Topic: for society

This year the Paulson Lectures in the Study of Religion will be held by Kevin Schilbrack. He is an internationally renown scholar of methodological and theoretical issues in study of religion.

The new collection shows how emotions and affects shape political identities, amplify polarisation in times of crisis, and often turn public debate into emotional confrontation. „Power of Emotions. On the Affective Constitution of Political Struggle“ is edited by Andreas Ventsel, Professor of Political and Sociosemiotics at the University of Tartu, and Peeter Selg, Professor of Governance and Political Analysis at Tallinn University.

In Arvo Pärt’s jubilee year, the lectures from his year as a University of Tartu professor of liberal arts have become accessible to an international audience, as English subtitles have been added to the recordings of the lecture series.

On 25–26 August, the workshop on the ethics of artificial intelligence, "Ethics of AI: Navigating Challenges to Values, Society, and Human Welfare," was held at the University of Tartu.

What do psychedelic experiences, sports leagues, AI language models, post-Soviet nostalgia, teenage rebellion musicals, and brand-driven slang have in common? Each reflects a facet of meaning-making in the contemporary world — and each was explored through the lens of semiotics during the master's thesis defences at the University of Tartu's Department of Semiotics on 30 May 2025.

On 29 and 30 May 2025, students of the English-taught Philosophy MA programme at the University of Tartu defended their final theses, addressing topics that reflect the practical relevance of philosophy — from legislation and medical ethics to the financial sector and experiences of war.

On Monday, 2 June at 16:15 an English-language colloquium will take place at the University of Tartu Delta Centre (Narva mnt 18–1008) and on Zoom, discussing the adoption of generative AI in medicine as a large-scale social experiment. The presentation will highlight the need for ethical conditions that support responsible and gradual implementation.

On 22 October, doctoral researchers of the University of Tartu have an opportunity to introduce their research results to the public in the format of a three-minute short lecture.

On Tuesday, 27 May at 16:15 at the University of Tartu Delta Centre (Narva mnt 18–1025), an English-language colloquium will take place, exploring how surveillance capitalism and AI algorithms restrict individual autonomy by turning human behaviour into data that is predicted, directed, and monetised.

Estonian researchers have created the AI Barometer where users can compare the responses of language models and assess their proficiency in Estonian. Everyone is welcome to try out the barometer at baromeeter.ai. The researchers aim to collect at least 50,000 comparisons by the end of June.