Theolo:KI – The Irrational in the Relationship Between Humans and Artificial Intelligence
Professor Birte Platow (ScaDS.AI, TU Dresden) and Professor Martin Potthast (hessian.AI, University of Kassel) were guests at the Science for Everyone Forum hosted by the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Under the title Theolo:KI – On the Irrational in the Relationship Between Humans and AI”, they explored the complex connections between faith, rationality, and technology.
Birte Platow approached the topic from a theological perspective, asking what conceptions of humanity are reflected in AI research – and how our engagement with artificial intelligence influences the way we see ourselves. She pointed out that discussions about AI often carry religious undertones: ideas of re-creation, technological salvation, and moral narratives that accompany the development of intelligent systems.
Martin Potthast provided the technical perspective. As a computer scientist, he outlined key milestones in AI research and used concrete examples – such as how search engines work – to explain how modern information systems learn, recognize patterns, and provide knowledge. At the same time, he highlighted the limitations of machine intelligence: experience, responsibility, opinions, memory, and goals are still distinctly human traits that machines lack.
In the following discussion, Platow and Potthast emphasized that technological progress and the strengthening of human capabilities need not be opposites. Both argued for integrating education, responsibility, and ethical reflection as essential components of future-oriented AI development.
📷 Deutsches Museum
🎥 The talk is available via the Deutsches Museum livestream:
