idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The Turing Award laureate will speak about trust in artificial intelligence at the opening of the Berlin Science Week Festival Centre at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) on 6 November. The event comes just weeks after his organisation, LawZero, announced plans to establish a Berlin office with support from Canada and Germany.
- The opening event will take place on Friday, 6 November 2026, from 1 to 2:30 pm in the Miriam Makeba Auditorium at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW). Alongside Yoshua Bengio, speakers include Sibylle Anderl, author and Co-Editor-in-Chief for Science at DIE ZEIT; Irina Nalis, transformation psychologist; and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Director and Chief Curator of HKW.
- World-leading AI research comes to Berlin: Yoshua Bengio, a pioneer of deep learning and co-recipient of the 2018 ACM A.M. Turing Award, is one of the most influential scientists in artificial intelligence. His non-profit research organisation, LawZero, is establishing a presence in Berlin.
- A debate of urgent societal importance: The Festival Centre opening will explore trust in science, responsibility in AI development, and how research and society can remain meaningfully connected.
- Science in dialogue with society: Bringing together perspectives from science, journalism and culture, Bengio and fellow speakers will discuss how science can fulfil its responsibility to society.
- Berlin as a platform for global questions shaping the future: From 1 to 10 November, Berlin Science Week will bring scientific discoveries, new perspectives and international research to the public through hundreds of events. The festival will also host the Falling Walls Science Summit 2026 from 6 to 9 November, where Yoshua Bengio will also participate.
As AI Transforms Our World, Responsibility Becomes Critical
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we work, communicate, generate knowledge and make decisions. Yet as technological capabilities advance at unprecedented speed, fundamental societal questions are becoming increasingly urgent: How can we ensure that AI serves humanity? Who is responsible for its development and deployment? And how can science and society remain in dialogue when new technologies transform our lives faster than we can fully understand their consequences?
With Yoshua Bengio, Berlin Science Week welcomes a scientist whose research has played a defining role in the development of modern artificial intelligence. In 2018, the computer science professor at the Université de Montréal received the ACM A.M. Turing Award, one of the highest honours in computer science, alongside Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun. His work on artificial neural networks and deep learning helped lay the scientific foundations for today's AI boom.
Today, Bengio is increasingly focused on the safety of powerful AI systems. As Scientific Director and Co-President of the non-profit research organisation LawZero, he advocates approaches that put safety and human well-being at the heart of AI development. He also leads the International AI Safety Report, which synthesises scientific evidence on the capabilities, risks and safeguards associated with advanced AI.
With LawZero's planned Berlin office, the organisation's work on responsible AI will gain a stronger foothold in one of Europe's leading research hubs. Its arrival also opens up new opportunities for German-Canadian collaboration and public investment in responsible AI research.
“In Touch”: Science Must Not Only Explain, but Also Listen
The opening of the Festival Centre reflects this year's theme, “In Touch” — a call for connection, mutual understanding and the ability to stay engaged even when expectations and interests diverge. Berlin Science Week creates spaces for precisely this kind of exchange. By bringing international research and public debate together at the Festival Centre, the opening event will explore how science can remain accessible, understandable and connected to society in an era of profound technological change.The event will be held in German and English. Admission is free, but a three-day pass for the Festival Centre is required to attend.
Information for Newsrooms
In Touch: Opening Festival Centre
Friday, 6 November 2026, 1 PM – 2.30 PM
Miriam Makeba Auditorium, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW)
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin
Falling Walls Science Summit 2026
6–9 November 2026 as part of Berlin Science Week
Further information and programme:
https://falling-walls.com/
Press contact Berlin Science Week
Dr. Kathrin Steinbrenner & Kristian Müller
+49 30 4737 2191
press@berlinscienceweek.com
About BERLIN SCIENCE WEEK:
Every year from 1 – 10 November, Berlin Science Week transforms Berlin into a festival of scientific ideas and celebrates groundbreaking research and inventions by Berlin's scientific institutions and their international partners. With this festival, we transcend disciplinary boundaries and connect science and culture with an inquisitive audience. Together, we create a vibrant platform for science and society that invites people to explore how cutting-edge research shapes our world. The festival is hosted by the Falling Walls Foundation gGmbH and organized with the support of the Berlin Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care. More: berlinscienceweek.com
About FALLING WALLS FOUNDATION:
The Falling Walls Foundation gGmbH is a Berlin-based non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening science communication and public engagement with research. Its initiatives bring together international experts to develop breakthrough solutions for global challenges. In addition to the Falling Walls Science Summit, the Foundation runs the Berlin Science Week and programmes such as Falling Walls Lab, Falling Walls Engage, Falling Walls Venture and Female Science Talents. Since 2020, the Foundation has also hosted the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, an international platform for innovation in the public sector. The Foundation is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the Berlin Senate, the Hannover Re Foundation, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, PD – Public Sector Advisory, Volkswagen Foundation, and more than 100 additional international philanthropies, academic institutions, companies and NGOs. Learn more: falling-walls.com/foundation/about.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
Berlin Science Week is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Higher Education and Research, Health and Long-Term Care. Festival Partners are Haus der Kulturen der Welt and Berlin Partner. Festival Co-Partners are Berlin University Alliance, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, con gressa and Archimedes Exhibitions. Media Partners are Der Tagesspiegel, ZEIT Verlagsgruppe, radioeins, Yorck Kinogruppe, Tip Berlin and The Berliner.
Criteria of this press release:
Journalists, Scientists and scholars
interdisciplinary
transregional, national
Miscellaneous scientific news/publications, Scientific conferences
English
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