Artificial intelligence is omnipresent. It programmes, recognises patterns and writes texts, yet at the same time it makes surprising mistakes and lacks genuine understanding. Before we use AI, we should know how it works. How do artificial and human intelligence differ, and in what ways do they complement each other?
Inaugural lecture: On Artificial and Human Intelligence
In her inaugural lecture, our business informatics Professor Dr Maria Bockhahn showed in detail where artificial intelligence opens up opportunities, where its limits lie and where development can go. She focused in particular on how LLMs (large language models) such as ChatGPT work, showed how neural networks and transformer architecture function, explained the causes of AI hallucinations such as historical misinterpretation or invented content, and discussed how explainable AI can contribute to the responsible use of AI in the future.
Maria Bockhahn has been Professor of Business Informatics in the Department of Technology & Markets at HSBA since August 2025. She has over ten years of professional experience in science and business. Her expertise includes the development of digital products, data-driven decision-making processes and the establishment of complex data infrastructures. She earned her doctorate in physics at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the University of Hamburg, focusing her research on big data processing and the development of digital applications for the Large Hadron Collider. From 2019, she taught for several years as a guest lecturer at HSBA, and knowledge transfer also played an important role in her professional career. In her role as Director of Data Operations at Sport Alliance GmbH, she led an interdisciplinary team and implemented a modern data warehouse.