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Events

The hype surrounding ChatGPT has brought it to the attention of the general public: Communicative AI – the spread of generative AI for the purpose of communication – is becoming increasingly widespread. But what exactly does it mean when machines become part of human communication relationships? How is social communication changing as a result? To what extent are the digital infrastructures of communicative AI a challenge for the environment and climate? What new types of human work will emerge with communicative AI – and which professions may disappear? What does all this mean for human practice and how is governance of communicative AI possible?

We invite the interested public to attend the ComAI lecture series to discuss the socially highly relevant topic of Communicative Artificial Intelligence. The events will be held in English. All experts will be present in person.

ZeMKI-Tagung "Wenn Maschinen mitreden"

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 (…)

Hartley

Jannie Møller Hartley (Roskilde University, Denmark): Automated Publics: AI, Personalisation and the Construction of Common Concerns.

Date: 20. January 2027 Time: 18:30 Street: Domshof 26, 28195 Bremen (Universität Bremen) Location: Forum im Domshof Room: Kassenhalle Abstract Shared matters of concern are fundamental to democratic life. Publics do not simply exist; they form around problems, controversies and consequences that come to matter. As Marres succinctly puts it: “no issue, no public.” But what happens when the conditions (…)

Chad-Edwards

Chad Edwards (Western Michigan University, USA): Teaching Machines, Machines Teaching: Human-Machine Communication Meets Instructional Communication

Date: 9. December 2026 Time: 18:30 Street: Domshof 26, 28195 Bremen (Universität Bremen) Location: Forum im Domshof Room: Kassenhalle Abstract Can a robot teach a class? Can a chatbot earn a student’s trust? For over a decade, our research has put machines in the teacher’s chair: a bot answering health questions on Twitter, a telepresence robot delivering a business lecture, (…)

Sarah-T-Roberts

Sarah T. Roberts (University of California - Los Angeles, USA): The Hydra, or: The Social Meaning of Artificial Intelligence

Date: 25. November 2026 Time: 18:30 Street: Domshof 26, 28195 Bremen (Universität Bremen) Location: Forum im Domshof Room: Kassenhalle Abstract In this talk, I describe and contextualize so-called “AI” by addressing, then quickly moving on from, its origins, technological underpinnings and specificities and turn to its deployment and rhetorical social and political dimensions and functions. For that, I introduce the (…)

Karin-Wahl-Jorgensen

Karin Wahl-Jorgensen (Cardiff University, UK): Boutique Media and the Challenges of News Production in an Age of Algorithmic Platform Governance

Date: 4. November 2026 Time: 18:30 Street: Domshof 26, 28195 Bremen (Universität Bremen) Location: Forum im Domshof Room: Kassenhalle Abstract In this presentation, I introduce and develop the concept of boutique media to describe small-scale, personality-driven and affectively charged forms of journalism emerging in the wake of the decline of industrial news production. The presentation examines how journalists and other news creators (…)

Datafeminism

Book Presentation "Data Feminism" with Prof. Lauren F. Klein

On Thursday, September 3, at 4:00 p.m., the Diversity & Gender Equality Working Group of the ComAI Research Group invites you to a book presentation of “Data Feminism” as part of its internal lecture series. Together with Prof. Lauren F. Klein (Emory University, USA), the book’s co-author, we would like to discuss the role of data (…)

Workshop mit Dr. Anita Thaler (Foto von Anita Thaler)

‚Academic Kindness‘ – a co-creative workshop

‚Academic Kindness‘ is sometimes reduced to a friendly way of dealing with each other in research and teaching contexts: to communicate appreciatively, practice constructive criticism and gratefulness. However, these individual practices of kindness are only one piece of the whole puzzle of ‘academic kindness’. In this workshop we will reflect our own positionality and responsibilities (…)

Illustration "Futuring", by Wokandapix

Workshop "From Analyses of the Present to Futuring" – 28–29 May 2026, Bremen

The ComAI research group (FOR 5656 »Communicative AI«) and the Knowledge Sociology Section of the German Sociological Association (DGS) warmly invite you to the interdisciplinary workshop “Von Gegenwartsanalysen zum Futuring. Methods for the Future-Oriented Generation of Practice and Knowledge”. The workshop will take place on 28 and 29 May 2026 at the Haus der Wissenschaft (…)

ComAI Diversity Lecture mit Katharina Mosene

Lecture Series of the Diversity & Gender Equality Working Group: AI, Discrimination & Stereotypes

On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the ComAI research group’s Diversity & Gender Equality Working Group launches its new internal Lecture Series with a talk by Katharina Mosene (Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans Bredow Institute). Under the title AI, Discrimination & Stereotypes, Mosene examines how communicative AI systems – particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) (…)

ComAI_Löcherbach

Felicia Loecherbach (University of Amsterdam): Inside the Feed: Data Donation and Political Behaviour on Social Media

Date: June 23, 2026 Time: 6:30 pm Street: Schnoor 27 Location: Bremen Press-Club Abstract This talk discusses how data donation infrastructures can be used to study political behaviour on social media platforms. It introduces data donation as a way to access user-centric traces of political information exposure and engagement that are otherwise difficult to obtain, and reflects on key (…)

ComAI_Grohmann-2

Rafael Grohmann (University of Toronto, Canada): Worker-led AI governance in cultural industries

Datum: 16. June 2026 Time: 18:30 Street: Schnoor 27 Location: Bremer Presse-Club Abstract This presentation examines worker-led AI governance, understood as the collective ability of workers, through unions, cooperatives, grassroots collectives, and social movements, to shape how AI is used, managed, deployed, negotiated, or refused at work. Grounded in ongoing empirical research with cultural workers across the Americas, the (…)

ComAI_Natale

Prof. Dr. Simone Natale (University of Turin): AI, agency, and power geometries

Date: 26. May 2026 Time: 18:30 Street: Schnoor 27 Location: Bremer Presse-Club Abstract One of the paradoxes of AI is that it is a global phenomenon, but at the same time, it is always situated in specific, local contexts and cultures. While approaches that aim to study local cultures of AI are important, there is the risk of neglecting (…)

Funded by DFG (German Research Foundation)FWF Österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds

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

Uni BremenZeMKI Uni BremenLeibniz Instituts für Medienforschung | Hans Bredow InstitutUni GrazUni GrazUni Wien