#rctrust — Public Fediverse posts

🤖 What happens when people delegate social decisions to AI?
At #ICSD2026 in Japan, RC Trust researcher Inês Terrucha presented work with Nils Köbis on AI delegation, cooperation and self-interest.
Initial findings suggest that AI can encourage prosocial choices – even when people retain full control over how the agents act – but willingness to delegate also depends on personal benefit.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/when-cooperation-is-handed-to-an-algorithm
#RCTRust #HumanAIInteraction #AIResearch

Language models do not only generate text. They increasingly shape how information is found, classified, summarized, and protected.
At #ACL2026 in San Diego, researchers from #RCTrust contributed three papers and one workshop on privacy in NLP, generative web search, and multimodal industry classification.
The contributions involve Ivan Habernal, Bilal Zafar, and Elisabeth Kirsten.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/where-language-models-meet-their-blind-spots
#TrustworthyAI #Privacy #GenerativeAI #WebSearch #DataScience
Photo: Elisabeth Kirsten

“Look at the abilities people have and build on them.” 💡
At the RC Trust Graduate School, Laurianne Sitbon discussed how inclusive co-design can support self-expression for people with intellectual disability – through images, emojis, robots and smart technologies.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/start-with-abilities-not-assumptions
#InclusiveTechnology #CoDesign #Accessibility #HCI #RCTrust

🎉 Dr. Jessica Szczuka has been appointed as one of ten new members of Die Junge Akademie.
The 2026 cohort brings together scholars from fields addressing key societal challenges, including digital technologies, AI, and psychological perspectives on societal change.
At RC Trust, Jessica leads the Young Investigator Group INTITEC – Intimacy with and through Technology.
🔗 https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/jessica-szczuka-brings-digital-intimacy-research-to-die-junge-akademie
#DieJungeAkademie #RCTRUST #DigitalSociety
Photo: Die Junge Akademie/Bernd Brundert

AI can help researchers write, code, search and check results. But it can also hallucinate sources, obscure processes and challenge scientific trust. 🔍
At the RC Trust Graduate School, @JohannesBreuer discussed what this means for research in the social and behavioral sciences.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/when-the-production-of-science-speeds-up-means-for-ensuring-trust-must-catch-up
#TrustworthyAI #OpenScience #ResearchIntegrity #GraduateSchool #RCTrust

AI can help researchers write, code, search and check results. But it can also hallucinate sources, obscure processes and challenge scientific trust. 🔍
At the RC Trust Graduate School, @JohannesBreuer discussed what this means for research in the social and behavioral sciences.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/when-the-production-of-science-speeds-up-means-for-ensuring-trust-must-catch-up
#TrustworthyAI #OpenScience #ResearchIntegrity #GraduateSchool #RCTrust

🧭 Corruption research meets digital responsibility.
From 25–27 June, RC Trust and the University of Cologne co-host the 10th Forum of the Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network in Duisburg.
The organizing team includes members of Nils Köbis’ HUAM group, together with Anna K. Schwickerath from the University of Cologne.
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/corruption-research-meets-digital-responsibility
#RCTRust #ICRN2026 #CorruptionResearch #DigitalGovernance

📊 Reliable evidence needs reliable methods.
Co-initiated by RC Trust PI Markus Pauly, the Göttingen symposium “Recent Advances on Statistical Methods for Meta-Analyses” brought together international experts to discuss how researchers can draw valid conclusions when only few studies or small samples are available.
🔗 https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/reliable-evidence-needs-reliable-statistical-methods
#Statistics #MetaAnalysis #RCTrust #TUDortmund

📊🌍 TU Dortmund University welcomes biostatistician Thomas Gerds Alexander from the University of Copenhagen for a guest lecture on causal inference and trustworthy health data research 🔬
The lecture was initiated by doctoral researcher Maria Thurow through the tu.hosts program ✨
🗓 June 10, 2026
📍 IBZ, TU Dortmund University
🔗 https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/building-trustworthy-health-research-through-international-scientific-exchange
#Statistics #Biostatistics #RCTrust

📊🎓 Paula Lorenz presented research based on her Bachelor’s thesis at CEN 🌍
Her work at TU Dortmund University explored robust statistical methods for complex meta-analyses and trustworthy data-driven conclusions 🔬✨
Supervised by RC Trust PI Markus Pauly.
🔗 https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/from-student-research-to-international-scientific-dialogue
#Statistics #DataScience #RCTrust
Photo: Jan-Bernd Igelmann

