AI, Ethics and Society Workshop

On 29 October 2025, the workshop “AI, Ethics and Society” brought together researchers and practitioners from the Junges Kolleg | BAdW, Munich Center for Machine Learning (MCML) and bidt – Graduate Center für Postdocs to explore how artificial-intelligence algorithms shape individual and collective memory.

The programme featured a sequence of concise 10-minute talks (plus 5-minute Q&As) from eight speakers, covering topics such as:

• Distinguishing AI-solved tasks from the merely apparent (‘Minimal Emotions Needed’)
• The value-free ideal in machine learning
• How legal regulation affects algorithmic memory
• Risks, distributive justice and AI
• Survey science for responsible and participatory AI
• The influence of AI on human autonomy
• How AI affects individual and cultural memory from a digital-humanist perspective
• The role of generative AI in navigating health-misinformation
• YouTube algorithms and the loss of cultural heritage, using Syria as a case study

A panel discussion further addressed the social and ethical consequences of AI agents and generative AI in scientific practice, moderated by Thomas Meier (MCML) and featuring Annamária Fábián (bidt), Christoph Heilig (BAdW) and alumnus Manuel Trummer (BAdW). The event concluded with a networking reception, offering participants the opportunity for exchange and follow-up collaboration. The overarching aim was to foster new research collaborations across disciplinary boundaries between the three organising bodies.