AI runs the show
“Ask chat,” is the answer to everything now. It’s a bit like what used to be googling. Only better, more convenient and faster. In our four-person household—two from Generation X and two from Generation Z—we use various chat bots to generate mock school tests, adapt recipes to the right number of servings, draft complicated emails, suss out travel routes, compare electricity providers, you name it. We’re not alone. According to a 2025 Forsa survey commissioned by the TÜV-Verband, two out of three people in Germany now use AI on a regular basis. Among the 16–29-year-olds, the figure is as high as 91 percent. People use it for information, text generation, translations, and ideas for all aspects of everyday life. The expectations are clear: work more productively, learn more efficiently and simplify routine tasks.
Humans began using tools a very long time ago. A tool that expands our thinking takes things one step further. If algorithms decide who we date, what we consume, and how we finish a sentence, it might be time to negotiate boundaries: What should AI be allowed to do—and what must remain human? In this spring edition, we asked on-site tech companies as well as psychologist Jens Nachtwei of Humboldt-Universität how everyday life and work are changing as humans and machines interact.
AI is widely seen as a driver of research and development. Here on campus, artificial intelligence is helping to create new technologies that strengthen scientific excellence and support our country’s technological independence. The cover story “Adlershof innovation booster” explores three examples.
Deceptively real yet artificial: AI is already flooding social media with so-called deepfakes, which are AI-generated images, videos and audio files. What rules do we need before reality begins to blur? We asked the media company video-machinery GmbH.
Sincerely,
Peggy Mory
Editor-in-chief
Articles
The future is on the line
Essay by Tina Klüwer, AI researcher, founder of an AI company, and author:
“On the line” was a commonly used phrase when answering a telephone in the early days. A sentence uttered with a sense of pride by a select group who owned one of these machines. Where did this new technology come…
In conversation with Jens Nachtwei
The psychologist researches and teaches on the changing world of work and human–machine interaction:
“A humane future does not lie in more technology, but in greater human judgement in how we use it,” says engineer and organisational psychologist Jens Nachtwei in his book Zukunft der ARBEIT an der Zukunft, which…
The research coordinator
Patrick Scheele oversees the scientific direction of Ferdinand-Braun-Institut:
“I wasn’t disappointed,” says Patrick Scheele, looking back on the expectations with which he took up the post of scientific managing director of the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für…
Adlershof Innovation Booster
Thanks to AI, new technologies are emerging on campus that are driving scientific excellence and strengthening technological autonomy:
Artificial intelligence is accelerating research and driving innovation cycles. In Adlershof, this is giving rise to new technologies that not only advance scientific excellence but also strengthen the technological…
Chatbots at work: Between curiosity and responsibility
How Adlershof companies integrate artificial intelligence into their daily work:
When ChatGPT became publicly available at the end of 2022, people were curious. Many people first experimented with the new chatbot at home. Writing. Asking questions. Using it as a thinking aid. Many quickly…
Efficient training
Alan Akbik, professor of machine learning at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is working on smarter approaches to language models:
ChatGPT requires vast amounts of data and costs a lot of money. Alan Akbik, professor of machine learning at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, is exploring smarter solutions. No AI was used to generate this essay on the…
“Technology is interchangeable—people are not”
In the age of AI, video-machinery focuses on authentic stories and genuine teamwork:
Based at Studio 20B, video-machinery GmbH delivers high-end TV productions. The driving force behind the company is cameraman and managing director Ansgar Otto. While studying at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik,…
![[Translate to English:] Young Mi Park-Snowden und ein Mitarbeiter im Restaurant](/fileadmin/_processed_/a/4/csm_Y-M-Park-Snowden-mani-mogo_369f426a67.webp)
From kimchi to gnocchi
Adlershof’s international food offerings:
As the campus grows, so does its culinary scene with a growing number of lunch spots, bistros and cafés. In this issue, we showcase three of them. Typically Korean: mani mogo Young Mi Park-Snowden says she was…
News in brief
Girls’ Day – Future Day for Girls 2026
What does it mean to work as a scientist, planetary researcher or microtechnologist? On 23 April 2026, girls from Year 5 onwards will have the chance to explore the world of science at Science and Technology Park Adlershof Numerous research institutions, including Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, and Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, the natural sciences departments of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and WISTA Management GmbH, the technology park operator, will open their doors. Participants can meet women scientists and entrepreneurs, try out experiments, discover how science shapes everyday life and learn about possible career paths.
Programme and registration: www.girls-day.de
Dissertation Award Adlershof
Three nominees. Three lectures. Whoever best presents their subject receives the Adlershof Dissertation Award. On 11 February 2026, Sascha Gaudlitz impressed the jury at the Erwin Schrödinger Centre and won the 3,000 euro prize with his presentation “Between diffusion and reaction: statistical tools for complex systems”. The other finalists also made a strong impression: Dr. Petros Beleniotis with his research on GaN transistors for the next generation of wireless technology, and Dr. Josefine Sprachmann with visionary molecular structures for sustainable future technologies.
Since 2002, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, WISTA Management GmbH, and IGAFA Joint Initiative of Non-University Affiliated Research Institutes in Adlershof e. V. have been giving out the annual Adlershof Dissertation Award, which honours outstanding scientific achievements by young researchers in dissertations completed in Adlershof.
Health Network Adlershof presents: Digital Health Week plus
From 4 to 24 March 2026, the Health Network Adlershof will help kick off the spring season with a series of online workshops and interactive seminars on stress management and physical mobilisation. The Plus programme focuses on women’s health under the theme “Empower your change—energy in every phase of life”.
All sessions are held digitally and live, guided by expert facilitators. Some will also be offered in English.
Best of “Adlershof Journal”
