Background visual by: Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Online Seminar Series
After receiving tremendous support and interest in the last online seminar series, “Cross-Cultural Approaches to Desirable AI,” we are initiating another online series, AI at a Crossroads, in a similar spirit: The aim of this series is to bring underrepresented issues around AI into mainstream discourse and incorporate them into our desired vision of AI. Recent developments in AI have already encroached upon various facets of human life, and reflecting on such intrusions into domains that were once exclusively human is more pressing than ever. In this endeavor, the online series will be organized jointly with the Center for Science and Thought, University of Bonn; the Department of Philosophy, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil; the Human Sciences Research Centre, IIIT Hyderabad, India; the Institute of Philosophy and Technology, Athens, Greece; and the Department of Philosophy, Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi.
We will be hosting scholars, researchers, and practitioners of artificial intelligence and its related areas to initiate a dialogue on the questions of the disappearing self, afterlife and the digitization of death, the automatization of counselling of all sorts, (mis)trust in technology and its consequences, over-datafication in the infosphere, and the question of ownership of AI. The online series further seeks to bring together cross-cultural and multidisciplinary perspectives to encourage practitioners to look beyond technological developments and focus on the “human side” of life that is being altered by the intrusion of artificial intelligence.
The project “Desirable AI” proceeds from a straightforward but ambitious premise: that the development of artificial intelligence should be guided not merely by technical optimization, but by sincere commitments to social and environmental justice. At its core, the project asks what it would mean to design AI systems that genuinely reflect the values, needs, and practices of diverse cultures, rather than imposing a single dominant framework under the guise of inclusivity. It requires serious engagement with different worldviews on various issues — some of which remain underrepresented — while remaining alert to the risks of cultural appropriation and dominant cultural assumptions about human life.
While questioning these dominant cultural views, this online series evaluates mainstream dialogues and discussions and brings forth the underlying assumptions that affect central questions of human life that have been imagined differently across the world. As before, we intend to foster a pluralistic and inclusive vision of AI on underrepresented issues, offering a more comprehensive version of Desirable AI.
Date and Registration
The inaugural session of the series will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, via Zoom at 2:00 PM (Central European Time) / 5:30 PM (Indian Standard Time) / 9:00 AM (Brazilian Time). Each session will be 90 minutes in duration, consisting of two presentations followed by an open discussion.
Each session will take place once every two months, on the last Wednesday of that month. If you would like to attend any of the sessions, please click here to register for our mailing list, through which we will share Zoom links and updates on upcoming sessions.
Contact
If you have any questions and queries, please feel free to contact on the following email addresses:
Institute of Philosophy and Technology, Greece, Prof. Giannis Stamatellos: gstamatellos@ipt.gr
HSRC, IIIT Hyderabad, India, Dr. Saurabh Todariya: Saurabh.todariya@iiit.ac.in
LBC, Delhi University, India, Dr. Abhishek Kumar: abhishekkumar@lb.du.ac.in
Universidade de Brasília, Brazil, Prof. Philippe Lacour: philacour@gmail.com
Universität Bonn, Germany, Dr. Prashant Kumar: prashantkumar@uni-bonn.de