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Lectures for the Future
Public lecture series organised by HM in collaboration with LMU kicks off with a talk by astrophysicist Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch
28/10/2026
“Have we lost our minds?” – that was the title of the first lecture in the “Lectures for Future” series, which is now being offered for the 13th time at HM. The lecture series was launched by HM professors Christian Holler and Heinz P. Huber, and has been organised jointly with HM professor Sina Hardaker since this semester. The aim is to foster new perspectives on climate change and sustainability, even across subject areas and universities. This year, the series is being offered in collaboration with Prof. Dr Harald Lesch and LMU. The launch of this collaboration was marked by welcoming remarks from Prof. Dr Ralf Ludwig (Chief Sustainability Officer at LMU) and Prof. Dr Tatjana Nabokin (HM’s BNE Officer).
AI, Climate, Nuclear
Power Just under 450 people attended the opening event, either in the lecture theatre at LMU or via the online stream. The first talk was given by Harald Lesch, who is known to many as a science journalist and TV presenter on programmes such as ‘Terra X’. In his lecture, he took a critical look at artificial intelligence. Among other things, he addressed cognitive atrophy (mental decline) as well as the extreme water and energy consumption caused by AI data centres, which is set to increase further in the future.
Lesch examined the interplay between AI, climate change and nuclear power. Pointing to high costs, construction times spanning decades and the global stagnation or decline in expansion, he explained why nuclear power cannot be a viable solution to the pressing energy and climate problems. “Why are we doing this? Have we lost our minds?”, he asked pointedly. In conclusion, Lesch called for us to work together as human beings, in a rational and fact-based manner, to find solutions to these challenges.
Nutrition, shopping on budget marketplaces, art, politics and the future of batteries
. This lecture series explores a wide range of topics that all have one thing in common: they address key environmental, technical and societal challenges of the 21st century. Academics and experts from the field contribute their specialist perspectives and present different approaches for joint discussion. This fosters an interdisciplinary perspective on issues surrounding current topics such as climate change and sustainability. The current programme of the lecture series examines agriculture and nutrition as a global challenge with Prof. Dr. Marit Rosol (University of Würzburg), environmental sustainability in the context of party politics with Prof. Dr. Ursula Münch (Academy for Political Education, Tutzing), the future of batteries with Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fichtner (Helmholtz Institute, Ulm), the costs of discount retailers and ultra-fast fashion with Prof. Dr. Sina Hardaker (HM), and good news on energy with Prof. Dr. Christian Stöcker (HAW Hamburg). Another highlight is the event ‘Climate, Art and Communication’ at the Lenbachhaus in Munich.
The lectures, which are offered as a general compulsory elective at Department 13, take place every Monday at 6.00 pm and are delivered in a hybrid format. Anyone interested can find further information on the Lectures for Future website.