International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)

Andreas Baur

Society, Culture and Technological Change

Andreas Baur studies the complex interplay between IT infrastructures and politics/society with a focus on issues of power, autonomy, privacy and technology ethics. He is a fellow at the Critical Infrastructure Lab Amsterdam and pursues a PhD on the Politics of the Cloud at the University of Amsterdam. Andreas holds a BA in Political Science and Economics and an MA in Peace Research/International Politics.

Research interests

Infrastructures × Politics.  Privacy and data protection · (cyber) security · technology ethics

About

  • I am
  • my studies:
    • M.A. in Peace Research and International Politics, University of Tübingen
    • B.A. in Political Science and Economics, University of Tübingen/Universidad de Guadalajara
    • awarded a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation)

PhD project: The Politics of the Cloud

My PhD project on The Politics of the Cloud

  1. takes seriously the political nature of cloud infrastructures and their foundational character for digital societies, including the AI trend.
  2. focuses on the multiple relations of infrastructural politics and cloud computing, their wider implications for societies, politics and institutions, such as the EU, and the materialisations of power in global politics.
  3. engages with current infrastructural cloud projects such as Gaia-X and sovereign cloud initiatives, as well as the trend towards multi- and hybrid clouds.
  4. contributes to debates in International Relations/Political Science as well as Science and Technology Studies on IT infrastructures, technology ethics and the governance of complex socio-technical systems.

Publications

Select publications
  • Baur, A. (2024) ‘European Dreams of the Cloud: Imagining Innovation and Political Control’, in: Geopolitics 29(3), 796–820. doi:10.1080/14650045.2022.2151902
  • Baur, A. (2022) ‘Grenzenlosigkeit in Grenzen. Zur Politik globaler Cloudinfrastrukturen’, in: Politikum 8 (2), 44–49. doi:10.46499/2032.2377  Download
  • Theilen, J.T., A. Baur, F. Bieker, R. Ammicht Quinn, M. Hansen and G. González Fuster (2021) Feminist data protection (special issue), Internet Policy Review 10(4). doi:10.14763/2021.4.1609
  • Theilen, J.T., A. Baur, F. Bieker, R. Ammicht Quinn, M. Hansen and G. González Fuster (2021) ‘Feminist data protection: an introduction’, in: Internet Policy Review 10(4). doi:10.14763/2021.4.1609
  • Baur-Ahrens, A. (2017) ‘The power of cyberspace centralisation: analysing the example of data territorialisation’, in: M. Leese and S. Wittendorp (eds) Security/Mobility. Politics of Movement, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 37–56. doi:10.26530/oapen_626401
  • Baur-Ahrens, A. (2016) ‘Cyberwar’, in: J. Heesen (ed.) Handbuch Informations- und Medienethik, Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 261–68. doi:10.1007/978-3-476-05394-7_35
  • Baur-Ahrens, A. (2016) ‘„Cyberwar“ – Ein zentrales Problem der Sicherheitsdebatte?’, Deutschland & Europa 71, 58–62.
  • Baur-Ahrens, A., M. Krüger, R. Ammicht Quinn, M. Leese and T. Matzner (2015) How Smart Is “Smart Security”? Exploring Data Subjectivity and Resistance. Final Report. Tübingen: IZEW. doi:10.15496/publikation-8318
Further publications
  • Heesen, J., R. Ammicht Quinn, A. Baur, T. Hagendorff and I. Stapf (2022) ‘Privatheit, Ethik und demokratische Selbstregulierung in einer digitalen Gesellschaft’, in: A. Roßnagel and M. Friedewald (eds.) Die Zukunft von Privatheit und Selbstbestimmung, Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg, 161–187. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-35263-9_5
  • Baur, A. and Solange Martinez Demarco (2021) ‘Participation’, digilog@bw Spotlights.
  • Baur, A. (2020) ‘Dezentrale Tracing-Apps: Der einzig gangbare Weg – und trotzdem kein Allheilmittel’, BedenkZeiten as well as Corona-Tracing.
  • Baur, A. (2020) ‘Corona und die Bedeutung von Cloud-Infrastrukturen’, digilog@bw.
  • Büscher, M., […], A. Baur et al. (2018) ‘The IsITethical? Exchange: Responsible Research and Innovation for Disaster Risk Management’, in: K. Boersma and B. Tomaszewski (eds) Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, Rochester: ISCRAM, 254–267.
  • Baur-Ahrens, A., T. Hagendorff and M. Pawelec (2017) ‘Kryptografie’ and ‘Big Data’, in: J. Baumann and J. Lamla (eds) Privacy Arena: Kontroversen um Privatheit im digitalen Zeitalter, Kassel: kassel university press, 44–57, 97–116. doi:10.19211/KUP9783737603072
  • Baur-Ahrens, A. (2017) ‘Schaut in die Cloud – Ein Plädoyer für eine eingehendere ethisch/politische Beschäftigung mit der Cloud’, in: C. Brand, J. Heesen, B. Kröber, U. Müller and T. Potthast (eds) Ethik in den Kulturen – Kulturen in der Ethik. Eine Festschrift für Regina Ammicht Quinn, Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto, 327–333.
  • Baur-Ahrens, A. et al. (2016) ‘Smart Technologies – Workshop on Challenges and Trends for Privacy in a Hyper-connected World’, in: D. Aspinall et al. (eds) Privacy and Identity Management. Time for a Revolution?, IFIP AICT 476, Cham: Springer, 111–28. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-41763-9_8
  • Baur-Ahrens, A., J. Heesen, T. Matzner (2016) ‘Was auf uns zukommt: Prävention im IT-Kontext’, in: R. Ammicht Quinn Prävention und Freiheit. Zur Notwendigkeit eines Ethik-Diskurses. Advisory opinion for the 21st German Congress on Crime Prevention, 6/7 June 2016, Magdeburg, 113–25.

