Science Under Pressure: AI, Democracy, and Populism

Moderation: Isabelle Baumann

Why is science not a luxury, but an essential component of our democracy? A look at the United States shows how closely the attack on democratic institutions is linked to an attack on the freedom of science and education—on universities, research, and the very idea that such things as facts and verifiable reasons should exist at all. 

Under the title “Science Under Stress,” the Pierre Werner Institute invites you to an evening event that will explore precisely this connection. Prof. Dr. Georg Mein will open the event with a keynote address based on his book *The University Principle: Why Democracy Needs Science*. In the ensuing discussion, he will speak with Prof. Dr. Rolf Tarrach, former rector of the University of Luxembourg, about academic freedom, the transformation of the public sphere in the digital age, and the question of what role universities must play when the distinction between reasoning and mere assertion is politically devalued. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Isabell Eva Baumann (LUCET, University of Luxembourg). 

Georg Mein

Since 2006, Professor of Modern German Literature and Theory at the University of Luxembourg, where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education from 2013 to 2023. Since 2024, he has been President of the University Council and has headed the University of Luxembourg Institute for Digital Ethics (ULIDE) since 2025.

Rolf Tarrach

Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Barcelona, where he also served as Vice Rector from 1990 to 1993. From 2000 to 2003, Rolf Tarrach was President of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, and subsequently served as Rector of the University of Luxembourg from 2005 to 2014. From 2015 to 2019, he served as President of the European University Association (EUA) in Brussels.

Isabell Baumann 

Research Scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET) at the University. She works at the intersection of education, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. In her research, she examines how new technologies are transforming knowledge production, learning processes, and democratic participation.