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Artificial intelligence – between hype and reality

How well can large language models argue? Do they understand language? In a public lecture series, professors from the University of Passau are exploring these questions with external guests. At the end, five experts will compete against AI.

How well can large language models argue? Do they understand language? In a public lecture series, professors from the University of Passau are exploring these questions with external guests. At the end, five experts will compete against AI.

Symbolic images with before-and-after effect: Adobe Stock.

Generative AI such as large language models is fundamentally changing numerous areas of work and knowledge. How do large language models understand language? How well can they argue? Do they enable a new approach to jurisprudence? A public lecture series at the University of Passau is addressing these questions in June and July 2025. Researchers from the fields of computer science, business informatics, computational linguistics and law are involved. The lecture series demonstrates that science takes different approaches to this topic. The individual lectures are organised by professors from the University of Passau together with external guests who bring a different perspective to the topic.

At the end, the organisers want to find out in a high-profile event: How powerful is AI now? To this end, they are organising a quiz show in which five experts compete against artificial intelligence.

The lectures, which are mainly held in German, take place in lecture theatre 13, which is located in the IM building.
Address:
Computer Science and Mathematics (IM)
Innstraße 33
94032 Passau

Programme

Thursday, 5 June, 6 p.m.
How well can language models argue? (German)
Professor Henning Wachsmuth, University of Hanover
Professor Annette Hautli-Janisz, University of Passau

Thursday, 12 June, 6 p.m.
Generative AI assistants at work (German)
Lara Brinzing, Digital Workplace Coordinator, Robert Bosch GmbH
Professor Ulrich Gnewuch, University of Passau

Thursday, 26 June, 6 p.m.
Large Language Models for Code: Productivity Booster or Technical Debt Generator? (English)
Marko Ivankovic (Cogna.co)
Professor Gordon Fraser (University of Passau)

Thursday, 3 July, 6 p.m.
Do Large Language Models really understand human language? (English)
Professor Johann-Mattis List, University of Passau
Dr Christian Bentz, University of Passau

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Do Large Language Models really understand human language?

And what does it actually mean to understand language? The linguists Professor Johann-Mattis List and Dr Christian Bentz are looking forward to a controversial discussion on July 3.

Thursday, 10 July, 6 p.m.
AI2J – Language models: a new approach to law? (German)
Sven Galla, AIGHT legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Professor Brian Valerius, University of Passau

Thursday, 17 July, 6 p.m.
5 against AI – the quiz show (German)
Host: Professor Steffen Herbold

We often hear about how powerful AI already is. But how does it fare against experts? We explore this question in the form of a quiz show. The AI not only has to compete against a human, but also against a team of five experts and answer questions from various categories: general knowledge, puzzles and specialist knowledge. In our last quiz show, ‘Kai vs. AI,’ the professor had a slight edge in legal expertise. Will it be the same this time? Or has AI now surpassed humans?

This event took place in the TV studio at the Centre for Media and Communication.

Team of the University of Passau

Professor Annette Hautli-Janisz

Professor Annette Hautli-Janisz

researches computational linguistics

How to process and interpret natural language using automated methods?

LinkedIn |

Professor Annette Hautli-Janisz has been Assistant Professor of Computational Rhetoric and Natural Language Processing at the University of Passau since 2022. She is also an Associate Member of the Centre for Argument Technology at the University of Dundee and heads the Steinbeis Transfer Center for Linguistic Data Analysis. Before that, she had worked as a junior research group leader at the University of Konstanz. Her research is funded by the German Research Foundation (the excellence cluster "Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz) and the Volkswagen Foundation (funding line "AI and the Future of Society").

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Professor Ulrich Gnewuch

Professor Ulrich Gnewuch

studies the use of artificial intelligence in companies

How can we design AI-based information systems in a human-centered way?

LinkedIn |

Prof Dr Ulrich Gnewuch holds the Chair of Explainable AI-Based Business Information Systems at the University of Passau. His research at the intersection of information systems and human-computer interaction focuses on the design, use, and impact of artificial intelligence in business and society.

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Professor Gordon Fraser

Professor Gordon Fraser

researches software engineering

How can we find and prevent software errors?

Professor Gordon Fraser has held the Chair of Software Engineering II at the University of Passau since 2017. After completing his doctorate at Graz University of Technology, he conducted research at Saarland University and the University of Sheffield. His research and teaching focusses on issues relating to software analysis, software development and the didactics of programming.

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Professor Steffen Herbold

Professor Steffen Herbold

researches AI engineering

How can AI be used in software development?

Bluesky |

Professor Steffen Herbold has held the Chair of AI Engineering at the University of Passau since 2022. Prior to his appointment as Professor of "Methods and Applications of Machine Learning" at Clausthal University of Technology, he had served as stand-in data analysis professor on various occasions, including at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He studied, completed his doctorate and earned his habilitation in computer science at Göttingen University.

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Professor Johann-Mattis List

Professor Johann-Mattis List

researches computer-assisted language comparison and multilingual computer linguistics

How to compare the over 6 000 languages spoken around the world, and how do computer-based methods help?

Bluesky | Mastodon |

Comparative Linguist Johann-Mattis List has held the Chair for Multilingual Computational Linguistics at the University of Passau since January 2023 and heads the ERC-funded research group "ProduSemy". Before that, he served as stand-in professor at Bielefeld University and as senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena where he headed another ERC-funded research group on computer-assisted language comparison. Professor List earned his doctorate at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and wrote his habilitation at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.

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Professor Brian Valerius

Professor Brian Valerius

Professor Valerius researches digitalisation from the criminal law and criminal proceedings perspective.

How transparent does artificial intelligence have to be?

Brian Valerius has held the Chair of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Law at the University of Passau since October 2022. In his research, he deals with substantive criminal law and criminal procedure in its entirety. Last but not least, he is dedicated to issues of medical law and the legal challenges of digitalisation and artificial intelligence.

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