AIsolation

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing art and everyday life. “AIsolation” shows 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, presented 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 22 most remarkable out of 205 submissions from countries such as China, Germany, France, the UK, Korea, Malaysia, Ukraine, the USA and Uzbekistan.As part of “Being Alone. Artistic Perspectives from Central and East Asia and Beyond,” we are once again presenting the longlist at HAU4, along with a selection of 11 films as part of the exhibition at HAU2.Jury members:First round:Shu Cao (interdisciplinary artist)Pengyuan Gu (Program Director at the FIRST International Film Festival)Sarah Reimann (Curator at HAU4)Theresa Reiwer ((post)digital artist)Second round:Qiufan Chen (writer and futurist)Tianzhuo Chen (multidisciplinary artist)Katja Grawinkel-Claassen (dramaturg)Tan Chui Mui (film director)Inhwa Yeom (media artist)Theresa Züger (interdisciplinary researcher in the field of artificial intelligence)Best Artistic Innovation Award:Before the Drop | Rosa WerneckeMost Courageous Visionary Award:iDent | LazybackhomeHonorable Mention from the Jury:Discourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)Reverse Engineering Non Generic AI Poetry | Leon KeiditschShort Film Longlist:Before the Drop | Rosa WerneckebriDsunG | Lin ZiyangDiscourse on the origins of inequality among ≥ ≈ | Barcode People (Liang Qihao, Shu Tong)Echo | Liu ZiyuGood Days | Kam Hiu Lam AlexisiDent | LazybackhomeInvisible Women | OHuo (Yu Fan, Lu Song)Is the Art Gallery a Battlefield? | Li YukeIsland Man | Lu ShanJoan of Arc Arrives at the Hotel Intercontinental | Meghan SmithJohn Doe | Hu QiaoMoments When Pain Arrives | Huang JiangyanPhantastikè | Liu Yewen, Liu ShuaiRed Desire | Yang Minto, Zhang Zhiheng, Li Dongyi, Chen KexinReverse Engineering Non-Generic AI Poetry | Leon Keiditsch The anger that breaks a man into boys | Xu WenjunThe spectacle of paradise | Wang HanlinTrash Boy | Daniel RennWhat Makes Us Human | WuyenongWhich Is True | Qi WenlongWhite Room, Black Square | Lyu Wenxuan, Liu XinyuWild Horses | iRuler

Next date:

• Date Friday, 29/May/2026 17:00 (2 more dates)
• Venue Digitales Event
• Address Straße des 17. Juni, 10623 Berlin