Goals of the ZRI

The digitalisation of all areas of society is progressing relentlessly. Companies and consumers in the economy as well as state authorities, citizens and their organisations are using ICT applications that are constantly opening up new opportunities to gain information, communicate and shape things at a rapid pace. Numerous goals are being pursued. It is about increasing the efficiency of the economy and administration, improved products and new business models, attention and opinion leadership, better health and a better quality of life or greater problem-solving expertise in policy-making. The artificial intelligence of self-learning systems, with which technology will begin to replace human behaviour in the near future, will soon further intensify and accelerate this development.

This development poses enormous challenges for all scientific disciplines. The rapid pace of technological change, with its unpredictable but often revolutionary effects, gives reason to pool the different expertise of the various disciplines and increase interdisciplinary exchange. In addition to Computing Science, Law is particularly called upon to constantly answer new legal questions arising from the application of current law to technical developments. New law may also be required if the aim is not only to drive technological progress forward or analyse its effects, but also to steer the direction of development in the interests of society.

Against this background, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Information Society Law (ZRI) was founded at the University of Oldenburg, in which academics from different disciplines want to jointly research the legal implications of the consequences of digitalisation.

Joint research projects, workshops and public events are intended to find answers to the pressing technical and social developments and put them up for discussion.