♻️🏆 Award-winning research meets real-world sustainability!
Leia Betting’s master’s thesis at TU Dortmund University explored how statistics & machine learning can help improve recycling and returnable bottle logistics 📊🚛
Developed with REMONDIS and supervised by RC Trust PI Markus Pauly, the project shows how data-driven forecasting can support more sustainable industrial processes 🌍✨
Congrats, Leia! 🎉
🔗 https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/forecasting-recycling-flows-for-more-sustainable-industrial-processes
#Statistics #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #DataScience #RCTrust

👋 Welcome to RC Trust, Fiona Lau! 🤖✨
Fiona joined our Human-AI Interaction group as a PhD researcher.
Her research focuses on:
🎨 generative AI
🤝 human-AI co-creation
🧠 interactive systems
She explores how AI can support and extend human capabilities – while preserving human agency 💡
Outside research: 🏐🧘‍♀️🎹🌿
Welcome, Fiona! 🚀
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/shaping-collaborative-futures-of-human-ai-systems

#HumanAIInteraction #GenerativeAI #HCI #AIResearch #PhDLife #RCTrust

🚀 PhD opportunity at RC Trust
Join Prof. Giulia Barbareschi’s team and work on Mixed Ability Interaction 🤝♿
Design AI, XR & robotic systems that enable people with and without disabilities to collaborate, create & connect 🤖
🌍 International & interdisciplinary environment
🎓 Strong societal impact
🔗 https://www.uni-due.de/karriere/stelle-rar.php?kennziffer=171-26
#PhD #InclusiveTechnology #Accessibility #HumanAIInteraction #RCTrust

🚀 PhD opportunity at RC Trust
Join Prof. Giulia Barbareschi’s team and work on Mixed Ability Interaction 🤝♿
Design AI, XR & robotic systems that enable people with and without disabilities to collaborate, create & connect 🤖
🌍 International & interdisciplinary environment
🎓 Strong societal impact
🔗 https://www.uni-due.de/karriere/stelle-rar.php?kennziffer=171-26
#PhD #InclusiveTechnology #Accessibility #HumanAIInteraction #RCTrust

🥽🤖 New at RC Trust: Manshul Belani!
She works on human-centered AI and XR – focusing on usability, accessibility, and inclusive design 🌍.
How should we design trustworthy immersive systems? 💬
https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/designing-technology-around-people
#HCI #HumanCenteredAI #XR #RCTrust

🗣️⚖️ Who gets heard in digital governance?
Rachel Griffin & Mateus Correia de Carvalho explore how civil society shapes EU platform rules 🇪🇺 – and why some voices are left out.
Her work highlights inequalities in resources 💸, access 🏛️, and recognition 👁️ that shape how risks are defined and governed.
🔗 https://dsa-observatory.eu/2026/02/17/who-speaks-and-who-is-heard/
#EURegulation #DigitalJustice #PlatformGovernance #ResponsibleAI #RCTrust

🏆 Recognition for international research collaboration
Prof. Giulia Barbareschi (RC Trust) receives an Honorable Mention Award at #HRI2026 🎉
Her team developed the RUSH Checklist – improving transparency, reproducibility & quality in human-robot interaction research 🤖
A key step toward more trustworthy & inclusive technologies.
🔗 https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3757279.3785572
#HumanRobotInteraction #InclusiveAI #ResponsibleAI #RCTrust #ResearchExcellence

Chatbots increasingly recommend products, services or even financial advice. 🤖💬

On 12 March, Nicole Krämer, Scientific Director of RC Trust, joins a policy discussion at the NRW Ministry for Consumer Protection at the event
“Chatbot and AI Agent: (Not) a Friend and Helper?”

The panel will explore trust, transparency and risks in AI-driven communication.

#AI #TrustworthyAI #ConsumerProtection #DigitalPolicy #AIethics #HumanAI #RCTrust

Photo: Till Niermann – CC BY-SA 3.0 edited

👋 Welcome to RC Trust, Aria Kalforian! 🤖

Aria joined the Human-AI Interaction group in March 2026 as a PhD researcher.

Her work explores the human and societal impacts of AI-driven technologies – including conversational agents, social media algorithms, and large language model-based assistants.

