Tailor-made Comic Essays - Dr. Julia Schneider

Julia Schneider aka docjsnyder is a Berlin-based comic essayist, PhD economist and former consultant in the field of artificial intelligence. In her internationally acclaimed comic essays, she strives to be profound but not didactic, to build a bridge between intellect and intuition, and to reflect on complex but important issues at the intersection of technology, art, economics, and social utopias, such as AI, blockchain, or money. She enjoys collaborating with a wide range of artists. Equality of access is a very important issue for her. Therefore, she regularly uses open licenses for her work.

Get in touch if you also enjoy approaching complex issues creatively and respectfully – and are tired of cliché:
hello@docjsnyder.net or @docjsnyder on social media

Current projects of interest:

>> Better Work? A Comic-Shaped (Ruthless) Reality Check, with Ann Bahrs and Miriam Beblo (release tba, about 60 pages, in English

>>Coworker or Overlord? – A Comic-Essay about ChatGPT+, with dall-e-2 and ChatGPT (2023, 2 p., in English)

>> The Big Third and the Blockchain – A Comic Essay, inspired by Ka trin Becker (2022, 12 p., in English), release 2023 on 1E9

>> Overcoming the Flaschenhals – Ein Comic-Essay zu neuen Computing-Konzepten (Overcoming the Bottleneck – A Comic Essay on New Computing Concepts) with Noëlle Kröger in cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (2023, 3 p., in German)

>> AI in a Biased World, comic essay and artistic research project for the South African University of Stellenbosch’s Journal HERRI, Special Theme AI in Africa, illustrated by an AI to use the BIAS inherent in the algorithm, curated by Vulane Mthembu (2023, 1 p., in English)

>> Das Schattenkabinett – Ein Comic-Essay über die Slim Shadies in uns (The Shadow Cabinet – A Comic Essay about the Slim Shadies in all of us) (release tba, about 60 pages, in German)

Other works:::

Book-length comic essays:

>> Schokoroboter und Deepfakes – Ein Comic-Essay über Künstliche Intelligenz aus der Perspektive von Jugendlichen (Chocolate Robots and Deepfakes – A Comic Essay on Artificial Intelligence from the Perspective of Teenagers) with Nele Konopka and Kristina Laube (2022, 80 p., in German)

>> The Non-Fungible Comic – A Comic Essay about Non-Fungible Tokens, with Noëlle Kröger (2022, 56 p., in English, exhibition and digital release at re:publica22, release in print at 1E9 conference)

>> Money Matters – A Comic Essay about Money, with Pauline Cremer and Miriam Beblo (2021, 164 p., in German)

>> We Need to Talk, AI – A Comic Essay on Artificial Intelligence, with Lena Kadriye Ziyal (2019, 56 p., in English, German (“KI, wir müssen reden – Ein Comic Essay über Künstliche Intelligenz”),Turkish, Spanish, Russian, Slovenian and Czech, and as open online course)

>> The Corona Scribbles, a comic column about life in times of Corona, on 1E9 magazine (2020-2022, 30 episodes, in German)

Shorter comic essays:

>> Urheberrechte, oder: On the Shoulders of Giants – A Comic Essay about Copyright, with Karina Filusch, Eric Eitel and Nele Konopka (2022, 3 p., in German)

>> #teilenstattsplitten – ein Comic über das Ehegattensplitting – a Comic Essay about German Tax Splitting for Spouses, with Pauline Cremer, Miriam Beblo, Jutta Allmendinger, Janina Kugel and Monika Schnitzer (2021, 3 p., in German)

>> Abtreibung – ein Comic Essay, with Maren Burkhardt (2020, 2 p., in German)

Other projects:

>> AI 🐂💩 Bingo – A playful intervention for panels, keynotes and workshops on Artificial Intelligence, with Katrin Fritsch and Theresa Reimann-Dubbers (2022, 4 variations of cards, in English)

Sample press coverage:

A journey

Interview on AI and its impact on society

„Traum und Alptraum“ Für die Volkswirtschaftlerin und Comic-Essayistin Julia Schneider ist ChatGPT ein alltäglicher Gesprächspartner. Dennoch warnt die Wissenschaftlerin davor, das Thema zu naiv anzugehen und plädiert für mehr Transparenz – und eine breite Diskussion über Künstliche Intelligenz.

KI und seine Bedeutung für die Kreativwirtschaft

Content & Crémant in Mannheim zum alle Medien beherrschende Thema "KI und seine Bedeutung für die Kreativwirtschaft". Mit Matthias Strobel von MusicTech Germany und Markus Neckar von Palmer Hargreaves DE. Durch den Abend führte die wundervolle Isabel Sonnabend. Ihr könnt euch den Talk sowohl als Podcast als auch als Videobeitrag noch einmal ansehen oder -hören!

