Just Computation. Justice through Computational Predictions? Comparisons of education and law in Germany & the USA [just:comp] (A06)

• Subject Area: General Education and History of Education ; Principles of Law and Jurisprudence ; Criminal Law
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549839646

The [just:comp] project explores how data-driven predictions in education and criminal justice shape norms of justice, recognition, and belonging. Using a comparative lens on the U.S. and Germany, it combines discourse analysis, interviews, and tool studies to critically assess algorithmic decision-making. The project aims to identify conditions under which predictive systems may enable fairer institutional practices across disciplines. It assumes that such systems gain traction as responses to a crisis of legitimacy in public institutions. The project investigates whether these technologies foster participation or reinforce inequality through technocratic means.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1750: Inclusion : Recognition : Justice. Participation and Involvement in Childhood and Adolescence
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Christoph Burchard; Professorin Dr. Juliane Engel