Research class led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Kühl, with staff members Bernd Eckstein and Dennis Düllmann, as well as Prof. Dr. Marcel Schütz.

Offer for researchers and early-career researchers

Digitalization processes in organizations
classify and understand

Four-semester course at Bielefeld University
Weekly focused text discussions online
Regular information on texts and authors is provided on this page

In this research class, designed to run over four semesters, approximately 100 key texts on the topic of organization and digitalization are discussed on a weekly basis. The research class is part of the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology and is embedded in the KIWIT research group. Due to participation from multiple locations, the seminar is conducted online via Zoom.

For each session, all participants read a selected text, which is then discussed jointly. Prior reading is required for meaningful participation. Attendance is flexible, and participants may join any sessions or discussions that are of interest to them. The research seminar is primarily aimed at doctoral researchers at Bielefeld University and its project partners who are actively engaged in relevant research, but it is also open to interested master’s students and advanced bachelor’s students who have already completed the introductory module in organizational sociology. External researchers from other universities as well as other interested participants with a thematic focus are also welcome. Registration with brief information about one’s background and motivation is required (see information below)

11.05.2026: Karafillidis, A. (2026). Containment eines Laborunfalls. Merkur, 80(4), 36–47.

Gallery | click/swipe

Athanasios Karafillidis ist Soziologe und Systemtheoretiker sowie KI-Manager bei der Stadt Dortmund. In seiner Arbeit befasst er sich mit der Einbettung technologischer Systeme in organisationale Abläufe und Verwaltungsstrukturen. Foto: Nikolaus Fecht

In seiner Funktion bei der Stadt Dortmund befasst er sich mit der praktischen Umsetzung von KI-Governance und der im EU AI Act geforderten Vermittlung von Kompetenzen.

Er thematisiert im aktuellen Merkur-Heft die soziologischen Hintergründe der KI-Regulierung. Dabei analysiert er das Verhältnis zwischen technischer Unzuverlässigkeit und dem Aufbau individueller sowie organisationaler Kompetenzen.

1/3

Athanasios Karafillidis analysiert in seinem Essay „Containment eines Laborunfalls“, warum die aktuelle KI-Entwicklung eher als unkontrollierte Veröffentlichung zu Testzwecken denn als geplanter Fortschritt zu verstehen ist. Er beschreibt Sprachmodelle als statistische Systeme, die bauartbedingt unzuverlässig bleiben und keine maschinenhafte Präzision garantieren können. Diese fundamentale Unsicherheit stellt Organisationen vor die Aufgabe, KI-Ausgaben nicht als fertige Produkte, sondern als fehleranfällige Entwürfe zu behandeln.

Die Sitzung thematisiert, wie Unternehmen und Verwaltungen durch Kompetenzaufbau versuchen, diese Technologie in bestehende Prozesse einzubetten. Dabei dient der EU AI Act als Rahmen, um den Umgang mit der Unzuverlässigkeit zu professionalisieren und eine Übertragung von Verantwortung auf die Maschine zu verhindern. Karafillidis begreift Regulierung hierbei als notwendiges Interface zwischen Organisation und Technik, um die Qualitätssicherung dauerhaft zu gewährleisten.

Duration
Winter Semester 2025/2026 – Winter Semester 2027/2028

Schedule
Mondays, 4:15 p.m. (via Zoom)

Seminar Guidelines

Sessions begin punctually at 4:15 p.m.
The KIWIT Research Class, planned as a two-year program, meets weekly during the semester on Mondays from 4:15 to 6:00 p.m. and is conducted online via a consistent Zoom link (provided upon registration). Each session is based on a text that all participants are expected to have read in advance. Participation without prior engagement with the assigned—at times demanding—text is strongly discouraged.
Participants attending for the first time are asked to briefly introduce themselves in the chat, addressing the following points: institutional affiliation, specific interests in the field of digitalization (and, where applicable, artificial intelligence), and current research projects.
The seminar does not follow a formal moderation structure; instead, contributions are organized organically via Zoom’s raise-hand function.
When more than five participants are present (which is typically the case), microphones should remain muted. In sessions with a particularly large number of participants, a small-group discussion phase of approximately 20 minutes may be scheduled to facilitate closer engagement with the text. The guiding questions remain constant: Which arguments are convincing? Where do doubts or unresolved issues remain? During small-group discussions, participants are encouraged to keep their microphones switched on.
If authors of the assigned texts are present, they are kindly asked to refrain from participating in the discussion during the first 60 minutes. This will be followed by an opportunity for extended commentary and reflection.

Registration

Those interested in participating in the Research Class are requested to send an email with brief information about their academic background and motivation to Prof. Dr. Stefan Kühl (stefan.kuehl[at]uni-bielefeld.de). Registered participants will be added to the mailing list

Aktueller Text hier (Bild anklicken)

Reinhören: Unser neuer Science Podcast ist online.

Aktualisiert am 05.05.2026/jb

Offer for researchers and early-career researchers

Digitalization processes in organizations classify and understand

Digitalization processes in organizations
classify and understand