Newsletter Dialogical Culture | January 2026
In the following essay, Angelika Sandtmann outlines the paradoxical conditions of our current general life situation. She draws on Hannah Arendt's reflections on the necessity of a reorientation and also points to a planned publication from the Research Center for Dialogical Culture.
We wish you all the best for the new year!
Self-Orientation in Times of Disorientation
We are currently living in paradoxical conditions: The general sense of insecurity that has been noticeable for some time (keyword: VUCA world) is increasing in light of recent social and political developments and has now often turned into disorientation. Certainties are dwindling even where they were still considered relatively stable in a volatile world: Reliability in democratic processes, in respect for the separation of powers, in agreements within the international community, in quality standards in reputable media, etc., is no longer a given, even in Western countries. Such a situation calls for a re-evaluation, a persistent re-examination of the foundations of our coexistence. Are the old concepts still valid, for example, "democracy"? Instead, we are bombarded from all sides—often unsolicited—with answers that superficially mask the uncertainty but ultimately fail to resolve it. This begins with the numerous advertising promises that training will "guarantee" increased resilience, success, productivity, happiness, and so on, and culminates in an inflation of answers generated by new technological developments.
The easy availability of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ubiquitous presence of social media ensure that we are bombarded with answers at lightning speed, even before we have fully confronted the extent of our disorientation. AI models are programmed to always provide answers, so that in cases of doubt, they are more likely to invent something than to indicate that they have nothing relevant to say on a particular topic.
A recent study by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), led by the BBC (News Integrity in AI Assistants Report), found that 45% of the AI responses examined contained at least one significant error. The study analyzed over 3,000 AI responses from four different AI assistants across 18 countries. Journalists reviewed the results based on the criteria of information accuracy, accuracy of direct quotes, source citations, the distinction between fact and opinion, and the provision of context. Errors were found in all areas, with the most frequent (31%) serious errors occurring in source citations: the cited sources did not match the facts presented or the names mentioned in the text, and in some cases, no sources were listed at all. Quotes did not always correspond exactly to the cited source, or the quote was not found in the source at all. Despite these shortcomings, many users assume that AI-generated news summaries are accurate. This was revealed in another BBC study (Research Findings: Audience Use and Perceptions of AI Assistants for News): More than a third of adults in Great Britain consider AI assistants trustworthy, and among 35-year-olds, this figure rises to half. Many believe that AI is "less prone to error and bias" than humans! The appearance of AI's "objectivity" leads many users to a false sense of security.
Communication styles on social media also reinforce the dominance of quick responses. Cultural studies scholar Annekathrin Kohout succinctly summarizes the nature of online communication, in which user reactions have become the most important currency, as follows: While Jean Baudrillard described 20th-century mass media as "speech without response" because no interaction with the viewer and listener was possible, Kohout argues that 21st-century online communication can be described, conversely, as "response without speech." The original content cannot be preserved and disappears “behind the avalanche of its reactions,” while “the responses to it develop a life of their own” (Annekathrin Kohout: Hyperreaktiv. Wie in sozialen Medien um Deutungsmacht gekämpft wird. Berlin 2025, p. 17).
In contrast, it would be appropriate to first acknowledge this disorientation and then seek ways to find a new direction. What is no longer relevant? What matters now?
One thinker who grappled extensively with such questions is Hannah Arendt (1906–1975). As a Jew living in Germany, she was directly affected by the upheavals of the 20th century.
The research center is currently working on a publication about Hannah Arendt that will primarily illuminate her intellectual process: What did Arendt do to reorient herself in a time when the previously supporting foundations had eroded? The publication will address not only a different way of thinking, but also a different relationship to the world, to other people, and to action.
Angelika Sandtmann