Saturday, the 18th of 2026, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM CET

Exploring Sustainability, AI, and Global Responsibility through Interdisciplinary Research with Prof. Ernst Pöppel and Dr. Maria Reinisch

We live in a world shaped by environmental crises, global socio-ecological challenges, and the rapid advances in artificial intelligence. This webinar explores how dominant environmental approaches can be rethought, what kinds of transformations are necessary to enable a meaningful ecological shift, and how artificial intelligence may contribute to more sustainable solutions.

Join editors Prof. Dr. Ernst Pöppel and Dr. Maria Reinisch, as they present insights form the books Balanced Sustainability in a Changing World and Ecological Turn with Intelligence. The session will offer a series of thought-provoking online presentations and fresh perspectives on these pressing issues.

The two books are based on interdisciplinary Autumn and Winter Schools where emerging scholars explored global sustainability challenges and ecological responsibility.

The upcoming webinar features seven presentations by international young scientists who are members of Young VDW (Young Visions Determine/Define Worlds). Each presentation will highlight a contribution to one of the two books and address our connection with nature by considering diverse cultural insights and traditional knowledge, alongside the societal and psychological changes needed for lasting ecological transformation. They will also investigate the effects of artificial intelligence on the environment and how it can be harnessed to promote sustainability, guide responsible innovation, and shape a more balanced relationship between technology and the natural world.

Agenda

Balanced Sustainability in a Changing World:

  • 10:20   Elvira Barkhatova – Urban nature(s): Conceptualization and interculturality
  • 10:40   Philipp Geyer – Rethinking of structural, scientific, and spiritual solutions for our relationship with the environment based on indigenous knowledge
  • 11:00   Matteo Sesia – Psychosocial and cultural aspects of an ecological turn

Ecological Turn with Intelligence

  • 11:40   Zhang Dongxue –  The environmental impact of AI, in their own words
  • 12:00   Zhao Chen  –  Strengthening global citizenship could enhance ecological responsibility with the approach of global education
  • 12:20   Gu Yu –  Building eco-conscious personal AI assistants
  • 12:40   Vzorin –  Artificial Intelligence as a new ecological niche for

This event is held by the Federation of German Scientists (VDW) and the Institute of Medical Psychology (IMP), LMU Munich, Germany. Support is provided by the ULP in Taiwan.  Please note the additional information: the two books were published by World Scientific, Singapore, in the series “Exploring Complexity”.

We look forward to welcoming you!

We kindly encourage you to register under event@vdw-ev.de  for the event. Alternatively, you may join directly via Zoom using the link below:

Hosts

Ernst Poeppel Portraetfoto

Ernst Pöppel, studied psychology and biology in Freiburg (Breisgau), Munich, and Innsbruck. He conducted research at the Max Planck Institutes for Behavioral Physiology and for Psychiatry, and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA), focusing on visual perception and the temporal organization of behavior.

In 1976, he founded the Institute of Medical Psychology, and in 1996 the Center for Human Sciences at Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich. Since 2002, he has served as a visiting professor at Peking University, China. Since 2025, he has held the position of Distinguished Professor at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) and is Director of the Neurocognitive Image Laboratory (NIL).

Ernst Pöppel serves on the board of the Federation of German Scientists (VDW). He is also a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Academia Europaea (London), the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (Salzburg), and the Russian Academy of Education (Moscow)

Dr. Maria Reinisch, studied Business Administration in Munich. At the beginning of her career, she spent ten years building up and leading the marketing division of an innovative start-up in the IT sector. She earned her doctorate in Human Biology in 2018 in the field of neuroscience, focusing on leadership in the context of self- and external perception. For many years, she has been committed to the innovative transformation of the energy system and to fostering a successful socio-economic transition.

Since 2016, she has served as Managing Director of the Federation of German Scientists (VDW). Prior to this, she held senior executive positions for more than 15 years in marketing, communication, and business development at Siemensand Siemens Deutschland, both in global and national contexts.

In her current projects, she collaborates with municipalities and universities on key challenges of the energy transition, particularly in the areas of sector coupling and the development of individualized visualizations of energy transition measures.

Register here

Relevante Books:

Cover Balanced Sustainability in a Changing World
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