When Machines Join the Conversation: Empirical Findings on Communicative AI
ZeMKI Annual Conference · 12–13 November 2026 · Haus der Wissenschaft Bremen
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and similar systems no longer just mediate communication. They take part in it themselves: they write texts, hold conversations and act as counterparts. What does this mean for societal communication as a whole?
At this year’s ZeMKI Annual Conference, our DFG/FWF Research Unit “Communicative AI” (FOR 5656) presents empirical findings from its projects for discussion with guests from German-speaking research. Topics range from bots in political debates and AI in journalism to responsibility and regulation and the future of teaching and learning at universities. The conference also looks at companion apps and AI in care, at the design of interfaces, at long-term studies of AI discourses, and at the visions of the future that shape the development of communicative AI.
Rather than traditional panels of talks, the conference is built around exchange. It features roundtables, short inputs followed by open discussion, and an empirical workshop in which guests first interpret material from one of the projects before the project presents its own findings.
The full programme is available for download here as a PDF.
If you are interested in attending the conference (it will be in German), please register in good time by email at comai@uni-bremen.de.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp
ZeMKI, Center for Media, Communication and Information Research
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67620
Assistent Mrs. Schober: +49 421 218-67603
E-mail: andreas.hepp@uni-bremen.de
