This text was not written by AI, even though “generating simple texts” ranks very highly among the tasks that AI tools can perform much more quickly than human beings.
So, why do I bother? First of all, I’m a journalist and I only really know what I think about something once I’ve written about it. Secondly, while AI is very impressive – and, in the wrong hands, very dangerous – it forces us to make conscious decisions: For which stages in a particular process are human beings indispensable, and should they remain so? What qualities are authentically human? Where do humans find meaning and satisfaction? How do they learn most efficiently? Whom do they trust?
As director of a "centre for journalism and the public sphere", I consider it to be a question of credibility that if an editorial bears my name, it should actually have been written by me. I think it’s equally indispensable that photojournalism, particularly from areas of conflict and crisis, should not be manipulated by AI. At a time when automatically generated AI content – AI slop as it’s called – is flooding the platforms people use to inform and orient themselves, we need authenticity as a reference point.
What can – or, indeed, should – be developed with AI tools in the context of journalism and civil society? Can these two sectors, committed as they are to the common good, become more successful by using AI support while considering all the risks for their own reputations, for society, and for the environment?
To answer this question, Publix joined up with ProjectTogether and the Schöpflin Foundation to bring together around 30 organisational leaders and decision-makers from the field of journalism for joint discussion, reflection, and exploration. Our goal was to build strategic capacity to determine which data and AI tools could be used for which processes, and according to which rules.
The event introduced me to new terms and tools such Langdock, Loveable, Wispr, Liquid Content, and Vibe Coding as well as fantastic organisations and initiatives such as Tech to the Rescue, the IPAI Foundation, run by Anita Klingel and the Code of Conduct Democratic AI, which sets out eight guiding principles for the use of AI, and which has already been signed by more than 180 non-profit organisations.
Above all else, this intensive endeavour showed me that the use of AI requires one quality that is deeply human: a tolerance of ambiguity. There’s no doubt that data centres consume huge quantities of water and energy, and it is equally true that OpenAI supports the Trump administration. Yet at the same time, it is thanks to AI that journalists can conduct thorough and structured analyses of enormous documents such as the Epstein Files, thus always bringing public attention to new and relevant information.
It is, today, more crucial than ever for us to hold contradictory feelings and truths and to focus our attention, with total clarity, on what we find relevant and valuable. In that sense, technology is thus forcing us to become better at being human: a conclusion to which AI would never have arrived by itself.
I hope you’ll be inspired by our programming here at Publix this April.
We need to talk about German public administration: in the fight against right-wing populists and anti-democratic tech futurists, reforming the administrative apparatus is one of the most effective weapons.
Guest contribution by Jannis Brühl
The state is under attack and the tech oligarchs of Silicon Valley should be seen as the vanguard of this attack. Having launched an experiment that is not limited to the US, they are trying to determine if something other than Western democracy is possible. By quickly and effectively building parallel structures or by directly dismantling government structures altogether, tech futurists and tech entrepreneurs have become allies of right-wing populists to take advantage of the sluggishness of democratic processes.
It is, however, possible to ignore their overblown, conspiratorial claims while still fundamentally heeding their criticism of public administration and taking it as an incentive for improvement. Indeed, doing so may prove to be the most effective weapon in defeating this attack.
Critics of the state have hit a nerve, and not without reason. Take Wohngeld Plus – a form of housing benefit – for example. Its implementation brought certain parts of municipal-level administrations to a standstill, with other housing benefit applications taking up to 40 weeks to process as a consequence. Opaque, inaccessible administrative language even discourages the public from filing their tax returns, and this despite the fact that many people are entitled to rebates. Two-thirds of Germans think the state is overburdened. According to lawyer and bureaucracy expert Julia Borggräfe: "It’s astonishing that despite these alarming figures, not a single political party put this issue at the top of its agenda. The relationship between a functioning state and a strong democracy hasn’t quite landed among political decision-makers – despite how glaringly obvious it is."
This idea could prove key in the rather loud but thus far ineffective debates on "saving democracy" from right-wing authoritarianism. Journalists and experts have been pushing back against disinformation for years now, yet the pull of the online communities that cobble these twisted world views together – coupled with the fact that people can get by with zero recourse to reliable information – are simply too strong. There is, however, a way to counteract this defamation of the democratic state (...)
Jannis Brühl heads the Digital and Finance desk at the Süddeutsche Zeitung. This article is based on excerpts from his book DISRUPTION: The Ideology of the Tech Oligarchs and the End of Democracy as We Know It, published in January 2026 (Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 256 pages, €20). In September 2026, Jannis Brühl will be part of the Publix Tech Journalism Fellowship as a speaker.
Where Is the Future, Karin Prien? The flagship conversation hosted by Publix and CORRECTIV
Anyone speaking today about the future of democracy must also address how we learn – from early childhood through to adulthood. In this special edition of the series Where Is the Future?, Publix Director Maria Exner and CORRECTIV Editor-in-Chief Justus von Daniels talk with Karin Prien, Federal Minister for Education and Family Affairs.
How is the Minister progressing with her agenda to improve early childhood education and advance educational equity? And what does it mean to effectively protect children and young people from the risks of hate, radicalisation, fraud and pornography online – particularly in light of the debate about a possible minimum age for social media?
"Overshoot" means: the 1.5-degree limit of the Paris Climate Agreement could soon be exceeded. What does this imply for climate policy, society and reporting in the coming years? How does science deal with the fact that climate risks are receiving less and less attention in public discourse?
