Humboldtian Scholarship in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Griffith University, South Bank, Brisbane | 13–15 November 2026
What can we learn from Humboldt in the age of AI?
The 2026 Humboldt Kolleg in Brisbane brings together Humboldt Fellows, researchers and early-career scholars from across disciplines to consider how artificial intelligence is changing the way we create, access, interpret and communicate knowledge. Rather than treating AI as a specialist technical topic, the meeting asks a broader question: what does good scholarship look like in an age of almost unlimited information?
Alexander von Humboldt worked in a world of handwritten correspondence, detailed drawings, maps, instruments, specimens and long-distance travel. Today, knowledge moves globally in seconds, and AI can search, combine and analyse centuries of accumulated information. The tools are vastly different, but the underlying challenges may be surprisingly familiar: How do we analyse data, connect ideas, remain curious, and distinguish genuine insight from the sheer volume of information?
The Kolleg will approach these questions from many directions, including biomedical and chemical discovery, drug discovery, big data and modelling, cybersecurity and privacy, climate and sustainability, emerging technologies, philosophy, society, culture and ethics. We have put together a deliberately broad program that reflects Humboldt’s interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and his brilliant instinct to connect observations and ideas across fields.
Partial travel support for eligible non-local attendees has been generously supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Further details will be provided with registration.
Abstract submission and registration/payment are separate. Presentation requests may be made for an oral presentation, poster presentation, either format, or attendance only.
Registration coming soon…
