Humor and science – do they go together? The project is testing a new video format in which a comedian takes a close look at digitalization topics. A research team is investigating how this format of science communication is received.
Don’t want to miss a video? Follow DIZH, ZHAW digital and Frank Richter (TikTok, Instagram)!
Video 1: When computers make decisions for you | Re:Digital 01
Comedian Frank Richter has a mission. He wants to find out whether humans or machines make “better” decisions and what this actually means. To do so, he interviews passers-by on the street, a computer with a funny hat and researcher Alice Aubert from the ZHAW. Alice’s research focuses, among other things, on decision-making processes at the interface between environmental sciences and society. For her, one thing is clear: there is no “better” decision. She explains why not in the video.
Video 2
In his second mission, comedian Frank Richter embarks on a journey of discovery to find out which machines are having a lasting impact on our everyday lives and how digitalization is influencing analogue activities. To find answers, he interviews visitors to Technorama, meets a dystopian robot and talks to researcher Thomas Schmalfeldt from the PHZH. Thomas is working on the DIZH project ‘Partners in a Trading Zone’ together with the University of Zurich at the interface of ethnology and computer science. He is getting to the bottom of exciting questions: For example, what is lost in the analog activity of knitting when a knitting machine takes over the work? What impact does digitalization have on our lives and our society?
Package insert:
- Ingredients: an insanely well-dressed Frank Richter, memes, people like you and me, a grumpy robot, memes, a researcher.
- Side effects: Depending on the age group, the video can trigger bursts of laughter, but also confusion.
- Use: The highest possible dosage and distribution are recommended to increase general well-being.
Would you like to find out more about digitalization projects at the ZHAW? The Digital Futures Map provides an overview:
Team
Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Gnach, ZHAW, School of Applied Linguistics
Dr. Sabrina Heike Kessler, University of Zürich, Department of Communication and Media Research
Ricardo Farina Mora, ZHAW, School of Applied Linguistics
Valery Wyss, ZHAW, School of Applied Linguistics
Johanna Seiwald, ZHAW, School of Applied Linguistics
Practical partners
Running time: 2024-2025