Fighting racism with AI: debate training in the museum
How do you react to racist statements in everyday life? This is the question addressed by a new AI-supported debate training program developed by students at Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium (DBG) together with the FUSION project at the University of Siegen and the Active Museum South Westphalia. The program is designed to help young people train argumentation strategies against right-wing extremist and racist statements. The robot NAVEL, which embodies the AI, serves as a discussion partner and trainer. The debate training will be presented on Wednesday, April 29, at 2:30 pm at the finissage in the Active Museum South Westphalia in Siegen. The museum, the DBG and the University of Siegen are jointly hosting the event. In addition to the debate training, the PEPPER robot will also be used. In a quiz, it imparts knowledge about the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and National Socialism in the Siegerland region.
The software was developed by Nora Hille from the Business Information Systems department (Prof. Dr. Wieching) at the University of Siegen, together with the DBG student council. It is part of the University of Siegen's FUSION project, which serves as a central interface for transferring innovative research from the university directly into social practice.
The event marks the end of an exhibition phase of the Active Museum. Since the open day in January, almost all of the school's pupils have been involved with the traveling exhibition. The history courses in year Q1 in particular developed a tour concept that conveys Bonhoeffer's biography using ten selected objects. Feedback from the pupils was also incorporated into the exhibition: Their thoughts and impressions now flow into the final presentation in the form of "thought clouds".
Event details
- Finissage and presentation of the project "KI gegen Rechtsextremismus"
- Date: April 29, 2026
- Time: 2:30 pm
- Location: Active Museum South Westphalia, Obergraben 10, 57072 Siegen
