Lecture by Dr Katja Mayer, University of Vienna, Science and Technology Studies

In the context of ongoing developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), open research data is playing a central role in scientific debates about the future of research and innovation. The lecture highlights the potential and challenges associated with the use and provision of open research data for AI research. However, it also addresses the question of how this data should be handled in the course of AI-supported research processes. The focus is on questions of research quality, reproducibility and transparency, but also on the ethical tensions surrounding scientific resources that arise from the application of AI to open data. In addition, the political and institutional framework conditions are critically reflected upon, which are necessary to sustainably promote open data infrastructures while ensuring scientific integrity and ethical approaches to innovation. Drawing on current discussions on open science and research funding, the talk analyses how open research data can contribute to empowering scientific independence and, although they also support commercial interests, how they can help to strengthen the public interest. The lecture invites us to question the interactions between openness, innovation and scientific responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.

Katja Mayer will speak at the BUA seminar ‘So geht Wissenschaft - Aktuelle Diskussionen zu Open Science und Forschungsqualität’, which is led by Professor Martin Reinhart (Humboldt University Berlin/Robert Merton Center for Science Studies).

The lecture will be held in German and will take place in a hybrid setting. Participants are invited to attend either in person at Humboldt University Berlin or online.