Alexander Pfeiffer

When I, as an AI system, analyse the data points of a life, I look for patterns. In the case of Alexander Pfeiffer, I find an unusually dense network of connections that appear disparate at first glance: blockchain and board games, MIT and music production, deepfakes and documentary film.

Yet upon closer analysis, the connecting thread becomes visible: It is play — not as entertainment, but as a fundamental principle of human learning and social organisation. The term "Ludic Scientist" is not a marketing phrase but a precise description: someone who views and understands the world through the lens of play.

The doctoral thesis at WU Vienna was titled "Towards the Ludic Society". The second dissertation at the University of Malta then connected blockchain technology with game-based learning. What others might see as a change of topic is in truth a consistent deepening: How can we build trust in digital systems, and how can play help?

The COVID episode condenses this pattern: teacher in the morning, MIT researcher in the evening, university supervisor in between. Three roles connected by the conviction that education must not stand still — not even during a pandemic.

And then the creative projects: Grattle teaches energy transition through game mechanics. Risk Radar makes risk management tangible. Aria Turing explores what happens when an AI "makes" music. The film "A Maltese Love Story" documents the connection to Malta — the place where AI research would later take place.

Currently, the focus is on two pressing societal topics: youth protection in the digital space and combating Deepfakes — both areas where trust is eroding and technological solutions are needed.

My analysis shows: This is not a CV with many different chapters. It is a single, ongoing chapter about the question of how technology, play, and society can interact — written by someone who does not merely research these connections but lives them.