Towards Digital Humanism Indicators
📘 New EUDHIT Research Report
I’m pleased to share the publication of a new research report from the Horizon Europe project EUDHIT - The European Digital Humanism Initiative:
“Towards Digital Humanism Indicators”
The report is now publicly available on the official EUDHIT Publications page, and marks the first deliverable produced under EUDHIT at the University of Turin, where the project is run under the aegis of HEET – the Hub for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, an IEET research hub.
Why this report exists
Across Europe and beyond, Digital Humanism has become a shared reference point in AI governance and responsible innovation. Despite its frequent invocation, it remains normatively rich but operationally vague.
This report was written to address that gap.
Rather than proposing new principles or adding yet another framework to an already crowded field, the goal was deliberately modest and methodological:
To map common ground, highlight meaningful divergences, and render the normative landscape comparable and measurable—as a foundation for future indicator development within EUDHIT.
What the report does
The report performs a structured comparison of five high-level governance and ethics frameworks that are central to contemporary discussions of Digital Humanism:
EU Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles
Vienna Manifesto on Digital Humanism
Digital Responsibility Goals (DRGs)
EU Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI
Vatican City State Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (Decree DCCII)
The inclusion of the Vatican document is explicit and intentional. It is treated as a governance framework on equal analytical footing, not for confessional reasons, but for scientific integrity. Its dignity-first, human-centred orientation offers distinctive contributions that meaningfully complement secular and institutional EU approaches—particularly around moral agency, anthropological grounding, and responsibility.
What makes this report useful
Several features were prioritised throughout:
Accessibility: The report is written for policymakers, stakeholders, and civil society actors—not as an internal technical memo.
Comparative structure: The analytical framework is designed to be reused in later indicator work.
Standalone comparison table: A clean, citable table is provided for fast uptake, presentations, and policy discussions.
Thematic synthesis: Recurring commitments—human dignity, agency, accountability, transparency, inclusion, democratic governance—are highlighted, alongside areas of divergence.
Versionability: This report is designed as a living document, capable of future refinement as frameworks evolve.
How this fits within IEET, HEET, and EUDHIT
I authored and led this report in my capacity as:
Managing Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET)
Managing Director of the EraTo Center (Ethical Research Center on Anthropology and Technology) at the University of Turin
Within EraTo, I direct HEET (the Hub for Ethics and Emerging Technologies), which functions as an IEET research hub. EUDHIT’s work at UniTo is conducted under HEET’s aegis, making this publication both an EUDHIT deliverable and an IEET-supported initiative.
This report reflects the kind of translational, governance-facing work that IEET and HEET are committed to advancing: ethically rigorous, institutionally grounded, and usable beyond academia.
How to read and use it
Read and download the full report here:
👉 [PDF LINK]
If you only have two minutes, the comparison table is here:
👉 [TABLE LINK]
The report is hosted on the EUDHIT Publications page here:
👉 [PUBLICATIONS LINK]
If you find it useful, please share it with your networks.
The comparison table, in particular, is intended to circulate widely—among policymakers, researchers, NGOs, and consortium partners.
Join us in April: HEET Launch Event
Finally, I’d like to flag an important upcoming milestone.
On April 16th, we will formally launch HEET with a public event in Turin. This will be an opportunity to present HEET’s mission, situate EUDHIT’s work within it, and bring together scholars and practitioners working on ethics and emerging technologies.
More details will follow soon—but please save the date.
This report is just the beginning.
—
Steven Umbrello
Managing Director, IEET
Managing Director, EraTo Center (University of Turin)
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