Art and Aesthetics in the Age of AI: Future Constellations of Democracy and Theater
Currently, it is not only in the U.S. that we can observe how AI companies, with their business models based on extraction and ideology, are having anti-democratic effects. The independent performing arts, in particular, see themselves as liberal spaces where democratic values are practiced and defended. Starting from the premise that current artistic works on AI tend to be enlightening and to champion autonomy, we will speculate on how this constellation might change with a generational shift, different aesthetic preferences, and deeper technological expertise.
- Speakers: Rainer Mühlhoff (philosopher, professor of AI ethics, University of Osnabrück), Nina Tecklenburg (theater scholar, professor at Bard College Berlin; performance artist with Interrobang), Dorothea Winter (philosopher, author)
- Moderator: Elena Philipp (culture journalist)
- Format: Panel Discussion
- Spoken Language: German
- Interpretation: English, DGS
- Venue: HAU1, Stage
In Conversation
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Rainer Mühlhoff
philosopher, mathematician, Professor of Ethics of AI | Osnabrück
© 2020 Felix Noak
Rainer Mühlhoff
philosopher, mathematician, Professor of Ethics of AI | OsnabrückRainer Mühlhoff is a philosopher, mathematician, and Professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Osnabrück. His research focuses on ethics, regulation, and critical social theory in the digital society. In his interdisciplinary work, he examines the interplay between technology, power, and social transformation.
His most recent publication is Artificial Intelligence and the New Fascism (Reclam, 2025).
Contact and further information: www.rainermuehlhoff.de -
Prof. Dr. Nina Tecklenburg
Theater artist and researcher │ Berlin
© Nina Tecklenburg
Prof. Dr. Nina Tecklenburg
Theater artist and researcher │ BerlinNina Tecklenburg is a theater artist, researcher, and professor of theater and performance at Bard College Berlin. She is a co-founder and artistic director of the performance group Interrobang and has collaborated with Gob Squad, She She Pop, and Lone Twin Theatre, among others. With Interrobang, she develops performances, participatory immersive settings, and installation-based spaces at the intersection of analog and digital theater. From 2017 to 2018, she was a visiting professor of play development at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. She is the author of the book *Performing Stories: Narrative as Performance*. In 2021–22, she was a member of the practice-based research project *Viral Theatres* (Volkswagen Foundation). Together with Ramona Mosse, she leads the global teaching network *Performance and Digital Culture*, which is supported by the Open Society University Network (OSUN/GHEA21). In her work with Interrobang, she has been exploring the social impacts of digital culture and AI for years, including in the production *Chatbot Challenge* (premiering at HAU in 2024), which will go on tour in Mexico in October 2026.
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Dr. Dorothea Winter
Philosopher, author | Berlin
© Konstantin Boerner
Dr. Dorothea Winter
Philosopher, author | BerlinDr. Dorothea Winter is a philosopher and author. She teaches applied ethics at the Berlin University of the Humanities. Her research focuses on ethics, political theory, epistemology, and aesthetics, always with a focus on AI and the digital transformation. She has worked at institutions including the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation. Her articles and interviews appear in ARD, DLF, FAZ, and TAZ.
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Elena Philipp
Culture Journalist | Berlin
© Ruth Hundsdoerfer
Elena Philipp
Culture Journalist | BerlinElena Philipp is an editor at nachtkritik.de, as well as a freelance cultural journalist and host. Since 2018, she has co-hosted the “Theaterpodcast” with Susanne Burkhardt of Deutschlandfunk Kultur; in 2020, the duo held a visiting professorship in literary criticism at the University of Göttingen. In 2021, Elena Philipp co-edited the anthology “Theater und Macht.” In 2023, she and her colleagues received the Bernd Mand Prize for Cultural Journalism for the online event series “Play Time – Stream und Diskurs junges Theater.”