🤖How is artificial intelligence changing our world? On May 11, 2026, guests at the Leipzig Science Club discussed this question from artistic, social, and scientific perspectives at the Academy of Visual Arts (HGB).
👉Dr. Michael Klipphahn-Karge (HGB) opened the event with his lecture “AI and Magic: The Spiritualization of Computational Systems in Contemporary Art.” He demonstrated how technological systems are imbued with magical and techno-fictional narratives, which pseudo-religious worldviews shape tech oligarchs, and why magic and spirituality can offer answers to worldviews that have become fragile due to technological progress. Using striking examples, it became clear how critically—yet also humorously—contemporary art engages with AI.
👉Prof. Dr. Jens Meiler (University of Leipzig) drew a connection to medicine. In his lecture “How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Protein Structure Prediction and Therapeutic Design,” he encouraged engagement with AI and explained how neural networks function. His research demonstrates how AI helps predict protein structures, evaluate mutations, and better understand disease risks. The enormous number of possible molecules and mutations is unmanageable without AI and opens up new avenues for targeted drug development.
🎞️Artistic interventions by HGB students—from the “Un(learning) Digitalities” project—rounded out the evening. Tobias Kurpat read a manifesto on data sovereignty and technological co-creation. Sun Zhengke presented his exploration of historical clay sculptures by early modern Chinese farmers through digital replication and 3D printing.
An evening marked by complementary perspectives on AI, which opened up unusual insights and provided plenty of material for discussion.
