On the occasion of the installation by the Bitnik media group in the nave of the Kunsthalle Osnabrück, philosopher and mathematician Rainer Mühlhoff will present his book “ KI und der neue Faschismus” (AI and the New Fascism), published in 2025.
Many consider artificial intelligence to be a promise of salvation for humanity—efficient, objective, tireless. But what if this future technology conceals authoritarian power fantasies?
Since Trump’s second term in office, the rule of law in the US has been comprehensively undermined, with an unprecedented level of repression and abuse of state power. At the forefront of this are tech CEOs from Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley not only provides the technology, but also the ideology: a world in which entrepreneurial profit logic, ruthless social Darwinism, and a shift toward anti-democratic political models are sometimes openly advocated.
Rainer Mühlhoff’s new book examines the dangerous alliance between tech ideologies and right-wing politics – and asks: What role does AI play in this development? How can we recognize anti-democratic and fascist tendencies in these developments at an early stage – including in Europe?
After a brief introduction, author Rainer Mühlhoff will talk with the artists !Mediengruppe Bitnik about artificial intelligence, authoritarianism, and resistance in the digital age.
Rainer Mühlhoff, philosopher and mathematician, is full professor of Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Osnabrück. They research ethics, data protection and critical social theory in the digital society. In their interdisciplinary work, Rainer brings together philosophy, media studies and computer science to investigate the interplay of technology, power and social change.
