{"id":33001,"date":"2025-11-05T16:49:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/?p=33001"},"modified":"2025-11-05T16:49:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:49:49","slug":"artificial-intelligence-rethinking-what-thinking-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/artificial-intelligence-rethinking-what-thinking-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Artificial Intelligence \u2013 Rethinking what thinking is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Freiburg, 05\/11\/2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For philosopher Tobias Rees, AI represents a seismic shift for Europe’s philosophical project. However, this disruption also presents an opportunity to rethink thinking, according to a central thesis of his lecture at the University of Freiburg. Rector Kerstin Krieglstein sees this as a mandate for the university to help shape this disruption.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018AI is a philosophical earthquake measuring 11 out of 10 on the Richter scale for Europe,\u2019 says Tobias Rees. Image: Tobias Rees<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) mark a turning point for modern societies. AI has an impact on the world of work and on how we produce and consume knowledge. For philosopher Prof. Dr Tobias Rees<\/strong>, who now works outside academic structures after having held positions at renowned universities, AI not only provincialises Europe economically and geopolitically, but also shakes the philosophical foundations of Europe. The philosopher placed this finding at the centre of his lecture \u201cArtificial Intelligence and the 2500-year-old project called Europe\u201d on October 28 at the University of Freiburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Europa\u2019s Chance, giving meaning to the AI phenomenon<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI, according to the central thesis of the lecture, escapes the logical architecture of human thinking and thus opens up a completely new space for thought. AI is not a tool in the classical sense, but a \u2018latent space\u2019 with millions of dimensions in which tokenised data points are related to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infrastructural requirements for the further development of AI are enormous: data centres, chip factories, cheap energy and highly qualified talent. According to the diagnosis, Europe has insufficient resources in all these areas. Investment efforts are marginal compared to the approximately 500 billion US dollars that US technology companies have announced for 2026 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, however, Europe is uniquely positioned to understand the AI phenomenon. While Silicon Valley and other technological pioneers such as Abu Dhabi are only concerned with the functionality and economic success of AI, Europe has a deeply rooted tradition of reflecting on meaning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t“If AI is meaningless per se, then Europe must create the spaces in which meaning is created.”\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tProf. Dr. Tobias Rees\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tPhilosopher\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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For a long time, it was assumed that the human mind was unique through logic, creativity, through thinking itself. But this distinction between humans and machines is beginning to dissolve. However, AI is ultimately meaningless. And that, according to Rees, is precisely where Europe’s opportunity lies: \u2018If AI is meaningless per se,\u2019 he argues, \u2018then Europe must create the spaces in which meaning is created.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires a new infrastructure of thinking in Europe and a willingness to dissolve the old boundaries between the humanities and engineering, as well as the boundaries between science and art. AI opens up new spaces, but it remains the task of humans to fill them in interaction with AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping to shape social change through AI as a university<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Universities are also challenged by this disruption, according to Rector Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein<\/strong> in her welcoming address, emphasising the University of Freiburg\u2019s self-image of helping to shape this disruption and offering society guidance with scientific expertise. \u201cWe must prove our ability to renew ourselves \u2013 not in the protected space of the disciplines, but in open cooperation with society, politics, business and culture.\u201d Tobias Rees\u2019 research, which combines technical and philosophical aspects of AI, is both an inspiration and a confirmation of the conviction that underpins the overall strategy of the University of Freiburg: \u201cWe must have the courage to reflect beyond disciplinary boundaries. Only in this way can we as a university not only respond to the future, but also help shape it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rector\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t“We must have the courage to reflect beyond disciplinary boundaries. Only in this way can we as a university not only respond to the future, but also help shape it.\u201d\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tProf. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tRector \t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Video recording of the event<\/h2>\n\n\n
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About Tobias Rees<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rees was a professor at renowned universities in Switzerland, Canada and the US. Today, he works outside academic structures to develop new forms of philosophical research. With limn, an AI studio at the interface of philosophy, art and technology, he describes himself as a \u201cphilosopher in the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The event at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies was made possible by the support of the Mertelsmann Foundation and the New University Foundation Freiburg.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\tContact\t<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\tUniversity and Science Communications<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\tUniversity of Freiburg
Tel.: +49 761 203 4302<\/a>
E-Mail: kommunikation@zv.uni-freiburg.de<\/a>\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Technological advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) mark a turning point for modern societies. AI has an impact on the world of work and on how we produce and consume knowledge. For philosopher Prof. Dr Tobias Rees, who now works outside academic structures after having held positions at renowned universities, AI not only<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"_show_in_pageentry_slider":false,"_pageentry_slider_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_url":null,"featured_image_alt":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33001"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33005,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33001\/revisions\/33005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uni-freiburg.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}