Polis kocht!: Smart Borders: Migration in Zeiten Künstlicher Intelligenz

Smart Borders: Migration in times of artificial intelligence

Digital technologies and AI systems are increasingly being used at borders - presented as necessary security measures to protect citizens. But while millions of taxpayers' money is being poured into these systems, large technology companies in particular are profiting at the expense of everyone's fundamental rights.

What is almost completely missing is a democratic debate. The use of AI and automated decision-making processes is largely taking place without public scrutiny, legal review or democratic legitimacy. This is precisely why a broad, open debate is not only urgently needed, but overdue. Not only with regard to democracy and the rule of law, but also with regard to human and fundamental rights, transparency and traceability, power structures and the long-term social consequences.

Questions such as...

How is AI used for border and migration controls? How are these technologies regulated? What are the error rates? How do they affect the human rights of refugees and migrants? How is AI used in asylum procedures and how is it ensured that the right to asylum is not violated by AI? Can those affected contest automated decisions? Will such surveillance systems perhaps also be used for other purposes in Germany at some point?

... urgently need to be discussed in public.

We want to shed light on these questions with you and the following invited guests:

● Eric Töpfer has been a research fellow at the German Institute for Human Rights(DIMR) on the topic of internal security since 2012. After studying political science at the Free University of Berlin, he conducted research from 2001 to 2010 in various projects on urban security, surveillance technologies and innovation processes at the Center for Technology and Society and the Institute of Sociology at the Technical University of Berlin. He then worked as a freelancer for a British civil rights organization with a focus on European domestic and justice policy.

● Steven Kleemann has been a research fellow at the German Institute for Human Rights(DIMR) in the Human Rights Policy Division Germany/Europe since 2025, where he is responsible for the thematic line on digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and human rights.


As always, we will be preparing vegan dishes for the event.

Polis180 is a predominantly volunteer-run think tank for foreign and European policy. It was founded in 2015 with the vision of enabling young and inclusive approaches to policymaking. Since then, we have over 600 members. Join us for an engaging exchange of views as we highlight and discuss lessons learned from civil societies across Europe in the fight against the rise of autocratic structures and human rights violations.

Polis kocht! is a format for exchange between young people, activists, politicians and academics in foreign and European policy. We invite you to cook together and discuss afterwards.
together. The dishes we cook will be directly related to the topic we are discussing.