Tim writes at the intersection of science, technology and social change. He has written news pieces, deep-dives and feature-length stories in German and English. Each article draws on Tim’s research background in AI, cognitive science, and science and technology studies. So far, Tim’s writing has appeared online at Golem.de, Spektrum der Wissenschaft and Undark, as well as in print for Katapult-MV.
Articles
Who Controls Space, Controls the Earth
Golem, 12.06.2026
Nations around the globe are arming for a war in space – even though none of them seek an open conflict. Three security experts told Golem why.
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Chat With God (German)
Golem, 14.05.2026
While churches are taking practical steps to use AI for religion, other groups are promoting questionable narratives that present treat AI itself as a religion.
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How Much Does AI Threaten Cybersecurity (German)
Spektrum, 29.04.2026
Large language models such as Claude can automate cyberattacks, putting IT-systems at risk. But how realistic are fully-automated attacks?
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A More Beautiful Maths? Or More AI-Gibberish? (German)
Golem, 29.04.2026
Math Inc’s AI harness has achieved something impressive. But its success is at odds with the goals some mathematicians.
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Information Not Intelligence (German)
Golem, 31.03.2026
The best open-source intelligence (OSINT) experts embody the internet’s founding ideal: free access to information for all. They are a counterbalance to the power and machinations of the few, and form a cornerstone of modern investigative journalism. Countless “situation monitors” tracking the Iran conflict are a something else.
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A Dark Matter Detector (German)
Golem, 09.03.2026
Despite potentially making up as much as 85 percent of the universe’s mass, dark matter has never been directly detected. Scientists don’t even know what it’s made of. The most promising candidate so far is a hypothetical particle called the axion—but even that has likely never been observed. Thanks to a new study, that could soon change.
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Plants versus Robots (German)
Golem, 06.03.2026
This year, parts of the Baltic Sea were still frozen when blue-green algae made headlines for the first time. For years, these potentially toxic organisms have posed a threat to plants, animals, and local economies in the region. Yet, it remains difficult to explain exactly how blue-green algae suddenly spread so rapidly—and how to prevent it.
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How Space Is Supposed To Help Heal Cells (German)
Golem, 24.02.2026
Human cells are exposed to different stresses in space than on Earth. Now two women scientists have studied the phenomenon in new detail: Rayyanah Barnawi, astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and Wijdan Al-Ahmadi, responsible for control experiments on Earth and a biomedical scientist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh.
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Why Science Fiction Needs Hope (German)
Golem, 22.02.2026
Angela and Karlheinz Steinmüller are the living icons of GDR sci-fi and their stories are the outstanding depiction of human development in the cosmos. In our conversation, Karlheinz Steinmüller talks about history, the present, and the future. What we can learn from science fiction. And why he wants to hold on to a positive image of humanity at all costs.
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“No CVE-ID, Didn’t Happen!” (German)
Golem, 18.02.2026
Cybersecurity researchers at Anthropic recently reported that Claude had uncovered 500 zero-day exploits in current open-source software. Many experts reacted with skepticism. So Golem decided to dig deeper.
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Model Context Protocol: Hype or Real Solution? (German)
Golem, 18.02.2026
Before the headlines were about Moltbot and Moltbook, they were about MCP. For the optimists, this protocol from Anthropic is paving the highway to an agent-driven future. Critics see a solution hunting for a problem.
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Super Mario and Yoshi Versus Burnout (German)
Golem, 16.02.2026
A group of burnt-out students first sparked Andreas Eisingerich’s curiosity. The Imperial College London professor kept hearing the same thing: they felt overwhelmed, stretched thin, running on empty. But buried in those conversations was something unexpected.
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Another AI Headline? *sigh* Except Maybe This One Matters (German)
Golem, 29.12.2025
AI is the tech topic of the year. Perhaps topic of the decade. More than quantum computing or nuclear fusion. Despite this, many experts disagree what AI actually means. That leads to confusion and makes it difficult to understand, what’s actually possible with the technology.
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Is An LLM Nice Or Does It Just Seem That Way? (German)
Golem, 14.12.2025
Can an AI truly have something like a personality—beliefs, preferences, a character? Two women wanted to find out, so they had language models create comics about their own “lives.”
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AI Is A Tricky First Responder (German)
Golem, 13.10.2025
AI-powered image analysis has countless applications, including in disaster response, where it could even save lives. But users in disaster relief need to understand how the technology works to grasp its true capabilities.
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In A Few Years It Could All Be Over (German)
Golem, 02.09.2025
By around 2030, artificial intelligence will likely take over the world, predict the authors of AI 2027, a forecast that has reached as far as the White House. At its core, the discussion is about who controls the narrative on AI—and which ideology will shape our future.
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R2D2: Therapy Assistant (German)
Golem, 02.07.2025
Robots designed to help autistic children practice social skills sound like a breakthrough to some, but to others, they’re a dangerous illusion. “If you just layer technology over a problem, you only make everything that’s already wrong even worse,” warns Rua Williams of Purdue University in Indiana.
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The Nerves Along Our Coastlines (German)
Katapult-MV (print), Issue 43 – May, 2025.
Since November 2024, underwater data cables in the Baltic Sea have been repeatedly damaged. The incidents reveal a startling truth: the infrastructure underpinning global internet connectivity is surprisingly vulnerable—especially off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where subsea cables link Germany to the rest of the world.
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AI For Disaster Relief (German)
Golem, 03.04.2025
In the age of large language models, artificial intelligence offers countless promising applications for disaster management—from early warning systems to wildfires and earthquakes. But developing the technology isn’t the real challenge.
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When AI Kills People (German)
Golem, 15.02.2025
For centuries, war was a profoundly human affair—brutal, but waged by soldiers who had to distinguish between friend and foe, between target and civilian. Yet with the rise of artificial intelligence, warfare is being transformed beyond recognition.
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Grandma Has a Robot Now. So She Doesn’t Need Me Anymore (German)
Golem, 27.12.2024
In an aging society, robots are being hailed as the solution to the growing care crisis—a compelling vision that too often misses the mark when it comes to meeting human needs. While robots promise autonomy, it remains unclear how they can truly enhance dignity and quality of life for the elderly.
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Do ‘Griefbots’ Help Mourners Deal With Loss?
Undark, 04.04.2024
Various commercial products known as “griefbots” create a simulation of a lost loved one. The technology is supposed to help the bereaved deal with grief by letting them chat with the bot as if they were talking to the person. But we’re missing evidence that this technology actually helps the bereaved cope with loss.
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