Academic talks and event organisation (selection)

  • ‘Reaching European Stars with American Clouds: Rooting European Digital Sovereignty in Gaia-X’, 10th European Workshops in International Studies, Amsterdam, 12–14 July 2023.

  • ‘Governing European Cloud Infrastructures’, 4S/ESOCITE 2nd Joint Meeting, Cholula/Mexico, 7–10 December 2022.

  • Invited speaker: ‘Why we need to talk about feminist data protection’, Digital Futures in the Making: Imaginaries, Politics, and Materialities, Hamburg, 14–16 September 2022.

  • ‘Cloud infrastructures between global skies and sovereign territories’, EISA 15th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Athens, 1–4 September 2022.

  • ‘GAIA-X: Governing Europe’s Moon-Shot in the Cloud’, ISA 2022 Annual Convention, Nashville (online), 30 March – 2 April 2022.

  • ‘Imagined secure European cloud futures’, Making Europe through Infrastructures of In/Security, Vienna (online), 12/13 Nov. 2020.

  • Organisation of an workshop on Feminist Data Protection, part of the Forum Privacy, Berlin, 20 November 2019, together with R. Ammicht Quinn, F. Bieker, G. González Fuster, M. Hansen und J. Theilen.

  • Organisation of the 2019 conference of the Forum Privacy on ‘Aufwachsen in überwachten Umgebungen – Wie lässt sich Datenschutz in Schule und Kinderzimmer umsetzen?’ (‘Growing up in monitored environments - How can data protection be implemented in schools and child rooms?’.

  • ‘The Cloud as a Way to a More Secure Internet – and its Social Effects’, 6th European Workshops in International Studies, Kraków, 27 June 2019.

  • ‘The Power of the Cloud at the Horizon of ICT Infrastructures’, ISA’s 60th Annual Convention 2018, Toronto, 27 March 2019.

  • ‘Sky full of clouds. Cloud computing and its future political impact’, EISA 12th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Prague, 13 September 2018.

  • ‘What does the cloud do to security?’, ISA’s 59th Annual Convention 2018, San Francisco, 7 April 2018.

  • ‘Smart security at airports. Smart for whom?’, 7th Biannual Surveillance & Society Conference, Barcelona, 20–23 April 2016.

  • ‘The Power of Cyberspace Centralisation’, 9th Pan-European Conference on International Relations, Giardini Naxos, 23–26 September 2015.

