Newsroom

Story 03 February 2020

Ethics for Nerds

Computer scientists tend to frown upon ethics as a "wishy-washy" subject, although there are very good reasons why it should be part of their studies. Those who do look into it have to expect the consequences: Their perceptions change, sometimes even their whole life, and in some places disciplines finally come together. Insights into an academic shift.

News 27 January 2020

Sonar Navigation Inspired by Bat Flowers

Successful "Experiment!": Researchers have come up with a solution for efficient sonar measurements for robots and self-driving cars, inspired by a special coevolution between bats and flowers.

News 16 January 2020

Addressing Future Challenges – Georg Schütte Takes up Position as Secretary General

Dr. Georg Schütte became Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation on January 1, 2020. He took over from Dr. Wilhelm Krull, who retired oat the end of December, 2019. Schütte previously held the position of State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and now he has some ambitious plans for the Volkswagen Foundation going forward.

Cover Impulse 2020
Publication of the Foundation 15 January 2020

Impulse 2020: "Künstliche Intelligenz" (in German)

Interview 13 November 2019

"A natural disaster is like a virus"

Epidemiologist Debarati Guha-Sapir gives insights, how data analysis can help to adapt to extreme weather events and even prevent deaths.

Story 13 November 2019

Deciphering Extreme Weather Events

Climate change manifests itself in increasingly severe floods, droughts and storms. How data science could help to understand extreme weather conditions  – and prepare humankind for what’s to come – was discussed at a Herrenhausen Conference on "Extreme Events" in Hanover.

Illustration: Reproduktion von Reichtum
Story 14 May 2025

Politics and wealth: a lopsided alliance?

A small, rich minority is becoming increasingly wealthy. Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer ask: How does politics contribute to growing economic inequality – and whose interests do MPs actually represent?

Eine Frau, die aufmerksam zuhört
Story 06 March 2025

So that everyone can have their say: Citizens' assembly on AI research

Rhetoric expert Anika Kaiser researches how people can make themselves heard on the major issues of our time – artificial intelligence (AI) being a case in point. She is the right person to take care that this grassroots democratic process does not remain too detached from reality: in her first life, she trained as a painter.