Keynote at the Weizenbaum Institute, Berlin: The Power of AI – From Tech Ideologies to New Authoritarianisms
🗓️ Thursday 20 Nov. 2025, 18:30–20:00 Uhr
📍 Weizenbaum-Institut, Hardenbergstraße 32, 10623 Berlin
Public keynote by Rainer Mühlhoff. The keynote takes place as part of the workshop Generative AI & The Faces of Power.
Artificial intelligence is seen by many as a promise of salvation for humanity – efficient, objective, tireless. But what if this technology of the future hides authoritarian fantasies of power behind its shiny facade?
In his keynote, Rainer Mühlhoff talks about artificial intelligence, authoritarianism, and resistance in the digital age. He discusses the dangerous alliance between tech ideologies and right-wing politics and raises questions such as: What role does AI play in this development? Why do debates about superintelligence and machine ethics ignore the real social and political consequences of the AI industry? Why does public fascination with the promise or threat of AI distract us from the very real harms it is already causing today? And how can we recognize antidemocratic and fascist tendencies in these developments at an early stage – even here in Europe?