At the "5vor12" Live Briefing of Netzwerk Klimajournalismus, Jonathan Donges (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) and Nicole Zabel (Planet Narratives) discuss, moderated by Theresa Leisgang. Admission is free.
Political conflicts are so emotionally charged in public discourse that they pose major challenges for democracies. Confrontational thinking, however, can undermine willingness to engage in dialogue and encourage intolerance.
The Mercator Forum on Migration and Democracy (MIDEM) therefore invites participants to the conference "Understanding Polarisation | Depolarisation". Based on new MIDEM data, social polarisation dynamics in Germany will be thoroughly analysed and strategies presented for negotiating social conflicts constructively.
Netflix screening: "The Stringer – The Man Who Took The Photo"
The work of photographers during the Vietnam War brought home to a Western audience the horrors inflicted on the civilian population. The iconic photograph The Terror of War, also known as Napalm Girl, shocked through its depiction of the violence children were exposed to, and triggered worldwide protests and demands for an end to the war. But who took the photograph? A former picture editor from Saigon reveals a secret that has troubled him for 52 years.
In the Netflix documentary The Stringer, war photographer Gary Knight and a small team of journalists set out to find the creator and give him justice.
Gary Knight was a guest at Publix and spoke with Marija Ristic from Amnesty International about the significance of human authorship, about journalistic ethics and the racism on account of which essential contributions by Vietnamese war photographers have found no place in history.
"The Stringer: The Man Who Took The Photo" (103 min) Director: Bao Nguyen USA, 2025 The Film is streaming on Netflix.
Meet the residents …
Jessica Bateman
In each edition of our newsletter, we introduce a person or organisation that works in the Publix building. This time: freelance investigative journalist Jessica Bateman, recipient of the European Press Prize 2025.
Publix: What is the core of your work? I work on longform journalism projects for titles including the BBC, the Guardian, The Washington Post and Politico, with a particular focus on gender, faith and extremism.
Publix: What was your biggest success of the past few months? I won the European Press Prize Distinguished Reporting Award last May, which has been such an incredible boost. I also published a 6000-word piece about German rearmament for Politico magazine.
Publix: What gives you a headache? Making money and doing prestigious work as a freelance journalist are sometimes two different things. You need to have two strands to your freelance journalism business if you want to do meaningful work while not driving yourself into poverty. Balancing the two is a constant effort.
Publix: Who or what definitely deserves more attention?
I don’t even know where to start – there are so many people all over the world with stories that need to be told. Shrinking budgets and publications that are all fighting for an ever-shrinking audience means that a lot of media coverage can feel very same-y, and this worries me.
Publix: What is the best read on the current situation? Doppelgänger by Naomi Klein, Moneyland by Oliver Bullough, and Enshittification by Cory Doctorow.
"Gesellschaftsfragen": New Podcast from More in Common
What holds us together as a society? Publix residents More in Common explore this in their new podcast Gesellschaftsfragen – with guests from academia and practice who know cohesion from very different perspectives. Curious conversations about common ground where we least expect it. Now available wherever you get podcasts.
Secret documents reveal the Vatican's responsibility for sexual abuse in the Church. What began as an investigation into individual abuse cases leads to a trail around the world. CORRECTIV has been investigating for eight years, speaking with survivors and insiders and compiling secret correspondence. Now Files of Abuse reveals a system that covers up sexual abuse, protects perpetrators and conceals responsibility.
Fun Facts is a new, daily, 15-minute news format with humour, presented by prominent hosts such as Luisa Neubauer, Nico Stank, Collien Fernandes, Till Reiners, Tara-Louise Wittwer and Marc-Uwe Kling. Fun Facts dissects the day, searches behind the hype and headlines for the bigger problems and possible solutions – and is funny whilst doing it.
The rotating hosts present constructively what really matters. They help the facts along and people off the sofa. Fun Facts is a collaborative project. Without a broadcaster and without a corporation behind it – launched and supported by artists and Publix residents. Research and journalistic analysis takes place in cooperation with CORRECTIV.
We want to get to know our neighbours and meet Maria Macher in her office in Neukölln. She is project manager and co-initiator of the Stadtteilmütter Neukölln. The Diakonie project trains unemployed mothers with migration backgrounds so they can support other families on questions of parenting, education and health.
What is occupying you at the moment?
Above all the issue of women's rights. We were involved with campaigns, petition drives and political work in making 8 March a public holiday in Berlin at all. At the same time, I'm preoccupied by how strongly current global crises influence everyday life. Many of the Stadtteilmütter have family connections to countries where conflicts are currently taking place, and are emotionally very burdened. The topics we actually work on – supporting families in everyday life, with parenting or education –sometimes move into the background.
How do you stay informed about Neukölln and the world? Mainly through online newspapers like Tagesspiegel, taz or Morgenpost and through radio. But especially for what's happening in Neukölln, networking is important – contacts, networks or newsletters from the neighbourhoods. You get a completely different insight into what's really happening locally. I find this combination important: on the one hand the traditional media for an overview and on the other hand the local networks to be closer to what's happening.
What's your favourite place in Neukölln?
A special place for me is on Karl-Marx-Straße opposite Neukölln Town Hall. There's a Stolperstein there whose installation we campaigned for with a project group of the Stadtteilmütter. For a long time there were no Stolpersteine in Neukölln at all. For me this place therefore represents that you can really change something as a group.
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