Welcome to the team, Aria! 🚀

#HumanAIInteraction #ResponsibleAI #HCI #AIResearch #DigitalSociety #RCTrust #PhDLife

👋 Welcome to RC Trust, Dr. Jonathan Liebers! 🤖

Since March 1, 2026, Jonathan has joined the Human-AI Interaction group as a postdoctoral researcher.

His research focuses on Agentic AI and implicit interaction – exploring how intelligent systems can support users proactively and understand contextual needs without explicit commands.

We’re excited to have you on board! 🚀

#HumanAIInteraction #AgenticAI #HCI #AIResearch #AcademicLife #RCTrust #XR #MachineLearning

🛡️ Societal resilience in times of crisis.

At a workshop hosted by the Joint Competence Center for Civil Protection (GeKoB) at Germany’s Federal Office for Civil Protection (BBK),
Oksana Huss (RC Trust) and Oleksandra Keudel (Kyiv School of Economics) connected Ukrainian empirical research 🇺🇦 with German crisis governance practice.

Resilience means coordination, learning, and adaptive institutions.

#SocietalResilience #SecurityPolicy #Governance #DigitalTrust #RCTRust

🚀 Welcome Nancy Bou Kamel to RC Trust!

Nancy joins the Chair of Inclusive Technology and Collective Engagement, led by Prof. Giulia Barbareschi 🤖♿

She builds inclusive AI systems – from low-latency speech recognition 🗣️ to scalable RAG & LLM architectures ☁️

Her goal: AI that is accessible by design and robust in real-world contexts.

How can we embed inclusion into AI from the start?

#InclusiveAI #Accessibility #MachineLearning #WomenInTech #RCTrust

🚨 A viral video showed a plane emergency landing on the A3 in Duisburg.

It never happened. The footage was AI-generated.

In a WDR interview, Bianca Nowak explains how synthetic media influences perception, credibility & public discourse 🤖🧠

At RC Trust, we study how people understand and evaluate AI.

How do you assess whether content is real?

#TrustworthyAI #AIethics #MediaLiteracy #ScienceCommunication #RCTRust

Photo: Sebastian Meinken

👋 Welcome to RC Trust, Iheb Dridi! 🎉

Since January 2026, Iheb has been supporting our research as a technical research assistant while completing his Master’s studies in Computer Engineering 💻🧠
His work contributes to making algorithmic systems more transparent, understandable, and trustworthy.

What do you think builds trust in AI?

#RCTRust #TrustworthyAI #HumanCenteredAI #Research #AI

🎓 New team member at RC Trust: Welcome, Dorina Rohse!

Since January 2026, Dorina has been part of the Chair of Inclusive Technology and Collective Engagement. As a research assistant, she researches how Virtual Reality can support inclusive education – developing and testing VR applications for school contexts 🥽📚

She also offers workshops on VR & inclusion, bridging research, practice, and outreach.

#InclusiveEducation #VirtualReality #Accessibility #RCTrust #ParticipatoryResearch

Disinformation is not just about false facts – it’s about psychological effects. 🧠⚠️

At Fact Check Thailand 2026 in Bangkok 🇹🇭, Professor Nicole Krämer (University of Duisburg-Essen) delivered a keynote on “Psychological mechanisms of disinformation effects”, invited by the German Embassy in Thailand.

The event honoured those actively fighting disinformation and highlighted its relevance for Thailand’s 2026 elections. 🗳️🌍

#FactCheckThailand2026 #Disinformation #MediaLiteracy #RCTrust #Research

✨ Prof. Elizabeth Tipton (Northwestern University) visited the RC Trust Graduate School with her inspiring talk “Developing Trustworthy Evidence: From Science to Policymaking.”

She called on researchers to design studies that represent real people and to make evidence truly useful for decision-makers. 🌍

📖 Read our recap: https://rc-trust.ai/news/news-detail/doing-the-right-thing-how-science-can-build-trustworthy-evidence-for-policymaking

Photo: Julian Welz/TU Dortmund

#RCTrust #GraduateSchool #EvidenceBasedPolicy #ResearchCollaboration #DataScience #Statistics

We’re thrilled to welcome Prof. Elizabeth Tipton from Northwestern University to the RC Trust Graduate School!🎉 As an internationally renowned expert in statistics and data science, she will spend a week exchanging ideas and fostering collaborations.

📅 Talk: Oct 1 | 9:30–11:00 | Otto-Hahn-Strasse 14, Dortmund, Lecture Hall E23

#RCTrust #GraduateSchool #Statistics #DataScience #ResearchCollaboration #InterdisciplinaryResearch