Moderation: Anne K. Krüger (Weizenbaum Institute)

• Simon Egbert (Helmut Schmidt University): „Generative AI, Epistemic Power, and the Transformation of Military Knowledge Production“ → Abstract
• Andrea Heisse and Marvin Waibel (University of Vienna): „Communicative expertise in the age of ComAI: The case of bereavement support“ → Abstract
• Paula Muhr (Brand University of Applied Sciences Hamburg): „From Measurement to Evaluation: GenAI, Synthetic Imaging Data, and Shifting Expertise in Emerging Medical Research“ → Abstract
• Konstantin Mitrokhov (Leuphana University Lüneburg) and Alexander Campolo (Durham University): „From Language Models to Reasoning Behaviours“ → Abstract 

Moderation: Marlene Kulla (WZB | Berlin Social Science Center)

• Bodong Zhang (Geneva Graduate Institute) and Ruiyi Guo (Beijing Foreign Studies University): „Ghost Workers, Visible Failures: How Annotator Agency Shapes AI System Behavior“ → Abstract 
• Philip Mong’Are Achoki (University of Essex) „Prompted by Power: Generative AI, Skill Formation, and Subjectivities in Kenya’s AI Work Infrastructures“ → Abstract
• Sina Thäsler-Kordonouri (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), Andreas Riedl (Universität Augsburg) and Tobias Rohrbach (Université de Fribourg): „Beyond Uniform Adoption: Gender, Inequality, and
  Task-Specific AI Use in Journalism“ → Abstract 
• Rainer Rehak (Weizenbaum Institute), André Ullrich (Weizenbaum Institute) and Gergana Vladova (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Berlin): „Contesting Openness in AI. Critiquing the participatory
  potential of open source AI“ → Abstract 
• Gregor Schubert(UCLA), Miao Ben Zhang (USC) and Michael Blank (Stanford University): „The Household Impact of Generative AI: Evidence from Internet Browsing Behavior“ → Abstract 

Moderation: Ann-Kathrin Katzinski (WZB | Berlin Social Science Center)

• Annika Becker (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Frank Kleemann (University of Duisburg-Essen): „GenAI: Changes in experiential knowledge and workplace learning in organizations“ → Abstract
• Kendra Pöhlmann (OTH Regensburg) „From Augmentation to Agency: Transformational Skills in Human–GenAI Knowledge Work“ → Abstract 
• Laurence Dierickx (University of Bergen), Andreas L Opdahl (University of Bergen) and Carl-Gustav Linden (University of Bergen): „Strategic simplicity gets the most: Evaluating prompting techniques in AI-assisted fact-checking“ → Abstract 
• Peter Schulz (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena): „Dead Labor Learns to Reason: GenAI and the Manufacture of Knowledge“ → Abstract 

Moderation: Anna Elisabeth Sandmeir (Berlin Social Science Center | WZB)

• Pauline Reitzer (University of Vienna, Institute of Advanced Studies): „Agentic AI and journalistic knowledge making in PSM newsrooms – who orchestrates whom?“ → Abstract
• Christine Gerber (WZB Berlin Social Science Center), Ann-Kathrin Katzinski (WZB Berlin Social Science Center), Marlene Kulla (WZB Berlin Social Science Center) and Florian Butollo (Goethe Universität Frankfurt): „GenAI at Work: Promise, Practice, and Impact“ → Abstract 
• Leon Hellbach (Weizenbaum Institute) and Philip Wotschack (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) & Weizenbaum Institut): „Beyond Output: Effects of generative AI on productivity in
  high-skilled knowledge work“ → Abstract 
• Sonja Koehne (Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society): „Managing emergent work practices: HR initiatives and
  generative AI use“ → Abstract
• Niklas Ullrich (Zeppelin University) and Florian Muhle (Zeppelin University): „Reflexive Expectations of Digitalization: Explaining AI
  Adoption in Organizations“ → Abstract

Moderation: Laura von Welczek (Weizenbaum Institute)

• Boli Yang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong): “Repositioning the Sword of Damocles: China’s State-led and Development-First AI Governance Pivot” → Abstract
• Alice Ross (University of Edinburgh), Nina Markl (University of Essex), Catherine Lai (The University of Edinburgh) and Lauren Hall-Lew (The University of Edinburgh): „The Sound of Silencing: Identities and Ideologies in Commercial Text-To-Speech“ → Abstract 
• Lisa Koeritz (Internationales Zentrum für Ethik in den Wissenschaften (IZEW), Universität Tübingen) and Sonja Pfisterer (Internationales Zentrum für Ethik in den Wissenschaften (IZEW), Universität Tübingen): „Beyond the Principle-Practice Gap: How Digital AI Ethics Tools Fall Short in the Age of GenAI“ → Abstract 
• Julian Morgan (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Berlin): „“Epistemic authority in the governance of Generative AI’s societal harms: Discourses of participation and systemic risk“ → Abstract

Moderation: Florian Irgmaier (Weizenbaum Institute)

• • Uli Meyer (Johannes Kepler University Linz) and René Werner (Johannes Kepler University Linz): „Making Choices Rational – The unquestioned premises on decision-making in modern AI systems“ → Abstract 
  • Nadja Schaetz (Universität Hamburg, University of Bergen) and Emilija Gagrčin (University of Bergen): „Generative AI and Society: The emergence of a new media regime“ → Abstract
  • Carsten Ochs (Universität Kassel), Jonathan Kropf (Universität Kassel), Markus Uhlmann  (Universität Kassel) and Klara-Aylin Wenten (Universität Kassel): „Recursive Escalation: How Generative AI Increases Digital Society’s Demand for Reflexivity“ → Abstract

Beyond the hype of AI capabilities lies a fierce geopolitical and corporate struggle to build the next global empire. This talk unpacks the new logics of corporate expansion across the AI stack, conceptualizing AI as a general-purpose technology. Historically, the firms behind such technologies have faced immense challenges not only in driving adoption but, more critically, in capturing its value. In different ways, the big AI firms of today are all charting paths to overcome these problems – leading to a series of distinct expansionary strategies. This corporate competition, in turn, is inextricably linked to the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China. The presentation will critically assess the ‚AI race‘ narrative, questioning its accuracy and exploring the complex interplay between national strategies and private sector interests. Ultimately, the talk aims to provide a new framework for understanding the strategic landscape of this critical 21st-century technology and the powerful forces shaping our digital future.

Nick Srnicek is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Economy at King’s College London. His research focuses on the digital economy, artificial intelligence, anti-work politics, and postcapitalist futures. His books include Silicon Empires (Polity, 2025), After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time (Verso, 2023 with Helen Hester), Platform Capitalism (Polity, 2016), and Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work (Verso, 2015 with Alex Williams). Nick co-founded and previously ran the Digital Economy MSc programme at KCL. He has been awarded an honorary professorship from the University of Buenos Aires and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

The panelists discuss the new  constellations of power related to the emergence of generative AI. How does it affect economic development, geopolitical rivalry and options to shape technological developments politically? Does generative AI amount to a distinct phase in the emergence of digital capitalism?

w/ Nick Srnicek (King´s College London), Theresa Züger (HIIG), Rainer Mühlhoff (Universität Osnabrück), and Julia Kloiber (Superrr Lab)

Chair: Esther Görnemann (Weizenbaum Institute)