The Power of AI: From Tech Ideologies to New Authoritarianisms

Public keynote by Rainer Mühlhoff, University of Osnabrück. 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?

About Rainer Mühlhoff

Rainer Mühlhoff is a professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Osnabrück and holds associations with the Einstein Center Digital Future, the Weizenbaum Institute, and the Collaborative Research Center SFB 1171 Affective Societies at Freie Universität Berlin. As a philosopher, mathematician, and programmer, they are interested in topics such as ethics and philosophy of artificial intelligence, privacy and data protection, as well as intersectionality and anti-discrimination in digital technology. Rainer Mühlhoff’s latest book, AI and the New Fascism (Reclam), pulls back the curtain on AI prophets, revealing the fascist dangers behind the alliance between big tech and the new right and offering potential paths forward.

Named “one of the most interesting thinkers in German philosophy of technology” (Jana Ballweber, KNA), Rainer Mühlhoff will be joining us to speak on the convergence of tech ideologies with the alt-right against the backdrop of AI and its power. The keynote will be held in English, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.

Please register here.

The keynote takes place as part of the workshop Generative AI & The Faces of Power.