70th Anniversary of the Dartmouth Conference
On the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Human – Machine – Ethics
The year 2026 marks the anniversary of the Dartmouth Conference — officially known as the “Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence” — which took place on June 18, 1956, in the United States. It is considered the birth of artificial intelligence as an independent field of research. At that time, leading scientists coined the term “AI” for the first time and laid the theoretical foundations for a discipline aimed at enabling machines to mimic human thought.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the legendary conference, HeiCAD is inviting four distinguished scholars to re-examine current developments regarding the future of artificial intelligence against the backdrop of its original promise of insight.
Among the distinguished guests at the event are philosopher and former Minister of State Prof. Dr. Julian Nida-Rümelin, media philosopher Prof. Dr. Sybille Krämer, philosopher of science and technology Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gramelsberger, and cultural and media scholar Prof. Dr. Roberto Simanowski. Their contributions offer in-depth insights into current debates and future development paths for AI.
The event consists of two formats, each of which requires prior registration:
Keynotes | The keynote presentations are open to anyone interested. They have an interdisciplinary focus and are accompanied by moderated discussions that encourage interaction between the speakers and the audience. |
Masterclasses | In addition, the masterclasses — limited to 25 participants — offer intensive workshops and discussion sessions on the topic. They are explicitly open to all faculties and disciplines. They provide an opportunity to reflect on one’s own research projects and engage in direct dialogue with the invited speakers. |
You can register by clicking on the links for each speaker.