Joseph Weizenbaum would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. In the jubilee year W\100 we will take the opportunity to highlight the work and influence of the famous computer science critic and namesake of our institute. With events, audio features and publications taking place throughout the year, we will discuss and reflect on the key questions that drove his work. In a time of war and climate crisis, it is more important than ever to revisit them.  

Focusing on human-computer interaction and the responsibility of the scientific community

Joseph Weizenbaum is remembered as a very critical and contentious intellectual. As a pioneer of computer science, he worked and taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for decades. It was only after the response to the development of his Chatbot „ELIZA“ that he became a vocal critic of computer science, often taking unpopular positions within the AI community. He not only criticized the use of computer technology for military purposes, but also the pursuit of wealth and power. Above all, he emphasized the fundamental difference between humans and computers and warned of the dangers of unquestioned faith in technology.

That’s why the jubilee year W\100 will focus on Weizenbaum’s work on HUMAN/COMPUTER INTERACTION and RESPONSIBILITY and to pursue the groundbreaking questions he posed: How is autonomy still possible when life is shaped by algorithms and artificial intelligence? What special responsibility lies with the scientific community in an age of war and a looming climate crisis?

Details to the W\100 jubilee are only available in German. For more information in English, please contact Johanna Hampf or Leonie Dorn.

Weizenbaums 100. Geburtstag in der Presse

100 Jahre Joseph Weizenbaum – Interview mit Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schildhauer
Universität der Künste, 6. Februar 2023

Die Macht der Computer
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 14. Januar 2023

„Please go on“ – Joes Computer spricht Englisch
Netzpolitik.org, 09. Januar 2023

Missing Link: Joe Weizenbaum und die vergifteten Früchte des Wahnsinns
Heise Online, 08. Januar 2023

Der „Ketzer der Informatik“: Was ChatGPT und Internet mit Joseph Weizenbaum zu tun haben
Christian Strippel und Christiane Floyd: Tagesspiegel, 06. Januar 2023