Im Workshop „KI im Handwerk – Was hat das mit mir zu tun?“, zu dem das Kompetenzzentrum Berliner Handwerker*innen im Rahmen des Learning Circles Nachhaltigkeit in Kooperation mit der Handwerkskammer Berlin einlädt, werden genau diese Fragen praxisnah beleuchtet.

Katja Anclam, Geschäftsführerin von difgl und KI-Expertin, gibt gemeinsam mit Carmen Albrecht (Beraterin für Innovation und Technologie sowie Betriebsberaterin für nachhaltige Unternehmensführung bei der Handwerkskammer Berlin) Einblicke in die Potenziale und Herausforderungen von KI im Arbeitsalltag. Neben einer verständlichen Einführung in grundlegende Konzepte stehen konkrete Anwendungsbeispiele und die Einordnung gesellschaftlicher Auswirkungen im Fokus.

Die Teilnehmenden erhalten die Möglichkeit, Perspektiven für den eigenen Arbeitskontext zu entwickeln und sich mit anderen über den Einsatz von KI im Handwerk auszutauschen.

Termine: 06.05. und 20.05.2026
Ort: Berlin
Teilnahme: kostenfrei

Der Workshop richtet sich an Handwerker*innen, die sich mit den Auswirkungen und Einsatzmöglichkeiten von KI in ihrem Arbeitsumfeld auseinandersetzen möchten.

Mehr Infos hier: https://kompetenzimhandwerk.de/event/herzliche-einladung-zum-workshop-ki-im-handwerk-was-hat-das-mit-mir-zu-tun-dein-werkzeug-deine-entscheidung/

A conversation with Vincenzo Latronico about gentrification on the London Berlin Democracy podcast

Stay tuned for the new episode!

Our podcast hosts, filmmaker Sabine Pusch and Public Policy Advisor Dr. Robert Keeling, speak with Italian author Vincenzo Latronico about his highly acclaimed novel Perfection, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025.

The novel traces the seemingly perfect life of a foreign couple in gentrified Berlin – and serves as a starting point for a discussion about urban change processes in two metropolises.

Together, we discuss how Berlin has changed since Covid and in what ways the controversial topic of gentrification is being negotiated there: While the city continues to live off its reputation as an open, resistant cultural metropolis, many neighborhoods are increasingly under pressure. Creative spaces are disappearing faster than new ones are being created, and the gap between political aspiration and urban reality is becoming more noticeable.

A look at London shows parallel but differently timed developments: Gentrification often started earlier and harder there – with long-term consequences such as deeper social divides, radically transformed neighborhoods and an everyday life that is increasingly shaped by the global real estate market.

We ask: Which patterns are similar, which developments differ – and what do they reveal about the future of urban democracy?

The podcast will be released tomorrow morning on all major platforms!

Our team led by Sina Heider organized, supervised, and documented the event. In addition to Sina Heider, Steffen Kottkamp was also responsible for the editorial work for the film. For us, this was a good opportunity to show how we work: We plan formats, produce media, and support projects in becoming visible – both internally and externally.

Every event brings its own requirements. That’s why we always look first: What is really needed?
Sometimes it’s a video, sometimes a short social media insight, or simply good organization in the background. At the DGT conference, it was a mixture of everything.

Thanks to Matthias Kindler for the support, to our great keynote speakers and panel guests, to the team at TU Berlin and the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Tourismus!

Today it is clear that the idea is more important than ever.

Where is SPLEE today?

Together with renowned designers, we have built the website www.splee.eu, which already shows in prototype form how a European platform can function.
All published texts are translated into key European languages using AI, so that barriers that have limited Europe’s discourses are now easily overcome for the first time.

At the same time, visualizations of news flows have been developed – experimental analyses that make patterns, strategies and parameters of media discourses visible. These data-journalistic experiments are the first building blocks for a deeper understanding of European media landscapes.

SPLEE is currently focusing on sustainable business models and the preparation of follow-up projects – in particular for the further development of automated, AI-supported translations and for scaling the platform.

Our most important learning

Technology alone is not enough. For European data sovereignty, we need the opportunity for genuine discourse.
Our work to date has shown that three things need to be combined for this:

• clear, well-thought-out interfaces,
• consistent user orientation,
• and quality content that creates trust.

In particular, the interdisciplinary exchange between media studies, design, technology and journalism has had a decisive impact on SPLEE. At the same time, our research clearly shows that the dominance of American platforms – and their focus on short, fast news – narrows the European discourse space. A platform like SPLEE, which makes longreads and essays from all over the EU accessible, can make an important democratic and economic contribution here.

How to proceed

Now a new phase begins:

• Building a European network of media partners
• Further development of the prototype into a fully functional platform
• Intensification of license and business models
• Improvement of AI-supported translation processes
• Expansion of data-journalistic visualizations
• Development of a European user community

SPLEE is a work in progress – a project with a future.
Because Europe continues to need political and economic structures AND a common public sphere.

