The prevalence of speech assistants taking orders, social bots influencing debates, and machines generating texts underscores the increasing sophistication of automated communication. Simultaneously, public discourse on these phenomena reflects the ongoing challenges associated with the automation of communication. It seems that the intricacies of today’s complex societies compel a reliance on automation to meet communication needs, while also generating additional issues for which automated communication appears to be the most plausible solution.
The “Communicative AI“ Research Unit, funded by the DFG and the FWF, is investigating in nine projects and one coordination project how societal communication changes when communicative AI becomes part of it. Top researchers from the fields of media and communication studies, informatics, sociology and law are involved. The research focuses on pioneer communities, the development of interfaces, the legal handling and governance of communicative AI, its role in journalism, in public (online) discourse, in everyday personal life through technological companions, in the health sector and in learning and teaching.
In early June 2025, the second internal workshop of the DFG/FWF Research Unit 5656 “Communicative AI” (ComAI) took place at the University of Bremen. The goal of the meeting was to sharpen shared perspectives on central theoretical and methodological challenges and to further structure the intensive exchange between the sub-projects. The focus was initially on (…)
6. June 2025
On May 7, 2025, Andreas Hepp will give a lecture at the Institute for Global Governance Research (GGR) at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. The lecture will explore the concept of digital futures and the research perspectives required to investigate them. Hepp will discuss the meaning of the term “digital futures,” which is commonly used in (…)
6. May 2025
On April 22nd, 2025, the Center for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen hosted an inspiring panel discussion with the renowned tech philosopher Prof. Dr. David Gunkel. The challenges and opportunities of large language models (LLMs) and communicative artificial intelligence (AI) were discussed intensively for almost two hours, both on (…)
23. April 2025
An open discussion with David Gunkel Date: 22. April 2025 Time 10:00 Street: Linzer Str. 4, 28359 Bremen Location: ZeMKI Abstract In response to any written text—like the sentences you are reading right now—it is reasonable to ask who wrote it and can therefore explain and authorize what it says. This seemingly sensible inquiry is typically resolved by pointing (…)
14. April 2025
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp
ZeMKI, Center for Media, Communication and Information Research
University of Bremen
Universität Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67620
Sekretariat (Ms. Schmidt): +49 421 218-67606
E-mail: andreas.hepp@uni-bremen.de
