Studium Generale TU Delft

Think & Drink | AI - from Study Buddy to Soulmate

📅 Tuesday 2 June 2026 | 16:00-18:00
📍 Orange Room, TU Delft Library
🎟️ Register in the link in bio!

Can people really form connections with machines, or are we simply responding to systems that have learned how to sound caring?

As AI becomes more present in our emotional and social lives, this Think & Drink explores what it might mean to feel understood, supported, or attached to something that is not human. Through perspectives from philosophy, psychology, engineering, and lived experience, we will ask what kinds of relationships with AI are possible, who might be most affected, and what consequences these new forms of connection could have.

Rather than treating emotional AI as either a promise or a threat, the evening opens up a broader conversation: if machines can become part of our inner lives, how should we understand the connections people form with them? 

Participants:
Jenna Pfeifer is a PhD candidate in the departments of Biomechanical Engineering and Cognitive Robotics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. 
Bianca Sutcliffe is a PhD candidate at the department of Cognitive Robotics researching the human-like connection humans are forming with AI-enabled chatbots.
Dennis Biesma is a Dutch writer and freelance IT consultant based in Amsterdam. 

“Doesn’t everybody have a bit of ADHD?” 🧠

In conversations about shrinking attention spans and digital distraction, many people recognize this feeling. But ADHD is far more complex than simply getting distracted easily, and reducing it to that can misrepresent a real diagnosis.

That’s why Studium Generale originally chose the provocative title “Do We All Have ADHD?” for the next Critical Mass event: not to equate distraction with ADHD, but to spark a conversation about how difficult it has become to focus in a world shaped by constant digital stimulation.

After receiving criticism about the title, the event was renamed to “Why Is It So Hard to Focus These Days?” while keeping the conversation itself at the center.

How do you deal with modern distractions? Doomscrolling, phantom notifications, multitasking during movies, mindfulness apps… we want to hear it all. 📱

Read the full article in the link in bio and join us at Critical Mass next Monday, May 11, to explore what hijacks our attention — and how we can reclaim it in the digital age together with a neuroscientist explaining how attention works in the brain, a comedian sharing personal experiences with ADHD, and open group conversations.

Let’s learn from each other and maybe leave realizing it’s okay to be a little distracted in a world designed to compete for our attention.

11-05-2026
Theater De Veste, Delft
Tickets required € 7,50 (student) / € 15,00 (regular) via theaterdeveste.nl