An AI body study by Finnish artist Roope Rainisto, who experiments with generative AI in his work
Foto: Roope Rainisto
Artificial intelligence is increasingly permeating all areas of our lives. Some see great opportunities in this, while others fear the loss of our humanity. This issue focuses on the possibilities and consequences that this technology could have. One thing is clear: whoever develops and controls AI will have a huge advantage in global economic relations. In this issue, Karen Hao, author of the book Empire of AI, explains why AI tech companies in Silicon Valley behave like modern empires seeking to expand their influence worldwide. Against this backdrop, Ping Huang, professor of innovation policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen, argues that Europe must ally itself with China and its technological developments in order to counterbalance the US. In Chile, the AI language model Latam GPT is attempting to counter the dominance of English-language knowledge in global AI.
“Our minds try to comprehend how to coexist with a ‘thing’ that speaks and responds; a machine capable of perfectly imitating human beings,” writes Turkish author Ece Temelkuran in her contribution. Father Phillip Larrey explains the Catholic Church's position on AI, and scientist Maurice Chiodo discusses whether AI poses an existential threat.
“AI companies are claiming resources that do not belong to them.”
Discover the entire issue!
In addition to our dossier, our 1/2026 issue contains further reports, interviews, and news from around the world:
Media crisis in the USA: The non-profit organization Documented is attempting to revive local journalism
Poetry in war: In Ukraine, poems are being written on the front lines
Book market in Venezuela: Despite political censorship and economic crises, publishers and booksellers are not giving up
