The University of Luxembourg is proud to announce the opening of the University of Luxembourg Institute for Digital Ethics, an interdisciplinary hub which will offer science-based expertise, counsel and training to researchers and stakeholders, including policy-makers or enterprises. The Institute for Digital Ethics (ULIDE) will launch its activities on 1 January 2025.
ULIDE will address the profound ethical, social and societal challenges posed by digital transformation. With an overarching mission to provide national guidance on the ethical and societal implications of digitalisation, ULIDE aims to conduct goal-oriented research and training, to engage in outreach and knowledge transfer and to provide strategic policy recommendations.
The new Institute reflects the University’s commitment to an interdisciplinary approach, to socially responsible innovation and to sustainable development. The existing knowledge base at the University’s Faculties and Interdisciplinary research Centres (IC) will fuel ULIDE’s activities and open opportunities for collaborations, nationally and beyond borders. With time, the Institute is set to become a key resource for academics, policy makers as well as public or private stakeholders.
Thematic pillars and interdisciplinarity
Big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning. Conversational agents, Large Language Models, blockchain, augmented or virtual reality. While bringing enormous opportunities, emerging technologies impact our society, economy and culture in a profoundly disruptive way. Contemporary societies face a digital divide, erosion of privacy, transformation of the public sphere, challenges of digital literacy, associated health concerns as well as questions of transparency, accountability and sustainability of AI, and legal frameworks.
As an interdisciplinary hub working across the University’s Faculties and ICs, ULIDE will be able to address research areas as digital democracy, law, health, and sustainability, while tackling critical aspects such as AI accountability, privacy, and digital literacy.
The run-up phase of initial development
Prof. Georg Mein has carried the project since its inception.
ULIDE will launch its activities on 1 January 2025. The first step will consist in recruiting talents, doctoral and senior researchers, to drive dialogue, research and policy exchange.
“Considering the tangible need for addressing the ethical challenges posed by emerging technologies, the time is right for Luxembourg to establish an Institute for Digital Ethics”, states Prof. Georg Mein, previously dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences who has been a driving force behind the project and will serve as Head of ULIDE. “With time, the Institute will help to position Luxembourg on the forefront of ethical digital transformation.”
“Digitalisation and interdisciplinarity are at the heart of the University’s reflection and its research and development outlook”, says Prof. Jens Kreisel, rector of the University of Luxembourg. “We are perfectly positioned to support Luxembourg in guiding the ethical landscape of digital transformation, while driving sustainable innovation and advancing the academic discourse”.
The official opening event of the Institute will take place in June 2025, inviting stakeholders to tackle key priorities for digital ethics in Luxembourg.