ACDH Lecture 12.2
Beyond Correlation: Causal AI Decisions Based on World Models
with Roland Fleischhacker, CEO of Deepsearch GmbH and Lecturer at the University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK)
When: Tuesday, March 17th 2026; 16:00 - 18:00
Where: Austrian Academy of Sciences
Baeckerstrasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Seminarraum 1 (accessible via the courtyard)
Registration: Please register in advance via this registration form until 10.3.2026.
This lecture will be followed by a small reception - kindly indicate your availability in the registration form.
Presentation Language: English
Please RSVP for the onsite-lecture.
The current AI debate is dominated by generative models based on the statistical recognition of patterns and correlations in huge amounts of data. But while these systems excel linguistically, they lack a deeper understanding of logical relationships and causality. This lecture introduces deepassist from deepsearch – a technology that takes a radically different approach.
Instead of making decisions based on probabilities, deepassist uses an explicit world model based on a highly interconnected knowledge graph. This approach allows AI to not only recognize that something is related, but also why. By mapping conceptual causalities, AI decisions become transparent, traceable, and resilient to the typical errors of purely pattern-based systems (such as hallucinations).
The lecture highlights the architecture of this world model and discusses how the intertwining of semantic technologies and causal logic sets new standards for AI reliability in business contexts.
Literature:
- Handelsblatt, 2022: KI im Kundenservice: Diese Software löst auch skurrile Probleme - https://deepsearch.net/presse/ki-im-kundenservice-diese-software-loest-auch-skurrile-probleme/ bzw. https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/deepsearch-ki-im-kundenservice-diese-software-loest-auch-skurrile-probleme/28180606.html
- Süddeutsche, 2022: Der Computer, der Dialekt versteht - https://deepsearch.net/presse/der-computer-der-dialekt-versteht/ bzw. https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/oesterreich-dialekt-kuenstliche-intelligenz-mundart-sprachverarbeitung-1.5686212?reduced=true
- NZZ, 2022: Warum der Hund beim Gassigehen jault: Künstliche Intelligenz findet es heraus – https://deepsearch.net/presse/warum-der-hund-beim-gassigehen-jault-kuenstliche-intelligenz-findet-es-heraus/ bzw. https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/kuenstliche-intelligenz-im-buero-firma-deepsearch-liefert-software-ld.1674199
- Podcast Digitaler Humanismus, 2024: Korrelation vs. Kausalität: Roland Fleischhacker über die Grenzen und Potenziale der KI – https://deepsearch.net/presse/korrelation-vs-kausalitat-roland-fleischhacker-uber-die-grenzen-und-potenziale-der-ki/ bzw. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6eOcQiC1JPdeo6lABQuyIZ?si=2fdc4690266e40ca&nd=1&dlsi=b035d672e35d4e5c
Please RSVP for the onsite-lecture.
about Roland Fleischhacker
Roland Fleischhacker is co-founder and CEO of Deepsearch GmbH, a software company in Vienna specialising in neurosymbolic artificial intelligence. He has been working in the IT industry for more than 35 years.
In his work, he focusses on Natural Language Understanding (NLU), business intelligence, process automation and artificial neuronal networks.
In the recent past he was appointed to the University for Continuing Education Krems (UWK), to lecture the Certificate Programme Generative AI .
Learn more about Roland Fleischhacker:
- Website
- Podcast Digitaler Humanismus: Korrelation vs. Kausalität - Roland Fleischhacker über die Grenzen und Potenziale der KI (2024)
