We are happy to announce that the lecture series of the winter term 2025/26 will revolve around the topic of Digital Complexity: Beyond Human Understanding.
Current developments in the fields of simulation and artificial intelligence have shown that the complexity of digital tools has exceeded the levels of human understanding. We can no longer comprehend and explain the results that AI delivers. Even AI deceptions and hallucinations are now almost impossible to detect. This raises the question of the relationship between humans and their technology anew. Are technologies as instruments useful extensions of human capabilities, as it was understood in the classical philosophy of technology, or are we now extensions of technology? Will AI dominate us in the near future?
The lecture series addresses these fundamental questions as well as ethical issues of digital transformation. It also takes a look at the development of digitality as a modern paradigm. Even though digital computers first appeared in the 1940s, there is a longer-term history of the development of digital tools and methods deeply rooted in our self-understanding as humans. Knowledge of this history makes it easier to understand current developments.
But what exactly do these current developments mean for science and society? The different lectures aim to tackle various aspects of the digital transformation of science and society from the perspective of “digital complexity.” Questions about explainable AI, about the well-being of people in a digital world, about the social and political impact of digital, social media will be explored, as well as the provocative question of who will be doing research in the future: humans or AI?
Various speakers, including the media theorist Anna Tuschling and the sociologist Dirk Baecker, will be guests at the KHK c:o/re to shed light on “Digital Complexity: Beyond Human Understanding” from different disciplinary perspectives.
Please find an overview of the dates and speakers in the program.
The lectures will take place from October 22, 2025, to February 11, 2026, every second Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 pm in presence and online.
Part of the lecture series are three keynotes, held in the context of the 8th HaPoC Conference “History and Philosophy of Computing,” hosted by c:o/re in December 2025. The conference will examine the topic of “digital complexity” in greater detail.
If you would like to attend, please write a short email to events@khk.rwth-aachen.de.
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