Is that it for human intelligence, Stephan Klapproth?

With «AIristoteles 4.0», the HSLU Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is launching a series that is not content with the usual AI efficiency issues. Instead, the focus is on the bigger, more uncomfortable question: Is that it for human intelligence? Moderator Stephan Klapproth explains in an interview why he is fascinated by precisely this borderline between machine cunning and human thinking, what he is particularly looking forward to on the first evening with Miriam Meckel and Léa Steinacker - and why these thinking workshops not only provide food for thought, but also a concrete reason to reserve Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 6.15 to 7.45 pm. Afterwards, an aperitif invites you to continue thinking.

You host the AIristoteles event series, which philosophically scrutinizes the famous Turing test. What particularly appealed to you about this idea?

Stephan Klapproth: Two weeks after the launch of ChatGPT, a student at the University of Geneva asked me in December 22 whether he could write his master's thesis with the help of AI. I replied in amazement: "If you had asked me two weeks ago whether your uncle in America - a great specialist in the field in question - would be allowed to write your thesis, I would have asked you about your morning alcohol consumption. Now your uncle is a computer in America, but the idea of having your university thesis written by a third party still seems tipsy to me.

In other words, AI is sweeping away things we took for granted that until recently were at the core of being human. That's why I think the philosophical debate about what exactly we count as the core of being human is fascinating and urgent, now that machines are constantly chattering away at us humans.

You have had countless conversations in your career. Where do you specifically notice today that artificial intelligence is changing the way people communicate, think or argue?

It seems to me that the Archimedes gene is atrophying in many people. They no longer strive to understand all the connections themselves in the hope of that "aha" moment that will drive you out of the bathtub and onto the street naked with excitement. The hunger for knowledge is decreasing now that AI hands every half-witted person the specific weight of a gold crown plus the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics as a cheat sheet in a matter of seconds. Yet man is the why-monkey - the animal that wants to know what holds the world together at its core and why.

What do you look forward to most when you talk to the guests in this series?

I am really looking forward to being able to circle our initially technologically lubricated topic with outstanding minds from the most diverse fields. From Miriam Meckel, the most original communications professor in the German-speaking world, to brain researcher Lutz Jäncke and two rightly celebrated Swiss stars of different generations, Franz Hohler and Nelio Biedermann.

Computers formulate texts, answer questions and take part in surprisingly intelligent discussions. When do you think it's just a machine - and when does it start to feel like real intelligence?

In my view, this was just Turing's momentous mistake: to define that what sounds intelligent is also intelligent. We need to chisel out a new and much more comprehensive concept of intelligence, which - in the words of Goethe's «Prometheus» poem - only applies to the actions of beings that are capable of «suffering, crying, enjoying and rejoicing“. In other words, humans or apes or, for all I care, cats and elephants. But there should be life in intelligence.

When everything is getting faster and faster: What is in danger of being lost - depth, doubt, perhaps even meaning?

Yes exactly, the meaning is lost! Because Homo sapiens found this meaning precisely in exploring, researching, doing. Homo zappens, however, only watches the TV or TikTok screen. And you quickly become depressed on your sofa.

At the first event, you talk to Miriam Meckel about our life in the permanent now. What question would you like to ask her?

Miriam Meckel is one of those exciting minds who take the opportunities AND the risks of the new insane technologies on the radar with equal precision and enthusiasm. I will be very interested to see how she knows how to combine new possibilities and old wisdom in everyday life.

Which human ability would you defend against any technological acceleration?

See Goethe: To suffer and to rejoice.

When you look back on this AI debate in ten years' time, what will we probably smile about, and what might scare us?

I hope we will smile with self-satisfaction that we took heart in time to continue prioritizing the humanity project.

Does the audience need a certain amount of prior knowledge about AI for these evenings - or is the desire to engage with new ideas and perspectives enough?

AI has straddled our everyday lives so boldly that anyone who hasn't been lost on a Robinson Island since November 22 already has the necessary prior knowledge in their bones. The desire to plunge into the topic fearlessly and from all sides is enough for our evenings.

The series is aimed at people who want to think about AI and human intelligence. What should the audience bring with them - curiosity, skepticism or perhaps even disagreement?

I consider curiosity to be the most important driving force of promethical humanity. And people who bring skepticism or even contradiction with regard to our philosophical paradigm in relation to AI are of course also very welcome in the room. Because as the recently departed Jürgen Habermas showed 1001 times: truth can only be found in deliberative debate between responsible individuals.

The first evening will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, from 6.15 to 7.45 p.m., followed by an aperitif - a good time to get to know each other. here to secure a place early on.