligence for human knowledge production, decision-making autonomy, and ethical responsibility. Philosophical reflection on digital epistemologies should neither be reduced to abstract formalism nor dissipate into purely empirical analysis of algorithmic applications. Instead, it must seek a top-down and bottom-up approach that acknowledges both technological innovation and its ontological implications. Other than within the purely academic discourse these implications are not restricted to explicit philosophy, but are rather geared towards the main implicit epistemological, ethical, and anthropological assumptions guiding us „behind our backs“.
Key topics will include human-machine interaction (HMI), the ethics of algorithmic decision-making, and the socio-epistemic role of digital infrastructures in shaping knowledge systems. A central aim is to map the boundary conditions of AI agency, contextualizing them within epistemology, ethical responsibility and legal accountability frameworks. Crucially, a nuanced approach to “Digital Literacy” is required - one that enables scholars and practitioners to navigate the intersection of computational methodologies, epistemic and ethical knowledge.
The workshop language will be German (see document attached).
