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My visit to the German Football Museum

Nov 26, 2025

I just got back from giving a block seminar on digital inequalities and ethnographic research methods at TU Dortmund. Since I was in town, I took the opportunity to visit the German Football Museum!

The museum is hard to miss - it stands out prominently right as you leave Dortmund’s main train station. I arrived just before the final entry time, and had only one hour to explore the museum, which was not much, but enough to see most of the exhibits I was interested in.

What truly stood out to me was the atmosphere that was created inside the museum, and how the lighting and sound effects portrayed soccer as something almost magical. As you pass the entrance gate, for example, you ride a narrow escalator with murals of fans wearing fan jerseys and soccer scarves of well-known German clubs at both sides, accompanied by sounds of cheering. It really made me feel as if I was in the stadium, as if I was surrounded by cheering fans, and as if I was one of them.

The first exhibit I encountered pays tribute to the team that won the 1954 men’s World Cup, featuring life-sized images of the players and several exhibits related to the event, with the sound of the original radio commentary. I had just arrived there after my ride on the escalator, and I still felt as if my favorite club was about to play - a feeling that this first exhibit picked up perfectly. The glorification of the players, the way in which objects from that event were neatly presented in display cases, and the emotional commentary in the background made me feel as if I was reliving a moment of huge historical value as a fan of this team - which, honestly, I don’t consider myself to be. I still find it impressive how the museum built up the atmosphere for me to be truly touched by this victory from more than 70 years ago. But, I cannot help but ask myself: Are there no other exhibits that represent German football better than pictures of eleven men in a semi-circle, looking at the visitors as they enter the exhibition?

The women’s soccer section was where I spent most of my time. There were a lot of exhibits I found interesting, such as a poster advertising the first known match between two women’s teams, held in Hornsey, north of London, on March 23rd, 1895. Or an edition of the Frankfurter Illustrierte from March 27, 1930, with a title story on the foundation of the first club for women’s soccer in Germany. While the section on women’s soccer was in the middle of the exhibition room, and most visitors probably passed either through or right next to it, it felt somewhat isolated from the rest of the exhibition. It reminded me a bit of the “notable women” sections in my school textbooks - the authors had made an effort to mention them at the end of each chapter, but the main text, the one that was important to read, featured almost exclusively men. This is what I felt the role of the women’s soccer section in this museum to be, too - important to mention, but more of a side-topic. As a fan of German women’s soccer, I was both really happy to see some of the exhibits there, and learn more about the history of the sport, and a little sad that women’s soccer was not treated equally to men’s.

The women’s soccer section also featured a large display case showcasing the trophies won by Germany’s women’s national team - though notably, some trophies were missing. This caught my attention, and I found out that these trophies had recently been relocated downstairs to the museum’s “treasury,” a dark room with several well-lit glass display cases arranged in neat lines, each showcasing one trophy won by the national teams. The treasury was another space in which the atmosphere truly touched me, and made me feel that those trophies in the display cases were incredibly valuable objects. This is why I find it all the better that at least some of the women’s trophies have also found their way there now.

However, one thing was missing completely from the exhibition, the one type of soccer I spend most of my time with - robot soccer! Should anyone at the German Football Museum ever read this - feel free to reach out, I would love to work with you on including that!

(Open graph image from Wesley Tingey on Unsplash)

Wenn Technologien ausgrenzen - When technologies exclude

Oct 16, 2025

This afternoon, the first session of my seminar at Technische Universität Dortmund will take place!

The title of the seminar is “Wenn Technologien ausgrenzen. Mensch-Technologie-Interaktionen ethnographisch erforschen” [When technologies exclude. Conducting ethnographic research on human-technology interactions], and there are two main things I would like the students to take away from it:

The first one is that access to technologies is not equally distributed, but that people have an unequal share in the advantages and disadvantages of technologies based on their intersecting personal characteristics. Social inequalities influence digital inequalities, which in turn reinforce social inequalities. At the same time, technologies can be incredibly helpful in providing access for people experiencing disadvantages, such as in the case of assistive technologies.

The second key take-away is an understanding of ethnographic methods which we will approach both theoretically and through practical exercises. One of the planned activities I am currently most excited about is a research exercise in which students will explore their own privileges and constraints in their use of a specific technology. I cannot wait to try it out with them, and might even write a little separate blog post on it!

Machine Speed vs. Human Speed? Or: Reflections on “Imaginations of Autonomy,” Part 2

Jun 11, 2024

It has been a bit more than two weeks since I attended the conference “Imaginations of Autonomy: On Humans, AI-based Weapon Systems and Responsibility at Machine Speed” at Paderborn University. In my last blog post, I shared some insights inspired by the pre-conference workshop presentations. Today, I want to explore another topic that recurred throughout the two days of the conference: temporality, or the various concepts of time in technology development.

The concept of “machine speed,” which is also featured in the conference’s title, implies a different time concept for machines that contrasts with that of, for example, humans. I see two main aspects to which this can refer. First, how machines outperform humans in calculations and processing power. The idea of machines being faster and more accurate than humans underlies, for example, the so-called “man vs. machine matches.” Second, that the speed of technology development rapidly increases over time, seemingly without human influence, and not necessarily in humanity’s best interest. Moore’s Law, for example, is often quoted as an argument for this position. In this line of thought, humans are perceived as too slow and inflexible to adapt to the ever-changing machinic state-of-the-art.

Another well-known reference to time perception in technology development is Mark Zuckerberg’s famous mantra, “Move fast and break things,” which has become emblematic of Silicon Valley. This phrase encapsulates a mindset where the primary goal of technology development is to outpace competitors, often at the expense of user interests. The logic suggests that any negative consequences can be addressed later. There are, however, other ideals in technology development that contrast this approach, such as slow technology.

Particularly in areas like autonomous weapon systems, it is crucial for civil society to monitor current development practices closely. As I discussed in my last blog post, concepts materialize in software. Similarly, concepts of time in technology development can shape political and military decision-makers’ sense of urgency about acquiring autonomous weapon systems, potentially accelerating their development.

The UN’s first resolution on autonomous weapon systems, dated October 12, 2023, underscores the need for an international approach to address challenges and concerns raised by these technologies. How can we, as civil society, encourage such an international approach in humanity’s best interest? How can we engage in productive debates about autonomous weapon systems and potentially influence their development to proceed slowly and responsibly, or maybe even stop altogether, rather than advance at machine speed?

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