The lecture hall building ‘Kupferbau’ of the University of Tübingen is being squatted since Thursday the 29th of November. The occupation was initiated in protest of the planned massive cooperation project ‘Cyber Valley’. The ‘Cyber Valley’ is to be the biggest research center for artificial intelligence (AI) in Baden-Würtemberg. For this purpose, major companies such as BMW, ZF Friedrichshafen and Amazon want to set up their facilities in the city. Both the University of Tübingen and the Max-Planck-Institute are part of the planned research corporation. Criticism is voiced against the nontransparent merge of private economic interest and independent scientific research. The need of a ‘Civil Clause’ (the self-commitment to refrain from research on military technology) is stressed. The squat was tolerated by the University of Tübingen until Monday 8 a.m. During the weekend several lectures and events concerning the negative effects of the ‘Cyber Valley’ took place which were directed at the public. As of Monday 8 a.m. protestors have to expect an eviction by the police.
An account of the squatters’ experience is attached to the press release.
The unabridged statement as well a list of demands can be found at https://www.blochuni.org/Kupferbau/2018/11/29/es-ist-zeit/