New DSI Community Digital Publics: Shaping the Digital Public Sphere Together
The DSI is bringing its research on the digital public sphere under one roof: The newly established DSI Community Digital Publics is an interdisciplinary platform to examine the opportunities and risks of digital transformation for public life.
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Social media, algorithmic information filters, digital election campaigns – digitalization has fundamentally transformed public life. What was once seen primarily as an opportunity for greater participation and more open communication now increasingly raises critical questions: What is the state of public discourse? What impact does the digital world have on democratic institutions, social relationships, and mental well-being?
These questions are the focus of the new DSI Community Digital Publics, which in 2026 has formed from the two previous DSI Communities Communication and Democracy. Researchers from the social sciences, computer science, law, linguistics, and the humanities work together here to find answers – in an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented, and solution-focused manner.
The community’s goal is to develop well-founded insights and share them with researchers, policymakers, and the general public. The focus is on how digital spaces can be made more inclusive, transparent, and sustainable.
For more information on the DSI Community Digital Publics, click here.