CTSi//circle.responsibleComputing is hosting its first Public Evening Lecture entitled “What counts as computer science? Examining epistemic cultures in computing and their consequences” as part of the new Science Insight series of the Responsible Tech & Society Forum.
Key Information:
- Speakers: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ben Wagner & PhD Gabriel Grill
- Date: 29 April 2026
- Time: 17:00–18:00 (CEST)
- Format & Access: Online and free to attend via Zoom
- Programme: 25–30 minutes presentation & 20–25 minutes Q&A
- Language: English
- Audience: Open to all interested participants
- Note: The event will be recorded.
About the Talk:
This talk examines the consequences of the increasing dissemination and authority of epistemic cultures emanating from computer science. As computational approaches move into different areas, they carry particular assumptions and discourses that reshape practices in ways often treated as self-evident rather than value-laden and constructed. The talk seeks to unpack ideas important to contemporary epistemic computing cultures, trying to make their contours more tangible to foster reflexive and critical engagement with their consequences.
The concept of epistemic culture describes practices, arrangements, and, techniques within a field to validate and create knowledge and in an area as large as computer sciences, different structures and approaches co-exist and compete. In this talk, the added qualifier of computing is used to point to this breadth and highlight the boundary work that makes it possible. The field increases its reach by claiming to be a universal method applicable to nearly all areas while positioning itself in other arenas as a clearly bounded, foundational science or an engineering discipline interwoven with industry characterized by frequent personal exchanges and deep funding links. This talk argues this flexibility in boundary work is strategic and necessary to stabilize the continuous expansion of the area and its ideals.
About the Speakers:
Ben Wagner:
Ben Wagner is University Professor of Human Rights and Technology at IT:U, Director of the AI Futures Lab at TU Delft and Professor of Media, Technology and Society at Inholland University of Applied Science. His research focuses on the governance of socio-legal systems, freedom of expression online and the regulation of technology. He is also on the advisory board of the data science journal Patterns , the Responsible Technology Institute at Oxford University and the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe .
Previously, Ben served as founding Director of the Center for Internet & Human Rights at European University Viadrina, Director of the Sustainable Computing Lab at Vienna University of Economics and member of the Advisory Group of the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA). He holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from European University Institute in Florence.
Gabriel Grill:
Gabriel Grill, PhD, is a researcher on AI and digital sovereignty at the Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria (IT:U), where he is part of the Human Rights and Technology group, and a visiting researcher at TU Delft. He holds a PhD in Information Science and Science and Technology Studies from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Logic and Computation from TU Wien. His work on technology policy and impact assessment — covering topics such as the AMS algorithm, social media surveillance, and the false promises of generative AI — has been cited in parliamentary technology assessments across Europe, NGO reports (Human Rights Watch, Epicenter.Works, Coworker.org ), and press outlets including Wired, Futurezone, and Der Standard.
We look forward to your participation.