News
New issue of the research magazine future features the Collaborative Research Center “Media of Cooperation”
Under the title “Computer, how am I?”, the focus of the 6th issue of the research magazine future (in German and English) is on topics from the Collaborative Research Center (CRC).
→ Click here for the current issue
About the new issue
The new issue focus on the question what humans do with media and media do with us. Since 2016, the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) Media of Cooperation at the University of Siegen has been examining phenomena in digital society. This area is developing at a rapid pace. The researchers are increasingly focusing on sensor media and AI. They have found that machine and human sensory abilities are becoming increasingly intertwined.
Of humans and media (p. 4)
An article about the new research focus on AI and sensor media at the CRC.
From observer to actor. Today, algorithms in computer programs are autonomously making decisions (p. 11)
An article about the research in project B08 “Agentic Media: Formations of Semi-Autonomy”.
Live news from war zone: Social media and messenger services supply news and images from Ukraine daily (p. 18)
An article about the research in P06 “War Sensing”.
Blurring the boundaries of private life: Living in a smart home (p. 25)
An article about the research in B06 “Un-/desired Observation in Interaction: Smart Environments, Language, Body, and Senses in Private Households”.
Virtual pasture boundaries: Sensors are keeping animals in their place (p. 33)
An article about the research in P04 “Precision Farming: Co-operative Practices of Virtual Fencing”.
The research magazines frequents once every year since 2019 with a number of copies 3,500. All topics are discussed or determined together with the Research and Young Scientific Academics Commission, the Research Funding Unit and Prof. Dr. Thomas Mannel, the Prorector for Research and Junior Scientists. The main requirement for the decision is that it is cutting-edge research that is future-oriented. All issues are open-accessed.
Would you like to receive one or more print copies, for yourself, for national or international partners? You can order print copies via future@presse.uni-siegen.de. We will gladly add you to our subscription distribution list, free of charge, of course.
About the Collaborative Research Centre
The CRC 1187 Media of Cooperation is an interdisciplinary collaborative research centre consisting of 19 subprojects and more than 60 researchers from media studies, ethnology, sociology, computer science, linguistics, ubiquitous computing, science and technology studies, education, law and engineering.
The Collaborative Research Centre 1187 has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2016. The research centre studies digital media, which have emerged as cooperative tools, platforms and infrastructures on a broad front. In the first funding phase (2016-2019), the CRC focused on the relevance of social media and platforms, while the second phase (2020-2023) centered on data-intensive media and data practices. Phase 3 (2024-2027) inquires the interplay between sensor media and artificial intelligence.
Digital, data-intensive media have brought new challenges and potential dangers in the context of ubiquitous data processing of sensor technologies and semi-autonomously operating artificial intelligence (AI). Sensor media shape everyday practices in the smart home, collect environmental data, control semi-autonomous vehicles and, in the form of wearables, measure and quantify every aspect of our bodies. As a result, human decision-making is increasingly encroached upon by computerised infrastructures. In public debates, sensor media and AI are frequently criticised as threats to data sovereignty and human agency.
The CRC Media of Cooperation addresses and counters these developments and debates by focusing on the reciprocity of people, media, and environments: sensor media and AI intertwine bodies and data, media and environments, and human and non-human actors reciprocally but not symmetrically. In this field of tension, the CRC conducts basic digital research that mediates between past and present and shapes future digital media.
The CRC’s main location is at the University of Siegen. Further nodes in our research network are located at universities in Cologne, Hagen, Bochum, Frankfurt/Oder, Bonn, Constance, and Luxembourg. There are also close collaborations with renowned international scholars and research institutions in Chicago, Warwick, Basel, Waltham, and Lviv.
The role of sensor technologies in private and public life
This year’s annual conference of the Collaborative Research Centre ‘Media of Cooperation’ focuses on the role of sensor technologies in public and private life. Scholars worldwide will come together at the University of Siegen from 13 to 15 November.
→Further information on the annual conference
About the annual conference
The annual conference of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1187 ‘Media of Cooperation’ will focus on the topic ‘Scaling Sensing – Sensing Publics: Landscapes, and Borders, Homes and Bodies’. From 13 to 15 November, researchers at the University of Siegen will discuss the role of sensor technologies in public and private life. How do sensors and sensing practices shape different public spaces? What dynamics can be observed between sensing practices and the public sphere?
