On May 5th 2026, the RDS held its second Movie-Night at the Stadtkino. In this edition we watched Ridley Scott's cult sci-fi classic “Blade Runner - final cut”.  Set in an imagined dystopian Los Angeles in the far distant year 2019, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former "blade runner" is tasked with hunting down and "retiring" rogue replicants - bio-engineered humanoid androids that are almost indistinguishable from real humans. The film digs into the blurring of lines between artificial intelligence (AI) and humanity, the ethical questions around “ownership” of an artificial consciousness, and the central question of “can machines feel?”.

In a world where AI is advancing at break-neck-speed, and more and more people are seeking AI companions, the questions thrown up by this film are more relevant than ever, and were discussed over a relaxed apéro after the screening.

We are grateful to RDS Board Member Prof. Volker Roth for hosting this event and for his thought provoking introduction to the film.