We will continue to work on it.
Together, European and with a vision that is more important than ever.

With “Art.Culture.AI,” difgl strengthens future competencies at the intersection of art, culture, and science.

In workshops, training sessions, and impulse formats, we impart practical knowledge on AI literacy, tools, and technology trends – specifically tailored to the unique needs of the cultural and media sector.

Thanks to our interface expertise between AI, technology, media, and culture, we have developed our own programs that are consistently practice-oriented.
Our mission: A good life and more freedom in art and culture – and an awareness of AI’s limitations.

We develop concrete application scenarios for AI – from creative production and curatorial processes to communication with audiences and society.
Art.Culture.AI understands Artificial Intelligence not as a replacement, but as a catalyst for creative future processes – and for a good life in cultural coexistence.

At the Tourism Day of the Zugspitzregion in the AURA-HOTEL Saulgrub, everything revolved around sustainability, accessibility, and digitalization – and how these topics can be experienced in everyday life.

Together with Christoph Henseler, Managing Director of the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Tourismus, our colleague Katja Anclam was on site for difgl. Their joint workshop focused on the opportunities of digitalization for tourism businesses – practical, interactive, and with many impulses for SMEs.

A real highlight was the venue itself: the AURA-HOTEL Saulgrub, supported by the Bavarian Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired e.V. – a place that shows what lived accessibility means. It is impressive how naturally inclusion and hospitality interact here.

The future of tourism is not created alone – but together.

In the interview, Anclam and Henseler talk about the founding of the institute, the importance of interdisciplinary work, and the current challenges.

1. Why is an institute like difgl more important today than ever?

We live in an age of rapid technological change and global challenges. At the same time, the need for meaning, social cohesion, and sustainable development is growing.

The difgl offers a space to consider technological developments not in isolation, but to place them in the context of human needs and social values. Our interdisciplinary approach makes it possible to build bridges between science, business, and society – and thereby develop truly effective solutions.

The question of the good life is one of the central challenges of our time. We see ourselves as a platform to illuminate this question from various interdisciplinary perspectives and to find new ways together.

2. How did the institute come to be founded, and what distinguishes it?

The founding of difgl in 2021 arose from the need to link science and research with media and communication. Our goal was to create a new type of institute that not only conducts research but also communicates and provides concrete social impetus.

It was already foreseeable at this point that a phase of change was imminent, which would require new approaches, questions, and answers.
We see ourselves as an interface between technological change and human life. In times in which great ideologies are losing influence, we want to specifically ask the question: “How do we want to live well – and how can we achieve this goal?” Through interdisciplinary collaboration and broad social debates, we seek answers to this central question.

3. The institute works at the interface between science and practice. Its expertise lies not only in research but also in science communication and consulting. Why are interdisciplinary institutions so important today?

The future is uncertain and complex, which is why institutions are needed that unite a wide range of perspectives. Research can only have a real social impact if its results are communicated in an understandable way and made practically applicable.

The difgl researches, advises, communicates, and produces – it is an integrative approach that is necessary to meet the challenges of our time. Digitalization, AI, sustainable mobility, or education are not isolated topics. They interlock and must be considered in an interdisciplinary manner in order to find sustainable and innovative solutions.

Through the close connection between science and practice, we also want to ensure that research results do not remain in academic circles but contribute concretely to shaping a better future.

4. What does a “good life” mean to you, and how can this concept be realized in a modern, digital, and globalized society?

For us, the “good life” is a central guiding idea, a vision that unites various social and individual perspectives. It is a cipher for our shared ideas of a livable social coexistence and of a dignified working and private life.

In a modern, digital, and globalized society, a good life means shaping technological and economic developments in such a way that they promote individual and collective well-being without exacerbating social inequalities or overburdening ecological resources. That is why we at difgl analyze this question from different perspectives – from digitalization and artificial intelligence to mobility and media and communication.

A good life is not something rigid. It must be redefined jointly in society and in interdisciplinary processes. This is not about renunciation, but about the question of how we can develop a sustainable, socially just, and yet innovative model for the future in which it is good to live.

5. Which social and economic framework conditions do you consider decisive in enabling as many people as possible to have a good life?

The new reality also brings new opportunities.
In this new world with new challenges, we must come to a new understanding of how we want to build a beautiful, just, and good society in which we can all live well.

These are, in part, very traditional questions – but they must be answered in new ways. These include, for example:
How do we design education that prepares people for the future – with digital and classic methods – and that lasts a lifetime?
What does an economic model look like that, under new conditions, provides the things and services that we all need for a good life and generates prosperity – without plunging us into depression or destroying the world?
And: What political structures and innovations do we need that promote transparent and inclusive participation of all social groups?

Our world has become more complex and interconnected. National or local solutions alone are not enough – we must think in global value chains. At the same time, one thing remains constant: our natural foundations of life must be preserved. The difgl is committed to precisely this integrative consideration of economic, social, and ecological factors.