There is great interest in the topic. More than 60 researchers from media studies, linguistics, computer science, cultural studies, social sciences, engineering, anthropology, educational science and history are participating in the Siegen event. The focus will be on case studies on sensors and media and sensory impressions from various fields of practice.
The Collaborative Research Centre ‘Media of Cooperation’ has been investigating phenomena of the digital society since 2016. The development is rapid: In the first funding phase (2016-2019), the CRC focused on the relevance of social media and platforms, while the second phase (2020-2023) centered on data-intensive media and data practices. In its third and final funding phase (2024-2027), the CRC inquires the interplay between sensor media and artificial intelligence (AI) and, with the annual conference now taking place, turns its attention to the relationship between sensor media, artificial intelligence (AI) and the public.
Sensor media are now part of everyday life. They record movements, design smart homes, collect environmental data and control semi-autonomous driving. They fundamentally change how we perceive, sense and produce knowledge, influence how we recognise environments – from landscapes and cities to private homes – and locate our bodies within them. However, they offer solutions to various social, political, technological, medical and ecological challenges and raise ethical and political concerns. They undermine privacy, threaten our data sovereignty and reinforce social inequalities. Therefore, the critical discussion of sensor technologies and their application contexts is essential for the public.
Four panels at the annual conference will provide space for 17 interdisciplinary presentations by researchers from Siegen and abroad – including Paris, Geneva, Eindhoven, Montreal, Basel, Waltham, US, Luxembourg and Texas. On the first day, Panel 1 ‘Sensing Landscapes’, will examine various perceptual practices in natural environments. On the second day, Panel 2, ‘Sensing Borders’, and Panel 3, ‘Sensing Bodies’, will focus on the socio-political consequences of drawing borders and the social interplay of human and technical perception. On the last day, Panel 4, ‘Sensing Homes’, will discuss our understanding of privacy using the example of smart home technologies.
Particular highlights of this year’s annual conference are the keynotes on Wednesday and Thursday evenings by David Howes, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and Jürgen Streeck, Professor of Communication Studies, Anthropology and German Studies at the University of Texas. David Howes will speak on the ‘Anthropology of the Senses’, highlighting the importance of sensory experiences for understanding community and the public sphere in modern societies. In his keynote speech, Jürgen Streeck will analyse the role of gestures and multimodal interaction in communication between people and between people and technology and show how such interactions shape our perception of social reality.
The conference promises exciting insights into current research questions around sensor technologies and the public sphere and a critical dialogue on the challenges and opportunities associated with the technical recording of our perception and environment.
Contact:
Dr. Karina Kirsten (CRC „Media of Cooperation“, Scientific Coordination)
E-Mail:
Tel.: 0271 740 5252
AI Methods: From Probing to Prompting, 4-7 February, 2025
The Collaborative Research Center 1187 “Media of Cooperation” organizes the one-week winter school at the University of Siegen and invites graduate students, postdoc researchers, and media studies scholars interested in the intersections of AI methods, digital visual methodologies, visual social media, and platforms. The Winter School aims to explore questions centering on the implications of AI methods for new forms of sense-making and human-machine co-creation. Please register via the registration form until December 15 2025.
About the Winter School
As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies rapidly evolve, the ways in which we perceive and process information are fundamentally changing. The shift from computational vision, recognition, and classification to generative AI lies at the core of today’s technological landscape, fueling societal debates across different areas—from open-source intelligence and election security to propaganda, art, activism, and storytelling.
Computer vision, a sophisticated agent of pattern recognition, emerged with the rise of machine learning, sparking critical debates around the fairness of image labelling and the deep-seated biases in training data. Today, models like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, and more recently, Grok are not just recognizing—they are generating patterns, synthesizing multimodal data from websites, social media, and other online sources to produce oddly familiar and yet captivating results. This shift introduces significant ethical questions: How can we critically repurpose the outputs of AI models that are always rooted in platform infrastructures? Which methodological challenges and creative possibilities arise when the boundaries between context and scale become indistinct? Are patterns and biases all there is? And how about scaling down?
The one-week winter school at the University of Siegen organized by the Collaborative Research Center “Media of Cooperation” invites participants to explore these questions centering on the implications of AI methods for new forms of sense-making and human-machine co-creation. The winter school is practice-based and brings together conceptual inputs, workshops, and sprinted group projects around two collaborative methods: probing and prompting.
