Newsroom

Germany is at the centre of a maelstrom of global crises and conflicts. Right-wing populists are enjoying growing popularity. And many solutions are expected from the new federal government. And quickly! A conversation between sociologist Steffen Mau and Georg Schütte, CEO of the Volkswagen Foundation, about the end of the 'fair-weather democracy' (Mau) and the journey into the unknown.

Have your say on artificial intelligence and help shape the future of research on the topic.  Forty randomly selected citizens from Baden-Württemberg have set themselves this task. They came together over a period of several months in the Citizens' Council called ‘Artificial Intelligence and Freedom’.

From 11 to 13 June 2025, around 150 participants from over 30 countries are meeting in Hanover for the first of two foundation-funded theme weeks on '(Tackling) Loneliness'.

The Volkswagen Foundation has been experimenting with "Distributed Peer Review" since 2024. The RoRI is evaluating the experiment, in which applicants review each other's applications. One result of the collaboration is a DPR guideline, which the RoRI has now presented.

To be made sustainably fit for the future, public administrations must undergo a challenging digital transformation. But the AI required for this also harbours risks. A research project is developing a roadmap to greater transparency – with the help of a register.

What lessons can be learned from COVID-19 for future pandemics? Researcher Gülşah Gabriel and her team are opening the door to personalised medicine – and are investigating for the first time how drugs that intervene in hormone metabolism could in future be used to prevent severe viral progression.