Is it possible to learn foreign languages or even practise riding a unicycle whilst asleep? In his inaugural lecture, Prof. Dr Marco Landt-Hayen explored the fascinating world of lucid dreaming, its potential implications for learning and performance processes, and the question of whether there are analogies between the simulations of a human brain during sleep and those of generative AI.
Inaugural Lecture: On Lucid Dreams and Generative Artificial Intelligence
Lucid dreaming
Lucid dreams are dreams in which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming and can actively influence the dream. Professor Landt-Hayen presented various methods for specifically encouraging lucid dreams, including reality checks in everyday life, keeping a dream diary, and techniques for stabilising the dream. Using vivid, entertaining examples from his own experience, he also illustrated how lucid dreams can be used to specifically train certain skills.
Do machines have consciousness?
Another key focus of the lecture was the comparison between lucid dreaming and generative artificial intelligence. Both the human brain and AI generate simulations by recombining existing information. But there are fundamental differences: whilst humans consciously experience and learn from subjective experiences during lucid dreaming, AI is based on the processing of data and statistical patterns. It possesses neither consciousness nor its own experiences.
Dr Marco Landt-Hayen has been Professor of Business Informatics at HSBA since December 2025. After completing a diploma in physics and a Master of Science in Data Science, he obtained his PhD in Computer Science. He has many years of experience as a data analyst and in implementing AI solutions in the fields of automatic speech recognition and image processing.
