We are looking to appoint student assistants (9-15h/week; SHK/WHF) with effect from September 1, 2024 as support for the Center for Science and Thought and the research project Desirable Digitalisation.

Job advertisement in German

Film Screening and Discussion: 

'Cyber Everything'

On 27.10.2023 there will be a screening of the documentary film 'Cyber Everything' at the Center for Science and Thought from 16:00 to 21:00. Afterwards there will be a joint discussion with the two filmmakers Shimon Dotan and Netaya Anbar as well as with the philosopher Markus Gabriel, to which we cordially invite you.

Dr Chelsea Haramia on the latest BBC Radio podcast "The Inquiry"

In the recent episode of the BBC Radio podcast "The Inquiry", Dr. Chelsea Haramia talks about the ethical, social, and existential dimensions of the old but no less pressing human question: "Are we alone in the universe?"

Cyber Everything

ARTE: Cyber World – The Future is Now

The new documentary by director Shimon Dotan and producer Netaya Anbar is now available in the ARTE Mediathek.

"Cyber Everything" investigates the changes that have taken place since the rapid emergence of the so-called cyber world. The prefix cyber originates from ancient Greek and translates as "to control." Accordingly, the question of whether humans are still in control in the digital and technological age runs like a thread through the entire film.

Shimon Dotan and Netaya Anbar are the current "Mecator Visiting Professors for AI in the Human Context" in the research project "Desirable Digitization: Rethinking AI for Just and Sustainable Futures".

Are some brain organoids, or sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) systems (e.g., ChatGPT 4) conscious? In some cases, it may seem so. But how can we tell?  The conference will focus on unusual candidates for consciousness such as isolated hemispheres after split brain or hemispherotomy surgery, and advanced AI systems (e.g., ChatGPT). The main aim of the conference is to explore cases and investigate what kind of (traditional or innovative) demarcation criteria could be used to detect whether an entity or its local states are conscious.