New Release: Coworker or Overlord? A Comic Essay about ChatGPT+

We have all been wondering lately about the impact of large language models like ChatGPTs on us, on society. Join me in my latest comic essay as I reflect on the implications of this technology and its place in our rapidly evolving world. Read the full comic essay now and let’s think together about what … Read more

Overcoming the Flaschenhals

We proudly present: A new comic essay about new computing concepts in German With illustrator Noëlle Kröger and in cooperation with the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation SPRIN-D. The enormous challenges that the #digitisation of our lives and the advances in #artificialintelligence pose to hardware are still far too little known. That's why illustrator … Read more

Release: Schokoroboter und Deepfakes – Ein Comic Essay über Künstliche Intelligenz aus der Perspektive von Jugendlichen

👾 Im #Comic-Essay "We Need to Talk, AI" (mit Lena Ziyal, weneedtotalk.ai) habe ich ausführlich die Perspektive von Erwachsenen auf #KünstlicheIntelligenz diskutiert: Wie #KI unseren Alltag verändert, wie sie in Zukunft unser Leben elementar beeinflussen könnte oder sollte – und dass es Sinn macht, sich in die Debatte einzumischen. 🧒 Doch was denken junge Menschen über #KI – also die Generation, deren Alltag von … Read more

Review and Release: Copyright, or On the Shoulders of Giants

A Comic Essay (3 p., in German) with Eric Eitel, Karina Filusch and Nele KonopkaCC-licensedBerlin, October 2022

“The Big Third and the Blockchain” – A Comic Essay

Sneak Release September 2022 Inspired by Katrin Becker

The Non-Fungible Comic as Oversized Exhibition

At re:publica and .txt, June 2022, Berlin

Release: Non-Fungible Comic – A Comic Essay on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Available on https://www.nonfungiblecomic.org, in English, 64 pages With Noëlle Kröger Berlin/Hamburg, June 2022

Interview with CCB Magazine

June 2022 On the release and content of our Non-Fungible Comic on NFTs. NFT – what is that actually? And what does it have in store for artists?

Interview with irights.org on self-publishing and Creative Commons

July 2022

Talk at txt_conference

After re:publica is before txt_conference: A talk about our experiences with #OpenAccess, #CCLicenses and #selfpublishing of #comic essays. #weneedtotalkai #moneymatters #nonfungiblecomic

Release and Exhibition of Non-Fungible Comic

With Noelle Kröger at re:publica 22, June 2022, Berlin "Trial and Error Space": Moderation: Eric Eitel

Exhibition of the Non-Fungible Comic

At the 1E9 #FestivalderZukunft, München, Juli 2022: The new comic essay by Noelle Kröger and me – classifiying #Web3 with a critical but also playful eye! And here's the comic: http://nonfungiblecomic.org

AI 🐂💩Bingo

Our favorite AI #sciencecomm phrases, as a playful intervention for conferences – for all under open license. #aibullshitbingo

Artist Talk on our Non-Fungible Comic

Our artist talk on the first "Non-Fungible #Comic" about #NFT at the Berlin artist bar and artistic research institution DAS KAPiTAL to watch. For those who prefer reading: http://nonfungiblecomic.org.

We Need to Talk, AI!

Guest article for Forbes (May 2022, in German)

Künstliche Intelligenz: Revolutionär oder nur gehyped?

Panel @Deutsches Museum

Collaboration: Campaign against joint tax deductions for married couples (“Ehegattensplitting”)

with Jutta Allmendinger, Janina Kugel und Monika Schnitzer

Yay! Money Matters became Book of the Month!

https://tredition.de/buchshop/buch-des-monats/

Release: Money Matters – A Comic Essay about Money

Available on moneymatters.art, 164 pages, in German Together with Pauline Cremer and Miriam Beblo Berlin, 15.09.2021

Radio Interview

radioeins with Nancy Fischer, 13.09.2021, Berlin

TV Portrait

ZDF MIMA

TV Portrait

Portrait

in the German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel March 2021

Internet Health Report 2020

Exhibition Human Sovereignty

Bratislava, Robota Center, 2020

Interview

Streaming event in Oct. 20 about We Need to Talk, AI available on Youtube In July 2020 Aksioma, together with the Youth and Cultural Center in Maribor, published the Slovenian translation in the framework of konS – Platform for Contemporary Investigative Art with the idea of distributing it as a free educational material in schools and libraries throughout … Read more

Tenemos que Hablar, IA

Since today, the Spanish version of weneedtotalk.ai can be read, downloaded and shared for free on the website.

Disruption: Essay in the Annual Report 2019 of the Stiftung Niedersachsen

Community Spotlight

Monthly Briefing of Hochschulforum Digitalisierung

The Corona Scribbles

Ongoing comic essay on the digital platform and think tank 1E9

“KI, wir müssen reden” at SpyOnMe#2

by Theater HAU Berlin, 2020

Meet-Up at KI-Campus, Stifterverband

Berlin February 19, 2020

Review at fluter

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung Berlin, 2020

Exhibition at Netzpolitik-Konferenz “That’s Netzpolitik”

Berlin, 2019

Exhibition and Release at Creative City Berlin print magazine “The Big Good Future #2”

Berlin, 2019

Exhibition and Discussion at the “AI-Camp 2019”

Research Convention for Young Scientists under 30, by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Society for Computer Science (GI) Berlin, 2019