Taming the Machines - Securing KnowledgeProf. Dr. Axel Gelfert: Fake News, False Beliefs, and the Fallible Art of Knowledge Maintenance

19 June 2019

Photo: TU Berlin/Christian Kielmann

What distinguishes merely false reports (perhaps due to simple error) from systematic distortions within journalism? What makes something (or someone) a trustworthy source of information? And how can we follow informational routines that limit our risk of being exposed to systematically distorted claims? In his talk on 19.6.2019 - as part of our public lecture series “Taming the Machines” - Professor Axel Gelfert (TU Berlin) will survey these problems and argue that the acquisition of new cutting-edge information may trade off against the goal of knowledge maintenance. By privileging the former, we may endanger the latter, yet both are required if we are to successfully navigate the treacherous oceans of information.