Probing involves repurposing AI systems to explore their underlying mechanisms. It is a method of critical interrogation—for example, using specific collections of images as inputs to reveal how contemporary computer vision models process these inputs and generate descriptions. Probing not only serves to problematize the hidden architectures of AI but also allows us to critically assess their different ‘ways of knowing’—how can alternative computer vision features such as web detection or text-in-image recognition help us contextualize and interpret visual data?
On the other hand, prompting refers to the practice of engaging GenAI models through input commands to generate multimodal content. Prompting emphasizes the participatory aspect of AI, framing it as a tool for human-machine co-creation, but it also shows the models’ limitations and inherent tensions. AI-generated creations captivate us, yet they also pose the risk of hallucination or what philosopher Harry Frankfurt might call “bullshit”— statements the models confidently present as facts, regardless of their detachment from reality.
The first day of the Winter School will be hybrid. Project group work will be taking place on site.
Program highlights
Participants will have the opportunity to explore and attune these methods to different research scenarios including tracing the spread of propaganda memes/deepfakes, analyzing AI-generated images, and ‘jailbreaking’ or prompting against platforms’ content policy restrictions. A blend of research practice and critical reflection, the winter school features
a keynote by Jill Walker Rettberg (University of Bergen) on “Qualitiative methods for analysing generative AI: Experiences with machine vision and AI storytelling”
two hands-on workshops on mixed techniques for probing and prompting facilitated by Carlo de Gaetano (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Andrea Benedetti (Density Design, Politecnico di Milano), Elena Pilipets (University of Siegen), and Marloes Geboers (University of Amsterdam)
two project tracks intended to combine AI methods with qualitative approaches and ethical data storytelling.
Track 1 “Fabricating the People: Probing AI Detection for Audio-Visual Content in Turkish TikTok” led by Lena Teigeler and Duygu Karatas (both University of Siegen)
Track 2 “Jail(break)ing: Synthetic Imaginaries of ‘sensitive’ AI” led by Elena Pilipets (University of Siegen) and Marloes Geboers (University of Amsterdam)
Track I: Fabricating the People: Probing AI Detection for Audio-Visual Content in Turkish TikTok
Lena Teigeler & Duygu Karatas
Several brutal femicides in Türkiye in 2024 led to a wave of outrage, showing in protests both on the streets and on social media. The protesters demand the protection of women against male violence, measures against offenders and criticize the government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for not standing up for women’s rights, as demonstrated, for example, by Türkiye’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in 2021. One of the cases leading to the protest was allegedly connected to the Turkish “manosphere” and online “incel” community. The manosphere is an informal online network of blogs, forums, and social media communities focused on men’s issues, often promoting views on masculinity, gender roles, and relationships. At the core of these groups often lie misogynistic, and anti-feminist views. Many groups foster toxic attitudes toward women and marginalized groups. Incels, short for “involuntary celibates,” are one subgroup belonging to the broader manosphere, formed by men who feel unable to form romantic or sexual relationships despite wanting them, often blaming society or women for their frustrations.
The project investigates how the cases of femicide are discussed and negotiated in Turkish TikTok by protesters and within the manosphere and explores how these videos make use of generative AI. The use of AI in video creation can range from entire scene generation, over the creation of sounds or deepfaking, to editing and stylisation. The project takes a sample of TikToks associated with the recent wave of femicides as the starting point and makes use of AI methods for two purposes: 1) To detect the usage of generative AI within a sample of TikToks with the help of image labeling. This can range from fully-generated images, videos or sound, to the usage of tools and techniques used within the creation and editing process. We compare different models for detection purposes. 2) With the help of Web Detection, we trace the spread of videos and images across platform borders and content elements that are assembled or synthesized within TikToks.
The aim of the project is to create a cartography of AI based methods for the investigation of audio-visual content. It is part of the DFG-funded research project “Fabricating the People – negotiation of claims to representation in Turkish social media in the context of generative AI”.
