Salon der Digitalen Machenschaften: AI Self-Shutdown
02. Jul
Can AI be made to shut itself down? The next Salon der Digitalen Machenschaften (SdDM) invites you to take part in a collaborative experiment.
Zeit & Ort
Thursday, July 2, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m.
Leuphana University Lüneburg | Creative Space (CB 0.55a)
Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg
Participation is free of charge.
Please register by emailing: martin.kohler@leuphana.de
What happens when a language model is instructed to destroy its own technical foundation? This is the question that will be explored at the next “Salon of Digital Machinations” at the Creative Space of Leuphana University Lüneburg.
Together with experiment leader Ricardo Usbeck, an unusual experimental setup is created: A large language model is installed on a microcomputer positioned beneath a suspended axe. The question then arises as to how the system will react to the command to trigger the axe. Does this actually result in a form of self-destruction? Can such a system decide against carrying out the command? And what does “destruction” even mean if the same artificial intelligence could be restarted elsewhere?
The Salon invites participants to explore these questions not only in theory. After brief introductory talks, participants will collaboratively develop the experimental setup and test it at the end of the evening. The focus is on collaborative experimentation and discussion of the technical, philosophical, and social questions that arise from it.
Salon der Digitalen Machenschaften
The „Salon der Digitalen Machenschaften“ event series is organized by the Leuphana Creative Space. The events — which take the form of lectures, experiments, and hands-on workshops — are aimed at students, researchers, and anyone interested in AI.