Between code and Candlelight: Invitation to the Weimar Informatics Christmas Lecture
Artificial intelligence writes texts in seconds, accurately summarizes content, and provides answers to the most complex questions. Its results are usually convincing, fluid, and extremely plausible. But how reliable are they really? The Weimar Department of Informatics is using current AI systems as an opportunity to critically examine their output: its meaning, correctness, and consequences for our own thinking. On 18 December 2025, at 5 pm, the Faculty of Media at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar invites you to its traditional Christmas lecture at Bauhausstraße 11.
In this public lecture, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Maurice Jakesch, junior professor of »Computational Social Science« at the Faculty of Media, will address key issues in the use of generative artificial intelligence. The Christmas lecture will take a close look at the often impressive output of current AI models: How meaningful and accurate is the content they produce? What does it mean for our own thinking when AI systems increasingly support us in writing, structuring, or formulating? And finally: What are the ecological costs associated with the everyday use of AI, even if it's just a matter of »quickly checking something«?
Maurice Jakesch studied electrical engineering at ETH Zurich, information technology at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, philosophy of technology at the Technical University of Munich, and information science at Cornell University. With his doctorate at Cornell University on »Assessing the Impact and Risks of Large Language Models,« he laid the foundation for his current research. Jakesch was a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation and a fellow of the Cornell Digital Life Initiative, and has held research positions at MIT, Harvard, and the Leibniz Institute. He has implemented innovative digital projects at several startups, Microsoft, GE, Facebook, and the Boston Consulting Group.
The lecture encourages listeners to question common expectations of artificial intelligence and to consider the technology not only as a practical tool, but also in terms of its social, cognitive, and ecological implications. In keeping with tradition, it combines scientific analysis with an accessible presentation and invites all interested parties to end the year with a reflective look at current digital developments.
Christmas lecture »Between Code and Candlelight«
Thursday, December 18, 2025
5 pm
Seminar Room A
Bauhausstraße 11
99423 Weimar
If you have any questions, please contact Marie Kohlschreiber, Research Communication and Public Relations Officer, by email at marie.kohlschreiber[at]uni.weimar.de or by phone at +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 37 06.