Track II: Track 2 Jail(break)ing: Synthetic Imaginaries of ‘sensitive’ AI
Elena Pilipets & Marloes Geboers
The rapid evolution of AI technology is pushing the boundaries of ethical AI use. Newer models like Grok-2 diverge from traditional, more restrained approaches, raising concerns about biases, moderation, and societal impact. This track explores how three generative AI models—X’s Grok-2, Open AI’s GPT4o, and Microsoft’s Copilot—reimagine controversial content according to—or pushing against—the platforms’ content policy restrictions. To better understand each model’s response to sensitive prompts, we use a derivative approach: starting with images as inputs, we generate stories around them that guide the creation of new, story-based image outputs. In the process, we employ iterative prompting that blends “jailbreaking”—eliciting responses the model would typically avoid—with “jailing,” or reinforcing platform-imposed constraints. Jail(break)ing, then, exposes the skewed imaginaries inscribed in the models’ capacity to synthesize compliant outputs: The more iterations it takes to generate a new image the stronger the latent spaces of generative models come to the fore that lay bare the platforms’ data-informed structures of reasoning.
Addressing the performative nature of automated perception, the track, facilitated by Elena Pilipets and Marloes Geboers, examines six image formations collected from social media, which then were used as prompts to explore six issues: war, memes, art, protest, porn, synthetics. In line with feminist approaches, we attend specifically to the hierarchies of power and (in)visibility perpetuated by GenAI, asking: Which synthetic imaginaries emerge from various issue contexts and what do these imaginaries reveal about the model’s ways of seeing? To which extent can we repurpose generative AI as a storytelling and tagging device? How do different models classify sensitive and ambiguous images (along the trajectories of content, aesthetics, and stance)?
Facilitators will combine situated digital methods with experimental data visualization techniques tapping into the generative capacities of different AI models. The fabrication and collective interpretation of data with particular attention to the transitions between inputs and outputs will guide our exploration throughout. Participants will learn how to:
- Conduct “keyword-in-context” analysis of AI-generated stories to identify patterns or “formulas” within issue-specific imaginaries (where, who/what, and how).
- Perform network analysis of AI-generated tags, where input keywords are tags for the original images and output keywords are tags for AI-regenerated images.
- Design prompts to generate canvases that synthesize vernaculars of different transformer models.
The project builds on our earlier work, developing ethnographic approaches to explore cross-model assemblages of algorithmic processes, training datasets, and latent spaces.
Registration
Please register via the form above until December 15. Your registration will be confirmed by December 20, 2024. Participation is limited to 20 people.
Venue
University of Siegen
Campus Herrengarten
Herrengarten 3
room: AH-A 125
57072 Siegen
Contact: Elena Pilipets
Scaling Sensing – Sensing Publics: Landscapes and Borders, Homes and Bodies
We are excited to invite you to the CRC Annual Conference 2024, taking place from November 13-15, 2024, at Uni Siegen, Obergraben 25, US-S 001/002. Organized by the Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1187) – Media of Cooperation. This year’s conference focuses on Scaling Sensing – Sensing Publics: Landscapes, Borders, Homes, and Bodies and is generously funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
About the Conference
This event is free and open to all, with a special invitation to early career researchers interested in engaging with leading experts and innovative research on the role of sensing practices and technologies in shaping public and private life.
The conference will offer a platform for interdisciplinary perspectives on how sensing practices influence environments, borders, domestic spaces, and the human body. Sensor technologies have rapidly changed the way we understand and interact with the world, influencing fields as diverse as the natural environment, urban planning, healthcare, and privacy.
Key themes and panel sessions:
- Sensing Landscapes: how sensing practices (human, digital, and non-human) shape the use and understanding of landscapes across diverse ecological and socio-political contexts.How sensing practices (human, digital, and non-human) shape the use and understanding of landscapes across diverse ecological and socio-cultural contexts.
- Sensing Borders: The implications of sensor-based technologies on migration, surveillance, and border control, highlighting their role in security and sociopolitical dynamics.
- Sensing Homes: The growing integration of smart home technologies, focusing on privacy, convenience, and control within domestic environments.
- Sensing Bodies: The intersection of wearable technologies and embodied social interactions, with implications for healthcare, biometric tracking, and social connectivity.
Next to renowned international keynote speakers, each panel will feature experts and researchers from various disciplines who will present case studies and theoretical reflections on interactionsbetween sensing, sensor technologies, and the public sphere.
Highlighted Speakers Include:
- David Howes (Concordia University, Montréal) on Calibrating the Techniques and Technologies of Perception-Action.
