Members of the University of Stuttgart will be reading a book together, for an entire semester. Not just any book, but “The Physicists” by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. A carefully selected book that fits the vision of the University of Stuttgart: “Intelligent Systems for a Sustainable Society”.
The play “The Physicists” by Friedrich Dürrenmatt poses the question of ethics in science and starts from the assumption that things once discovered cannot be undone. In view of the current debate about Artificial Intelligence, addressing this thesis, and the consequences that can be drawn from it, is more important than ever. Please visit our project homepage for further information.
IRIS aims to critically reflect on intelligent systems, their principles, mechanisms, and effects with regard to larger social contexts. As the development and use of intelligent systems has the potential to fundamentally change our society, IRIS also wants to initiate public debates on issues related to the responsible design of intelligent systems and provide a forum for dialog and knowledge transfer between science and interested parties. The International Center for Cultural and Technological Studies (IZKT), which is an institutional member of the Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems, supports the public events and the knowledge transfer of IRIS. Please visit our project homepage for further information.
Thanks to the support from the Berthold Leibinger Foundation, the IZKT invites internationally renowned cultural scientists to give a lecture in the series “Culture Theories”. The program gives an overview of current approaches to culture theory as they are being elaborated in sociology, philosophy, literature, media studies, and history. Culture theories identify the characteristics of culture or cultures, striving for a fundamental understanding of human expressions of life and their social interaction. With the lecture series “Culture Theories”, we are offering a discussion platform for internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary and cross-institutional work.
Within the framework of trans- and interdisciplinary courses, the IZKT gives students of the University of Stuttgart the opportunity to take a look beyond their own field of study as well as analyze and find solutions to real problems in cooperation with experts from business and civil society. Current courses offered can be found here. Information about past courses can be found in the archive.
During the lunch break, young scientists from our university present their research projects in a relaxed, humorous way that is comprehensible also for non-experts. After they have finished their talk, there will be an opportunity to ask questions, discuss the project presented, and have lunch. You can bring your own packed lunch, and we will provide drinks and a sweet surprise.
From 2015 to 2019, the IZKT of the University of Stuttgart, the Literaturhaus Stuttgart, and the Akademie für gesprochenes Wort (“Academy for the spoken word”) prepared and implemented the lecture series “Questions of Science”: In view of rapidly changing conditions for the production, circulation, and legitimation of (scientific) knowledge, the following fundamental questions should be asked and answered anew: What does science want? What is the purpose of this particular science?
In conversation and discussion with the audience, outstanding representatives from different scientific cultures presented their respective discipline, using this example to ask about the place, the function, and the ethics of science in the world of today.
The author and critic Joachim Kalka, who is a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature and was recently awarded the city of Stuttgart’s Johann Friedrich Cotta Prize for Literature and Translation, moderated all discussions.