01.November 2025 - 31.October 2027

Prediction of Health Risks: Discourse on Technologies for Future Knowledge (PRiTech)

Background

Digital technologies are increasingly changing the way we manage our health. Through social media, wearables and smartphone apps, predictions about future health risks are now part of everyday life, especially for young people. This development raises not only medical questions, but also ethical and social ones: How can we deal with this knowledge consciously and in an empowered way? How do predictive technologies influence our understanding of health and illness? What responsibilities for ourselves and for society arise from this?

Research Questions and Objectives

The PRiTech research project investigates how adolescents and young adults deal with predictive health technologies and what questions arise for their responsible use. The aim of the project is to support young people in understanding the possibilities and limitations of predictive technologies and to develop their own attitudes towards them.

In a participatory process, teaching materials and discussion formats are being developed in collaboration with students, teachers, and experts from various disciplines. These are designed not only to enable reflective engagement with predictive health technologies, but also to be integrated into school lessons on a long-term basis. Beyond the project, they will serve as a guidance for other young people and offer teachers practical ideas for the long-term teaching of ethical and social issues related to predictive health technologies.

To support the development of the teaching materials through discussion, the project is overseen by an expert advisory board. This board comprises representatives from the main fields of disease prediction, as well as from the relevant technical backgrounds and framework conditions.