Congratulations: Sebastian Gießmann receives venia legendi

Successful habilitation and inaugural lecture at the University of Cologne

In addition to his recently published and critically acclaimed work Das Kreditkarten-Buch (2026), Sebastian Gießmann’s publications include his earlier book Netze und Netzwerke from 2015, which has been translated and published in 2024 as The Connectivity of Things. Furthermore, as part of his habilitation process, he will now deliver his public inaugral lecture at the University of Cologne. All interested parties are cordially invited to attend.

The lecture is titled: “Anthropic Studies: Media Cultures under the Conditions of Artificial Intelligence”

About the lecture

The introductory lecture proposes, through the lens of Anthropic Studies, a situated examination of current, neo-connectivist artificial intelligence. It adopts a symmetrical perspective that draws on both media and cultural studies as well as Science and Technology Studies. The works of Susan Leigh Star and Phil Agre serve as theoretical reference points here. Isn’t “AI” the most ambiguous borderline object that computer science has ever produced? If we are to survive the current super-controversy surrounding AI and its planetary consequences, we must first situate the technology within its institutional ecologies and grammars of trade. Enter the scene: Claude, the chatbot from Anthropic. The prompt for the lecture is: “Tell us a little about your state of mind, Claude.”

June 10, 2026, 4:00 p.m. (s.t.)

University of Cologne
Faculty of Philosophy
Seminar Building (106), 1st Floor, Room S11
Universitätsstr. 37, 50931 Cologne