The Human touch

Photo Credits: Jan Zappner / CC BY-SA 2.0

“The Human Touch” is the interface between the individual and the digital, making it the successor to the “re:health topic” from last year. We’ll be examining mental and physical health in a digital context with the opportunities and possibilities resulting from machine learning, algorithms and big data among other things, as well as looking at the ethical implications. For instance, the talk by Brigitte Strahwald and Ulrich Mannsmann will look at the question of whether and how health computers can be misused, their strengths and possibilities. In addition, a workshop by Marie Kochsiek discusses health-tracking apps, explain problems about data security and help put users into the driver’s seat. We also want to draw attention to the sensitivity of health data – while passwords and accounts can be changed, health data is a part of our very person, a part of ourselves that says a lot about us and is therefore worth protecting.