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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Artificial intelligence in all its facets is the focus of this year’s Annual Assembly of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, which takes place in Halle (Saale) today, Thursday 25 September, and tomorrow, Friday 26 September. The event brings together renowned experts from various disciplines to discuss current developments in AI research, their possible uses, and what this means for society.
To open the event, Dr Lydia Hüskens, Deputy Minister President and Minister for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Dr Rolf-Dieter Jungk, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), will give welcome addresses. All the Annual Assembly lectures will also be livestreamed.
“The progressive development of artificial intelligence creates enormous opportunities for research, medicine, communications, and many other areas – but also raises questions about risks and responsibility,” says Leopoldina President Professor Dr Bettina Rockenbach. “Building on its broad interdisciplinary expertise, the Leopoldina is focusing on all aspects of artificial intelligence at this year’s Annual Assembly. The lectures will examine technological breakthroughs and specific potential uses of AI, for example in medicine, the geosciences, and physics, as well as ethical questions arising from AI use.”
At today’s opening, the computer scientist Dr Cordelia Schmid will give a keynote lecture on the development of artificial intelligence, its current capabilities and potential future uses. Following the lecture, there will be a podium discussion featuring researchers from the Leopoldina and Die Junge Akademie. The discussion is titled, “Artificial intelligence in the services of humans – (How) can we achieve this?”, and features the AI researchers Professor Dr Niki Kilbertus and Professor Dr Nadja Klein, the computer scientist Dr Cordelia Schmid, and the innovation researcher Professor PhD Dietmar Harhoff. The journalist Christoph Drösser will moderate the discussion.
The second day of the Annual Assembly will focus on the many areas in which AI can be used. The electrical engineer and computer scientist Professor Dr Sami Haddadin, an expert in robotics, will explain how machines learn to move, “think”, and adapt. The meteorologist Professor Dr Susanne Crewell will discuss how AI is revolutionising weather forecasts and can improve our understanding of climate change. The ethical challenges posed by AI will also be a topic. Dr Philipp Lorenz-Spreen, who researches the interplay between human behaviour and the connectivity and functionality of online platforms, will give a lecture on the complex interplay of AI, social media, and democracy. The physician and physicist Professor Dr Moritz Helmstaedter will give the closing lecture, in which he discusses how artificial and biological intelligence mutually inspire each other.
The computer scientist Professor Dr Zeynep Akata will receive the award “ZukunftsWissen – the Early Career Award from the Leopoldina and Commerzbank Foundation” at the Annual Assembly. She conducts research in the area of explainable AI and develops AI that combines visual, linguistic, and conceptual elements, and thus makes its decisions comprehensible to humans. Zeynep Akata talks about her research in a video on the Leopoldina’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ZqIHyDOvb_k
In addition, the Cothenius Medal 2025 will be awarded to Leopoldina Member Professor Dr Kai Simons for his lifetime’s work in science. The biochemist has studied the function and organisation of cell membranes and done pioneering work for the understanding of the interaction between viruses and host cells.
Talented pupils from throughout Germany will also attend this year’s Annual Assembly as guests. They follow the lectures at the event and have the chance to speak to researchers. Funding is provided by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation.
(Post) doctoral fellows were once again able to apply for funding to participate in the Annual Assembly. The funding was provided by the Friends of the Leopoldina Academy and the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation.
The mathematician and computer scientist Professor Dr Dr Thomas Lengauer and the physicist and computer scientist Professor Dr Klaus-Robert Müller were responsible for the scientific coordination of the 2025 Annual Assembly. The two Leopoldina Members talk about the idea behind the event in an interview on the Leopoldina website: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/press/newsletter/interview-thomas-lengauer-and-kla...
The lectures are held in either English or German and are simultaneously translated into the other language. The Annual Assembly is livestreamed on the Leopoldina’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@nationalakademieleopoldina. The livestream is available in English or German from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. today, and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Registration is not required. The full Annual Assembly programme is available here: https://www.leopoldina.org/en/events/event/event/3237/
The Leopoldina on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leopoldina.org
The Leopoldina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nationale-akademie-der-wissenschaften-leopoldin...
The Leopoldina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nationalakademieleopoldina
The Leopoldina on X: https://www.twitter.com/leopoldina
About the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina:
As the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina provides independent science-based policy advice on matters relevant to society. To this end, the Academy develops interdisciplinary statements based on scientific findings. In these publications, options for action are outlined; making decisions, however, is the responsibility of democratically legitimized politicians. The experts who prepare the statements work in a voluntary and unbiased manner. The Leopoldina represents the German scientific community in the international academy dialogue. This includes advising the annual summits of Heads of State and Government of the G7 and G20 countries. With around 1,700 members from more than 30 countries, the Leopoldina combines expertise from almost all research areas. Founded in 1652, it was appointed the National Academy of Sciences of Germany in 2008. The Leopoldina is committed to the common good.
Media Contact:
Julia Klabuhn
Acting Head of the Press and Public Relations Department
Tel: +49 (0)345 472 39-800
Email: presse@leopoldina.org
https://www.leopoldina.org/leopoldina-home/
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