In Touch: Berlin Science Week Festival Centre Opening

Opening event of the Berlin Science Week Festival Centre featuring AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio and discussions on AI safety, sovereignty, trust, and responsibility.

The Berlin Science Week 2026 opens its Festival Centre at Haus der Kulturen der Welt with a discussion on artificial intelligence and its implications for science and society. Under this year's festival theme “In Touch,” the event explores how AI is changing the way people access information, make decisions, and develop trust in technology.

A highlight is the conversation “Engineering Safe, Sovereign AI to Mitigate Global Risks” with Yoshua Bengio, Turing Award recipient and one of the pioneers of modern AI. In conversation with BBC presenter Stephanie Hare, Bengio will discuss how AI systems can be developed to serve the common good and why industry self-regulation alone may not be sufficient.

The second discussion, “Lebenswerte KI,” brings together Sibylle Anderl from DIE ZEIT and transformation psychologist Irina Nalis to examine how AI affects human judgement, individual agency, and people's ability to shape technological change. The event begins with welcome addresses from Berlin Science Week Festival Director Christian Rauch and HKW Director Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung.

Date: November 6, 2026
Time: 1:00–2:30 PM
Location: Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Miriam Makeba Auditorium, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin
Organizer: Berlin Science Week
Admission: Free; booking a free 3-Day Festival Centre Pass is required to secure a place
Languages: English and German
Welcome: Christian Rauch, Berlin Science Week; Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, HKW
1:15–1:55 PM: Engineering Safe, Sovereign AI to Mitigate Global Risks, with Yoshua Bengio and Stephanie Hare (English)
1:55–2:25 PM: Lebenswerte KI, with Sibylle Anderl and Irina Nalis (German)
Focus: AI safety, sovereign AI, trust, responsibility, human agency, and societal implications of artificial intelligence
Context: Opening of the Berlin Science Week Festival Centre, November 6–8, 2026
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Seating: Free seating; early arrival recommended