The Research Unit Technology, Inequality and Freedom builds on and expands the first-phase (Re-)Allocation RU by placing technological transformation at the center of its analysis of contestations of the liberal script. Earlier work identified broken promises of social mobility, meritocratic fairness, and distributive justice as key endogenous drivers of contestation. In the second phase, the RU examines how advances in automation, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructures, and data-driven governance reshape inequalities, political authority, and both individual and collective self-determination.

 One research strand investigates technology and global capitalism, focusing on how technological change alters labor markets, generates new economic elites, deepens transnational inequalities, and contributes to emerging forms of techno-colonial extraction. The RU examines whether these developments trigger regressive or progressive re-scripting of allocation norms within the liberal script. A second strand analyzes how technology affects freedom and democracy by transforming public spheres, enabling disinformation, facilitating political mobilization, and reinforcing or undermining state capacity in both liberal and non-liberal contexts.

 Integrating economics, political science, sociology, and science and technology studies, Technology, Inequality and Freedom develops a conceptual and empirical framework to understand technology as a driver, arena, and consequence of contestations of the liberal script.

Research Projects

Narrative, Power, and Control (NPC): The Authoritarian Playbook in the Global Video Games Industry
Prof. Dr. Anita Gohdes, Prof. Dr. Johannes Giesecke, Prof. Yasemin Soysal, PhD
Sep 01, 2026 — Aug 31, 2029 Strengthening democratic resilience with AI: The democratic potential of digital holocaust testimonies (DEMO-AIM)
Prof. Dr. Heike Klüver, Prof. Dr. Johannes Giesecke, Prof. Dr. Macartan Humphreys
Sep 01, 2026 — Aug 31, 2029