- Jürgen Streeck (University of Texas, Austin) on Deeply Sensed Togetherness.
- Maya Avis (Centre for Digital Humanities and Multilateralism) on States of Surveillance in 2024.
- Saadia Mirza (University of Chicago/ Sciences Po, Paris) on Sensing and Classification of Landscapes.
We will also enjoy a special evening of cultural enrichment on Thursday, November 14, with a performance by the Göksel Yilmaz Ensemble. Their music beautifully blends Turkish, Arabic, and Kurdish traditions with jazz and classical influences, promising a memorable night of music and cross-cultural celebration.
Event Details:
- Dates: November 13-15, 2024
- Location: Uni Siegen, Obergraben 25, US-S 001/002
- Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM daily
- Cost: Free of charge
How to Register:
Registration is open until October 20, 2024. To secure your spot, please register here.
Why Attend?
This conference is a unique opportunity for professionals, researchers, and students in fields related to media studies, cultural anthropology, socioinformatics? sensor technology, ethics, urban planning, healthcare, and more. We especially encourage early career researchers to join and benefit from networking and discussions with experts in the field. Whether you’re interested in the impact of technology on privacy, the future of smart cities, or the ethical dilemmas surrounding sensor-based surveillance, there’s something for everyone.
We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting and intellectually stimulating three days of discussions, presentations, and networking.
For more information about the program and detailed schedule, visit our conference website.
Follow us on social media for live updates throughout the event →
#CRC2024 #ScalingSensing #SensingPublics #MediaOfCooperation
Thank you, and we hope to see you there!
mit:forschen! GEMEINSAM WISSEN SCHAFFEN: Der Forschungspreis geht an das Forscherteam A05 des SFB 1187: Medien der Kooperation.
Tanja Aal und Dennis Kirschsieper (beide Universität Siegen)
Der Beitrag „CareConnection – A Digital Caring Community Platform to Overcome Barriers of Asking for, Accepting and Giving Help” der Sozio-Informatiker/innen gewinnt stellvertretend für das Autor*innen-Team der Publikation den zweiten Platz des ‘Wissen-der-Vielen – Forschungspreis für Citizen Science 2024.
Über Preis und Beitrag
Die Citizen-Science-Plattform „mit:forschen! Gemeinsam Wissen schaffen“ dient der Präsentation deutschlandweiter Forschungsprojekte, die mittels partizipativer Ansätze Bürger*innen einbeziehen. Persönliche Erfahrungen und individuelles Wissen der Gemeindemitglieder werden in Entwicklungsprozesse integriert und erfahrbar gemacht. Hierdurch wird der Diskurs über individuelle Lebenswelten in verschiedensten thematischen Kontexten, Herausforderungen und gemeinsam erarbeitete Lösungsszenarien angeregt und Vernetzung zwischen Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft gefördert.
Der 2. Platz des hieran angebundenen ‘Wissen-der-Vielen – Forschungspreis für Citizen Science 2024 ging an das Forschungsteam des Teilprojektes A05 „Kooperative Herstellung von Nutzerautonomie im Kontext der alternden Gesellschaft“ des Sonderforschungsbereichs 1187: Medien der Kooperation der Universität Siegen. Die Preisverleihung fand am 09. Oktober in Hamburg statt. Wissenschaft im Dialog und das Museum für Naturkunde Berlin würdigten die Preisträger mit einem Preisgeld von 10.000 Euro.
Mit ihrer Publikation ‚CareConnection – A Digital Caring Community Platform to Overcome Barriers of Asking for, Accepting and Giving Help’ beschreiben die Forscher*innen Tanja Aal und Dennis Kirschsieper die Forschung und Entwicklung einer Online-Plattform, die den Aufbau einer lokalen (Online-)Sorgegemeinschaft unterstützt.
