The conversation builds on the questions developed within the Sensing colloquium led by Marie-Luise Angerer, bringing them into dialogue with urgent contemporary phenomena and possibilities for intervention. The title plays on the multiple meanings of cognition – sensing, perception, and knowing – and can be read both as Sensing (the overarching frame) and More Than Human Cognition (its specification), as well as a single proposition: sensing and recognising forms of cognition beyond the human. This productive ambiguity mirrors the spirit of the colloquium and opens a space to bring diverse perspectives together.

Teresa Castro, Katja Davar and Rainer Mühlhoff approach sensing as a broad field encompassing processes of perceiving, processing, relating to, and controlling more-than-human agencies. These questions extend beyond technology alone and unfold across several dimensions. The discussion focuses on three key facets of the more-than-human: plant life, animal life, and the technological cognition with a focus on AI. What concept of “more-than-human cognition” is at work? How is the more-than-human imagined, and within which artistic, political, or social frameworks? The conversation is moderated by Djamila Grandits.

The Marie-Luise Angerer Lecture, initiated in 2025, commemorates the outstanding media and cultural theorist and scholar whose influential work on affect, technology, and gender has shaped the contemporary media studies discourse with a lasting impact. Known for her interdisciplinary approach, Marie-Luise Angerer (1958–2024) critically examined the intersections of media, embodiment, and the arts, offering new perspectives on how technology mediates human experiences and relationships. A longstanding contributor to the festival's programme, she was a member of transmediale’s advisory board from 2010 to 2020. Through her writing, teaching, and collaborative projects, Angerer left a profound legacy that continues to influence media studies, cultural theory, and beyond. The event honors her contributions to research and discourse while highlighting the contemporary relevance of her ideas.