IT:U at Ars Electronica Festival 2025
The Ars Electronica Festival 2025 is one of the annual highlights in Linz, attracting visitors from around the world. From Wednesday, 3 September to Sunday, 7 September, the city will once again open its doors to showcase innovation, art, and technology.
This year, IT:U will be present in these activities below:
1) IT:U Pop-Up Store (Pfarrgasse 1, Hauptplatz)
Our Pop-Up Store is an associated venue, open to the public with free entry. Visitors can explore two interactive exhibitions:
Exhibit 1: Caring Robots
Led by the Human-Computer Interaction Research Group (Prof. Christopher Frauenberger, Ralf Vetter, Matthias Hirschmanner)
Can robots provide care — and should they? In an aging society facing a care crisis, robotics is often seen as a possible solution. This installation explores the potential roles of AI and robotics in complex care systems for elderly people with dementia, while critically examining their ethical and social implications.
Exhibit 2: Mapping Conspiracies
Led by Professor Bernd Resch
This interactive installation visualizes anti-democratic communication patterns on social media. Discover how online interactions are shaped across geographical regions and what that reveals about digital society.
| Date | Opening Hours |
|---|---|
| Wed, 3 Sept | 15:00 – 18:00 |
| Thu, 4 Sept | 15:00 – 21:00 |
| Fri, 5 Sept | 13:00 – 17:00 |
| Sat, 6 Sept | 11:00 – 16:00 |
| Sun, 7 Sept | 11:00 – 14:00 |
2) Special Event: Meet the Minds
Our evening highlight brings together Prof. Christopher Frauenberger, and IT:U staff. No stage, no slides — just open conversations, sharp ideas, and cold drinks. Stop by to ask your questions and connect with the people of IT:U who are shaping digital transformation in Linz and beyond.
3) Exhibit: Social::Media::Worlds at PostCity Linz
Led by Prof. Bernd Resch and his research group Geosocial Artificial Intelligence
Social media profoundly shapes our everyday lives. Through our constant online presence, we consume and share vast amounts of content — creating data that offers unprecedented insights into areas such as disaster management, epidemiology, and the spread of disinformation that threatens democracy. This project visualizes these dynamics, encouraging critical discourse at the intersection of AI technologies, social media, and democratic processes.
Note: This exhibit is part of the Create Your World (CYW) area at PostCity and is freely accessible to all visitors without a Festival Pass.
4) Workshop: CreAItivity at PostCity Linz
Led by Prof. Philipp Wintersberger and his research group Intelligent User Interfaces
AI is both a curse and a blessing for creativity. For some, it indicates a threat to artistic labor. For others, it opens new pathways for expression, collaboration, and critique. At the same time, a new kind of art is emerging: Works made with AI, works made about AI, and works that question what it means to be creative in the “algorithmic age”. Increasingly, artistic practices address the role of this technology in shaping individuals, society, and our collective future on planet Earth.
4) Digital Humanism Panel on Human Vulnerability in the Digital Age
Joined by IT:U Prof. Christopher Frauenberger
Digital humanism aims to shape a livable digital future that focuses on people, the environment, and society. Visions of the future often assume the elimination of suffering — but can vulnerability itself be a starting point? This panel explores vulnerability as a source of meaning, society, and care. Scholars and artists from computer science, philosophy, and art come together to debate what a digital humanism based on vulnerability could look like.
5) Expanded 2025 – Conference on Animation and Interactive Art
Joined by IT:U Prof. Philipp Wintersberger as Technical Program Chair
The Expanded Conference explores academic and artistic perspectives on Expanded Animation and Interactive Art at the intersection of art, technology, and society. Topics range from AI-generated images and generative art to human–AI collaboration, immersive environments, and transmedia narratives.
Held from 3–5 September 2025 during the Ars Electronica Festival, the conference brings together researchers and artists to present new methods, practices, and critical reflections on digital creativity.