Jury-Statement: “Auf einer allgemeineren Ebene wird durch die Forschungsarbeit sehr deutlich belegt, dass Citizen Science einen wichtigen Beitrag zur menschenzentrierten Technikentwicklung leisten kann.“
Die „CareConnection”-Plattform wurde mit einem Community-Design-Ansatz und nach Prinzipien der partizipativen Forschung (Reallabor, partizipative Aktionsforschung) entwickelt. Im Zentrum stand dabei, psychologische und soziale Barrieren des ‚um Hilfe bitten, Hilfe akzeptieren sowie Hilfe geben‘ zu identifizieren und zu überwinden. Die Publikation entstand zusammen mit weiteren Co-Autor*innen, bestehend aus Bürgerforscher*innen und Studierenden, unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Claudia Müller (Lehrstuhl Wirtschaftsinformatik, insb. IT für die alternde Gesellschaft) im Kontext des von ihr geleiteten Forschungsprojekt am Sonderforschungsbereich. Veröffentlicht wurde die Publikation im Tagungsband von Mensch und Computer 2023.
Empirische Basis der Entwicklung dieser Plattform und medialen Infrastruktur ist eine qualitative Interviewstudie, die in Kooperation mit der Fachhochschule Bern sowie in co-kreativer Zusammenarbeit mit älteren Menschen einer lokalen Gemeinde im ländlichen Bereich nahe Zürich durchgeführt wurde. Die Ergebnisse flossen in einen ersten Design-Prototyp einer Community-Plattform ein, die das Suchen und Anbieten von Hilfe barrierearm ermöglichen soll.
Die Plattformentwicklung wurde inzwischen auf den deutschen Kontext übertragen und befindet sich in der dritten Entwicklungsstufe des iterativen Bürger-zentrierten Design-Prozesses. Weitere 8 Interviews und 6 Design-Workshops wurden gemeinsam mit Studierenden und Bürger*innen geführt und befinden sich nunmehr in der finalen Evaluation.
Ziel des dreijährigen Projekts war ‚Hilfe benötigen‘ zu entstigmatisieren. Es sollte sich gemeinsam, ganz nebenbei, und in einem geschützten, digitalen Raum begegnet werden, um Hilfe vertrauensvoll erfahren und selbst schenken zu können. Das Projekt fördert eine sozio-technische Gemeinschaft, in der die Autonomie und Selbstbestimmtheit verschiedenster Nutzergruppen und das individuelle Gesundheitsmanagement langfristig zu stärken.
Über die Forscher/innen
Die Wiederkehr des Konnektionismus
von Sebastian Gießmann (Universität Siegen)
Wie die Mediengeschichte Künstlicher Intelligenz geschrieben werden kann.
→ Artikel erschienen in der FAZ am 02.10.2024
Über den Forscher
Sebastian Gießmann ist Akademischer Oberrat am Medienwissenschaftlichen Seminar der Universität Siegen und leitet das Teilprojekt A01: Geschichte digital-vernetzter Medien zwischen Spezialisierung und Universalisierung am Sonderforschungsbereich 1187 Medien der Kooperation.
Ein Klick, große Folgen: Wer entscheidet, was ein Like bedeutet?
Sebastian Gießmann (Universität Siegen) und Johannes Paßmann (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) heute Abend zu Gast in der DLF-Sendung “Systemfragen”
Der Beitrag fragt nach den Folgen von Likes auf Social Media.
Zur Folge
Zurücktreten wegen eines Likes auf Social Media: Diese Diskussion wurde etwa im Fall der Präsidentin der TU Berlin, Geraldine Rauch, geführt. Aber meint ein Daumen nach oben immer Zustimmung? Und wer entscheidet, was ein Like oder Emoji bedeutet?
Zu den Forschenden
“How Fact-Checkers are Becoming Machine Learners: A Case of Meta’s Third Party Programme”
Yarden Skop (University of Siegen) and Anna Schjøtt Hansen (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
The paper of our CRC 1187 member Yarden Skop is honored as best student paper at the 2024 conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. The article will be published in the proceedings of the conference and will be available online on October 30th, 2024.
In the article “The first app: a brief history of the credit card” on ZEVEDI eFin & Demokratie blog, Dr. Sebastian Gießmann traces the development of the credit card as a central medium of consumer society. Starting from its beginnings in the early 20th century as a charge plate, which was particularly widespread in the USA, the transformation of the credit card into a global payment method is described, which embodies both socio-economic prestige and technological innovation.
Sebastian Gießmann shows the developments in media technology and society that have made the credit card an indispensable part of modern capitalism and how the physical credit card has been continuously adapted to the requirements of an increasingly digitalized world – despite and also because of the rapid development of mobile payment services and app-based financial technologies.
➞ Full Article (only available in German)