Stephan Büchenbacher, born in Zurich in 1964, lives in Basel. He works as an author and special education teacher. Since 2019 he has volunteered with the Swiss telephone helpline, and since 2023 he has been an active contributor to the Philosophicum Basel. His work focuses primarily on philosophical and ethical issues. His debut novel Liv was published in 2016, followed by Saoseo in October 2024 with Zytglogge Verlag. Credo: The adventure of thinking should never be handed over-neither to religion, nor to science, nor, more recently, to artificial intelligence.
Stephan Büchenbacher
Workshop leader
"Dear Socrates, should we talk to no one?"
Workshop
Pastoral care conversations rely on dialogue between two human subjects, whereas interactions with chatbots remain subject-object encounters, as no conscious counterpart exists. We are, in fact, speaking with no one. This workshop explores two guiding questions:what constitutes the essence of being human, and what is a chatbot? Building on five theses - that only humans can understand each other, chatbots do not truly listen, humans seek emotional closeness, such closeness arises in profound conversations, and these conversations are only possible between humans - participants will discuss whether humans and AI can still be distinguished in conversation, what opportunities or risks AI brings to pastoral care, and why critical reflection is essential. The workshop combines a short input lecture, small group discussions, and a plenary exchange.