The goal of the institute, named after the computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum, is to investigate current social changes in connection with digitalisation and to develop future political and economic options for action for the benefit of society. The Institute conducts independent and interdisciplinary research into digital change, including the legal, ethical and economic issues of the digital society. The Institute's overarching question is: "How can the goals of individual and social self-determination be realised in a world characterised by digitally mediated transformation and delimitation processes and what framework conditions and resources are necessary for their realisation?"