The CJMD is excited to introduce visiting scholar Andrè Ullrich from the Weizenbaum Institute, an interdisciplinary digitalization research institute in Berlin. There, Ullrich heads a research group focused on sustainable approaches to digitalization. We asked Ulrich some questions about his research interests and life outside of work. To get better acquainted with the CJMD’s newest addition, check out this brief Q&A.

Tell us a little more about your research interests, and what you are working on right now. 

Ullrich: I am interested in understanding the relationship between digitalization and sustainability and the role that people play in this. In this context, I am currently working on a case study with company that wanted to become more sustainable in general, and also wanted to encourage its employees to adopt sustainable behavior. I am pleased that more and more companies are recognizing and proactively addressing the impact of their activities on the ecological environment. Here at CJMD I’m working with Adrienne Russell on a project in which we want to understand how science responds to technological innovations. More specifically, we’re interested in how scholarly debates shape how we imagine AI, and in turn how we imagine the role of scholars as co-producers in the development and adoption of these technologies.

What led you to be interested in that subject?

Ullrich: The urgent need to tackle challenges such as the waste we produce, which pollutes the environment because we cannot return it to the cycle of natural resources, and the massive energy consumption for the digitalization of our living environment and the technological infrastructure it requires. These are just two of the issues that need to be resolved if we want to offer future generations a future worth living.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Ullrich: Eat, hike, sail, and walk.

Tell us more about where you are from.

Ullrich: I’m from Berlin, Germany, a city that seems to be as green as Seattle but just flat and surrounded by the state of Brnadenburg, where more than a third of the area is covered by nature parks, forests, lakes and water areas. Compared to Seattle, it’s the other way around. It is a larger city but everything is quite smaller in the recreational environment.

Is there anything you are looking forward to doing in Seattle?

Ullrich: Since I’m only here for a short time, I’m going to focus my leisure activities on the things that are located in Seattle and omit the beautiful national parks in the region. I’m particularly interested in the MOPOP, but also want to have a coffee at KEXP’s Gathering Space, and of course I want to enjoy the beautiful views of the landscape that Seattle offers.