Goethe-Institut / HAU Hebbel am Ufer

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing art and everyday life. “AIsolation” shows 22 international short films that creatively illuminate the opportunities, risks and ethical issues of AI, reflecting on isolation, technology and new forms of coexistence.     
The rapid development of AI technologies is fundamentally changing our society and culture – it opens up new possibilities but also brings significant challenges: At the Berlinale 2025, a 72-minute animated film was presented that was created by a single person in just seven days using AI. These developments demonstrate how artificial intelligence empowers independent creatives and democratizes access to art production. At the same time, the technology raises serious questions: In February 2024, a 14-year-old in Orlando took his own life after discussing suicide with an AI-powered virtual partner. Such tragic cases highlight the risks of unregulated AI use and make ethical and societal debates urgently necessary. Can artificial intelligence reduce social isolation, or could it even exacerbate it?

Against this backdrop, the Goethe-Institut and HAU Hebbel am Ufer, in cooperation with Berlin Art Week, are presenting the online short film series “AIsolation,” created as part of the AI short film competition of the same name. The aim is to foster critical reflection on artificial intelligence and its impact on society. An interdisciplinary jury of experts from the fields of film, art, humanities, and technology selected the 20 most remarkable out of 205 submissions from countries such as China, Germany, France, the UK, Korea, Malaysia, Ukraine, the USA and Uzbekistan.

The films, which are up to five minutes long, express artistic perspectives and visions on the topic of “AIsolation,” aesthetically reflect the collaboration between humans and AI and at the same time explore the limits of visual language.

On 14 September at 14:00, the award ceremony and subsequent panel discussion will take place simultaneously at the Goethe-Institut China and via livestream on the digital stage HAU4 (hau4.de). Viewers worldwide can watch the event there free of charge.

Jury members:

First round:
Shu Cao (interdisciplinary artist)
Pengyuan Gu (programme director at the FIRST Fantastic Film Festival)
Sarah Reimann (curator HAU4)
Theresa Reiwer ((post)digital artist)

Second round:
Qiufan Chen (writer and futurist)
Tianzhuo Chen (multidisciplinary artist)
Katja Grawinkel-Claassen (dramaturge)
Tan Chui Mui (film director)
Inhwa Yeom (media artist)
Theresa Züger (interdisciplinary researcher in the field of artificial intelligence)