Inspired by the brain: computers should learn like humans

Artificial Intelligence:
Today’s AI can’t be trusted

There is a fundamental problem with how we build AI systems. AI needs to change direction.
A person with an umbrella walks in Tel Aviv in the rain past banners displaying photos of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, February 19, 2024.

Gal Hirsch:
„They have come back from hell“

Israel's Coordinator for the Captives and the Missing, Gal Hirsch, talks about the most difficult challenge of his life: Freeing the hostages in Gaza.
Tunnel near Freudenberg in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany: Nearby, two girls allegedly killed a classmate.

Educator of children’s home:
"Many parents are unable to raise their children"

Educator Wolfgang Beckmann has been working with delinquent children for almost 40 years. In this interview, he explains why education is crucial in preventing children and young people from committing crimes.
Kuka robots shape large cardboard boxes at the packing station in seconds.

Rittal International:
A factory straight out of science fiction

Probably the most modern factory in the world is located in the German countryside. By building it Rittal International has started a revolution.
Ola Källenius, CEO of German car maker Mercedes-Benz addresses the media during the company’s annual financial statement, at its headquarters in Stuttgart, on February 17, 2023

Interview with Ola Källenius:
"The switch to electric cars will happen faster than expected"

Despite newly introduced exemptions for e-fuels, Ola Källenius no longer wants to stick to the combustion engine. The Mercedes boss considers the electric drive to be technically superior. An interview.
Many German economists are pursuing highly successful careers in the US – but what does Germany get out of that?

Economists and their home turf:
Goodbye Germany

German economists are among the best in their profession. However, many turned their backs on their home country long ago.
Broken world literature: A piece carrying the text of the eleventh tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh. This copy was created in the seventh century b.c. in Nineveh.

Cuneiform and AI:
By the pieces of Babylon

ChatGPT does not yet understand Akkadian. But artificial intelligence is already beginning to help in the exploration of cuneiform texts.
Search mission in the rubble: It is suspected that there are still people in some of the collapsed buildings in Antakya.

Earthquake in Turkey:
Why did so many buildings collapse?

Turkey had tightened its building laws after the 1999 disaster. But were these standards actually observed?

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Assisted suicide:
“Life was a party, but the party is over. We are ready to go”

Three siblings support their elderly parents' wish to end their lives jointly. Almost a year later, they take stock: Was it the right thing to do? The case discloses the dilemma in which the Germans are caught trying to come to terms with assisted suicide.
Jakob Falkner, 66 years old, is managing director of  the mountain lift company Bergbahnen Sölden.

Jakob Falkner from Tyrol:
The Ski emperor and the melting snow

Jakob Falkner has built up a winter empire in Tyrol. Now climate change and high energy prices are calling his business model into question. What's next for him?
Cadet students in Chabarowsk write letters to Russian soldiers fighting in the Ukraine.

Russian schools:
Patriotism as a mandatory subject

Russia's schoolchildren are to be taught "right thinking" about the war against Ukraine. The unwilling are threatened with a visit from the youth welfare office. But some secondary schools preserve safe spaces for critical thinking.
A black axe breaking the chains of a slave: the official logo of the Neo-Black Movement of Africa

Nigerian Confraternities:
The Black Axe

In the 1970s, nine Nigerian students founded a fraternity to fight racism and oppression. Today, its name is associated with criminal activities all over the world. What happened?
Man meets machine

Computer Science:
Giving AI Some Common Sense

Lurking behind all the excitement about AI, there is a problem. Despite being trained on immense amounts of data and often showing uncanny abilities, current AI systems make bizarre, lamebrained mistakes.
Die designierte WTO-Chefin Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

New WTO-DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala:
„We can’t do business as usual“

The new Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talks about her will to reform, the role of the WTO in the Corona crisis – and things that scare her.
EU-Supporters gather on Brexit-Day in front of the British Embassy in Berlin

What´s next after Brexit?:
Time for a German-British Friendship Treaty

Brexit marks the chance for a new beginning. The chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Comittes of the Bundestag and the House of Commons make the case for a German-British Friendship Treaty. A guest column.
Youtube-Manager Neal Mohan

Youtube-Manager Mohan:
„We have to fight misinformation because people's lives are at stake“

Is Youtube a gateway drug for conspiracy theories? Youtube-Manager Neal Mohan talks about Trumps dangerous Covid-19-tips, the fight against fakenews and Youtube’s new factchecking-tool.
Vint Cerf

Vint Cerf:
Do not ruin the Internet!

As never before, the manifest value of the information processing and sharing Internet must be preserved to respond to the global challenges we collectively face.
Ronald S. Lauder

Ronald S. Lauder at Auschwitz:
The Girl With The Red Coat

The annihilation of the Jews in Auschwitz was perpetrated by Germans and Austrians. But it also happened because Europe und the United States did not care. What does this mean for the fight against Anti-Semitism today?
Nick Clegg ist Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications bei Facebook.

Facebook-Manager Nick Clegg:
Cutting Silicon Valley giants down to size is not the solution

The biggest disadvantage for European tech companies compared to their Chinese and American competitors is the absence of a large-scale domestic market. A guest contribution.
Model of the inside of a quantum computer

DLD:
Future Directions in Quantum Tech

These are early days in quantum technologies. It is clear, that this field will have a significant impact on a wide range of economic sectors.
Eine Drohne vom ZTyp X-47B bei einer Luftbetankung

Einspruch exklusiv:
American War Power

The killing of General Soleimani once again raises the question of the division of powers between the President and Congress when engaging in and initiating military conflict with other nations.
A block of houses in Beijing. With over 21 million inhabitants, China's capital is a megacity.

Micro-Multilateralism:
Are cities saving UN Ideals?

According to calculations, 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities in 2050. Will cities be able to solve international political problems? A guest article.
Die Synagoge von Halle an der Saale vier Tage nach dem Anschlag

Anti-Semitism in Germany:
In Birthplace of Nazism, „Never Again“ Must Really Mean „Never Again“

A new study revealed substantial evidence that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Germany again. What is fuelling this dangerous trend?
Apple CEO Tim Cook visits the Munich office

Apple CEO Tim Cook:
“I can't imagine a better place than Munich”

Apple's CEO allows a glimpse into his Munich design lab. Tim Cook swears by his German engineers, his upcoming streaming offer Apple TV+ and has certain starting difficulties with only one more thing in Germany.
A fragment of the Berlin Wall in Los Angeles. There it was repainted by artists.

Debate on German reunification:
Master narrative with blank spaces

While my country is about to build new walls, Germany looks back on the fall of the Berlin Wall thirty years ago. But some things remain unsaid.