The seventh event in the joint series “Digitalization – What Now?” organized by uptownBasel and the Responsible Digital Society (RDS) research network at the University of Basel took place on August 19, 2025, on the rooftop terrace of uptownBasel in Arlesheim, which was filled to capacity.

After a welcome by Bardo Magel, CEO of uptownBasel, excerpts from documentaries on “fake news” and ‘deepfakes’ were shown, followed by a “deepfake” video created for the occasion by computer science student Maria Desteffani using the latest AI tools. In conversation with the event's moderator, Urs Gredig (SRF), she reported on how easy it was to create such a video using freely accessible archive material and free videos from the internet (e.g., from social media) about individual participants in the evening.

This was followed by a panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Estelle Blaschke (Professor of Photographic Media in the Digital Age, University of Basel), Prof. Dr. iur. Cordula Lötscher (Professor of Private Law, University of Basel) and Dr. Oliver Zihlmann (Co-Head of Tamedia Research Desk). The panel discussed the dangers posed by deepfakes, the changing perception of visual media, legal aspects of deepfakes, and the question of what the media and all of us can and must do to detect deepfakes at an early stage.

Prof. Heiko Schuldt, co-head of the Responsible Digital Society (RDS) research network at the University of Basel, thanked all participants on behalf of the entire organizing team for a very exciting and interesting discussion before inviting everyone to an aperitif. During the networking aperitif, the most important topics of the panel were discussed in more detail in smaller groups. The topic of “deepfakes” attracted a very broad and diverse audience and proved to be a successful continuation of the joint event series organized by uptownBasel and the RDS, which will continue in spring 2026 with an event at the University of Basel.