Digital Humanism & Education
On January 20, the recently published textbook for Digital Humanism was presented at the Wienbibliothek.

Picture: Wienbibliothek im Rathaus / Teresa Wagenhofer
On January 20, the Wienbibliothek hosted a panel discussion about the intersection of Digital Humanism and Education. Occasion of the event was the recently published textbook for Digital Humanism “Digitalisierung und Wir”, which will serve as a basis for a newly established compulsory optional subject on Digital Humanism at the Gymnasium GRG1 Stubenbastei.
TU Wien Informatics Dean Gerti Kappel was invited as a panelist to speak about the importance and the need to include Computer Science as a subject in schools. Also invited as panelists were Horst Eichinger (Headmaster of GRG1 Stubenbastei, Martin Fritz (Secretary-General of the Austrian Commission for UNESCO), and Veronica Kaup-Hasler (City Councilor for Culture and Science). The panel was moderated by Wolfgang Renner (Director of Social City Wien), and Anita Eichinger (Director of the Wienbibliothek), who is also one of the editors of the new textbook alongside Hannes Werthner and UNESCO Chairholder on Digital Humanism Peter Knees.
The panel discussion emphasized the need for a critical engagement with emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has already had a profound impact on education. All panelists agreed that innovations like AI and the increasing digitization of everyday life pose significant ethical and societal challenges, including privacy concerns and the potential for inequality. A key point of the discussion was that technologies are not neutral; understanding how they work is essential for critically engaging with both the technologies themselves and their broader societal impact.
The panel also explored the role of governance and regulation, highlighting the European Union’s AI Act and Digital Services Act as important steps in addressing these challenges. They further stressed the importance of integrating culture, the arts, the humanities, and social sciences into the conversation to foster a critical understanding of technology. The new textbook on Digital Humanism provides educators with valuable resources and exercises to help students explore these complex issues.
Apart from the textbook for Digital Humanism, TU Wien Informatics is involved in a number of initiatives that critically explore and promote Computer Science in education. In 2024, the faculty hosted the eduLab Bildungsfrühstück, and looked at what answers Digital Humansism holds for teaching and in education. It is also the home of eduLAB, which offers free unplugged computer science workshops for schools. Former TU Wien Informatics Dean Hannes Werthner, one of the editors of the textbook and a prominent advocate for Digital Humanism, also emphasized the importance of Digital Humanism for all aspects of society in his interview with Renata Schmidtkunz, and he will introduce his newly published book on Digital Humanism on January 24 at the Alte Schmiede.
If we’ve got you interested in the textbook, an open-access version of “Digitalisierung und Wir” is available in German for download on the website of the Wienbibliothek.
Missed the event? Watch the video
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EmWKkcecJZg
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