Talks

  • Keynote: Künstliche Intelligenz: Ethik, Macht und die Perspektive der Infrastruktur (Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Power and the Infrastructure Perspective). BIM Cluster Tag of the BIM Cluster BW, Stuttgart, 10 July 2024.
  • Invited speaker, Workshop Re-Figuration of Cyberspace by CRC 1265, Berlin, 18–19 April 2024.
  • Invited participant, Roundtable on protocols, standards and ecosystems by the Open Future Foundation, Amsterdam, 20 June 2023.
  • Invited speaker, KI Makerspace on KI und vulnerable Gruppen - dual use von Technik in Migration, Flucht und Vertreibung (AI and vulnerable groups – dual use of technology on migration, refuge and displacement), Tübingen, 25 May 2023.
  • Invited talk at the seminar Democracy in the European Union by Niels ten Oever, Universiteit van Amsterdam, 9 May 2023.
  • Invited speaker, Summer School of the Cusanuswerk on Cyber war's. Sicherheit in einer digitalisierten Welt (Security in a digitalised world), Regenstauf, 14 August 2018.
  • Invited speaker, Nuremberg Dialogue on Technology on Herausforderung: Sicherheit im Cyberspace (the challenge to secure cyberspace), Nuremberg, 21 June 2018.
  • Invited speaker (together with Marco Krüger), Specialist conference on Luftsicherheitskontrolltechnik – Technologie und Ausrüstung für die Sicherheit im zivilen Luftverkehr (Aviation security technology – technology and equipment keeping civil air transport secure) organised by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Leipzig, 9 June 2016.

Interviews and media appearances

  • ‘Gaia-X: This Governance Process is unique in the World’, Interview with Andreas Weiss and Thomas Sprenger of eco – Verband der Internetwirtschaft, Gaia-X Federation Services and dotmagazine, 14 February 2023. 
  • ‘Infrastrukturen, Cloud und Governance’ (‘Infrastructures, cloud and governance’). Video summarising my research conducted within digilog@bw. YouTube, 21 December 2022.
  • ‘Who can we trust?’ A video interview with me is part of an exhibition at ZKM Karlsruhe, 18 December 2021 – 24 April 2022.
  • ‘Was steckt hinter der Cloud? Corona und die Bedeutung von Cloud-Infrastrukturen’ (‘What's behind the cloud? Covid-19 and the importance of cloud infrastructures’, digiloglounge, YouTube interview with Sabine Faller, ZKM, 17 September 2020.
  • ‘Warum wir keinen Cyberwar erleben werden’ (‘Why we won't experience a cyber war’), interview with the podcast SWR Aktuell Netzagent, 16 August 2019.
  • ‘Smart Data and Smart Cities’, interview with students of the Berufliche Gymnasium St. Klara, Rottenburg, as part of the Ethics Forum on ‘Big Data – Herrschaft der Algorithmen?’ (‘Big Data – Authority of Algorithms?’), 16 January 2019.
  • ‘Kunst und Wissenschaft forschen gemeinsam zu Privatheit’ (‘Arts and science work together in a research project on privacy’), article on netzpolitik.org, 3 July 2017.
  • ‘Digitale Schlachten’ (‘Digital battles’), interview as part of a radio broadcast of cantaloup.fm, 15 May 2017.
  • ‘Smarte Welten im Kapitalismus 2.0’ (‘Smart worlds and capitalism 2.0’, with Marco Krüger et al.), interview as part of a radio broadcast of Deutschlandfunk, 7 October 2016.
  • ‘Smart City – Stadt der Zukunft’ (‘Smart city – city of the future’, with Marco Krüger et al.), interview as part of the radio broadcast Salzburger Nachtstudio, Ö1, 21 September 2016’.
  • ‘Der Flughafen ist ein symbolischer Ort’ (‘The airport is a symbolic place’, interview with the public service broadcaster SWR, together with Matthias Leese), SWR Landesschau Aktuell Baden-Württemberg, 23 March 2016.

Teaching

Completed projects

  • digilog@bw (2022, MWK Baden-Württemberg): „Digitalisierung im Dialog”
  • Forum Privacy (2021, BMBF): ‘Research for a self-determined life in the digital age’
  • HEIMDALL (2021, EU Horizon 2020): ‘Multi-Hazard Cooperative Management Tool for Data Exchange, Response Planning and Scenario Building’
  • SECTOR (2017, EU FP7): ‘Secure European Common Information Space for the Interoperability of First Responders and Police Authorities’
  • Privacy-Arena (2016, BMBF): ‘Research Project for a Cartography and Analysis of the Privacy-Arena’
  • SmartSec (2015, Media Democracy Fund): ‘How smart is “smart security“? Exploring data subjectivity and resistance’