Steinbeis-Transfer-Institut Information Ethics ( STI-IE )

Over Christmas I met one of my academic-philosophic role models, Rafael Capurro. It was a gray german winter day, and as always when i meet an established elder I admire, I was full of excitement and a bit nervous. I am always especially nervous, when i meet intellectual specialists (Prof. Capurro has created the philosophy of angeletics and is one of the top authorities in information ethics). I know my scholarship is genuine and holistic, but because it is highly transdisciplinary it must be eclectic, hence it many times lacks in-depth genealogy of the respective field in question, which makes me a bit un-easy because many academics tend to judge their conversation partners based on what they know about their field.

Anyways, the meeting was a true intellectual and friendly encounter. We talked and philosophized for six hours straight, and I believe both of us had the understanding that we'd meet many times, collaborate and deliberate about the themes that matter to us (ethics and values in cyberspace, info-ethics, philosophy of technology, etc.).

On my next visit, some weeks later, we helt a short interview for the Internet Rights and Principles coalition (listen to mp3) and we agreed to setup a explorative survey about 'values on the internet' (please contribute!) meant to produce qualitative data, which we plan to use as basis for more research.

During that visit I also learned that Prof. Capurro and Dr. Michael Nagenborn had just setup the Steinbeis-Transfer-Institut Information Ethics (STI-IE), and I felt really honored when they asked me to join their international advisory board.

About two weeks ago we had the first board-meeting (adjunct to a symposium on Prof. Capurro's angeletics) and as expected i was impressed by the high academic competence, as well as cultural and geographical diversity of my peers in this community.

"The STI-IE envisions an international as well as intercultural cooperation focusing on the ethical impacts of information technology on human practices and thinking, particularly on social, economic, political, scientific and cultural interaction.
The STI-IE is devoted to academic research as well as to practical projects."

So if you plan to work on a project within that scope or if you are looking for a partner to address relevant aspects in a project you work on, please feel free to contact either me or Prof. Capurro.