WASP-HS

PhD Defense: Fact and Ideology in the Machine: Modelling Knowledge and Belief in Neural Models from Text
2025-09-17 09:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Stockholm)
Denitsa Saynova defends her doctoral thesis, “Fact and Ideology in the Machine: Modelling Knowledge and Belief in Neural Models from Text” on September 17 at Chalmers University of Technology.
See event page.
Abstract
This thesis explores questions of knowledge, language, and neural network models. Motivated by an increasing need for insight into complex political and social science phenomena, we study how methods within natural language processing (NLP) can help us gain such insight. With a particular focus on a model’s knowledge, how it is structured, and how we can access and assess it, we study two important aspects of NLP models.
First, we investigate their capabilities and limitations, focusing on how they can capture political and social signals. We use embedding models to capture and reveal distinctions in policy and ideology in Swedish political parties, discussing the strengths and drawbacks of the approach. We also investigate the presence of more complex social knowledge in large pre-trained language models. We prompt models to produce synthetic samples of responses to social science experiments and access if effects calculated from the synthetic data can be used to predict a study’s replicability. A central limitation we find in these studies is the lack of robustness, which we explore in depth by studying what influences model consistency in a more simplified setting, namely, recalling facts.
Second, we aim to bridge the gap between the model and the domain expert by developing and improving interpretability insights of model behaviour. We develop a method for aggregating class-level explanations for a text classifier and demonstrate its utility in the context of Swedish political texts. We also develop the understanding of how models store and access factual information. We propose a taxonomy of possible language model behaviours for fact completion and, based on our novel testing data set, examine internal knowledge structures using established mechanistic interpretability methods.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Opponent
Dirk Hovy, Professor, Bocconi University

PhD Defence: Online Content Moderation: The Regulatory Continuum from EU Regulation to Platform Self-Regulation
2025-09-26 10:15 - 17:00
Silvia A. Carretta defends her doctoral thesis, “Online Content Moderation: The Regulatory Continuum from EU Regulation to Platform Self-Regulation” on September 26 at Uppsala University.
See event page.
Abstract
In today’s digital landscape, users generate a staggering amount of content every minute. Some of this content poses serious legal challenges, including terrorist propaganda, copyright-infringing works, hate speech and disinformation. Online platforms are under growing pressure to moderate such content. They must comply with legal obligations to remove illegal content or risk liability, while remaining free to exercise discretion in enforcing private moderation policies to restrict lawful content they deem incompatible with their Terms and Conditions. This dual role raises pressing legal and societal questions about the balance between public regulation and the growing influence of private actors in governing online speech.
This book investigates how content moderation is regulated within the European Digital Single Market. While public regulation has been widely debated, there is a lack of insight into how the public and private regulatory spheres interact in this context. The study frames the issue within two complementary dimensions: the Regulation “of” platforms, involving binding legislative acts which mandate the removal of illegal content (most notably the Digital Services Act), and the Regulation “by” platforms, private governance mechanisms comprising co-regulatory initiatives beyond state-mandated obligations, self-regulation practices, and private rule-making embedded in online platforms’ Terms and Conditions.
The analysis is structured around the concept of a regulatory continuum and follows a theoretical classification of three modes of regulation: regulation stricto sensu, co-regulation and self-regulation. It is a pioneering study that systematically maps policy variables and governance instruments across each mode. Through selected case studies of major online platforms, the study innovatively examines how public and private regulatory frameworks interact, overlap and sometimes conflict in shaping platform and content governance across the regulatory continuum.
A timely and rigorous analysis, this study critically reflects on the Digital Services Act’s transformative impact on platform accountability and digital governance. It demonstrates that the two dimensions – Regulation “of” platforms and Regulation “by” platforms – should not be viewed as a dichotomy between public and private governance but as part of a dynamic, multi-actor regulatory process in the governance of the digital landscape.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Sandra Friberg, Associate ProfessorAnna-Sara Lind, ProfessorMagnus Strand, Associate Professor
Opponent
Mika Viljanen, Professor

Book Launch for How That Robot Made Me Feel
2025-10-09 10:00 - 11:00
Whether robots, or the artificial intelligence (AI) that powers them, can feel emotions is a topic of ongoing debate. It is a familiar theme in science fiction and a frequent headline in tech development. Just as important is the question: How do we humans emotionally respond to robots? And how do those responses influence the way robots are designed today?
The book “How That Robot Made Me Feel” is an edited collection that explores what emotions we have when encountering robots, how we react emotionally to them in different contexts, and why these emotional responses are so important.

Do robots, or the AI that is driving them, have emotions? That is a hotly debated topic—both in science fiction, where such assertions are a staple of the narrative, and in tech development, where it often makes headlines. But what about how we humans emotionally respond to robots? Are our emotional responses any less important when it comes to how the robots we encounter today are designed? In How That Robot Made Me Feel, Ericka Johnson asks the authors in this collection to critically examine our emotional and affective responses to robots, and what such an examination would do to the way roboticists use (or toy with) our emotions in their design decisions.
The narrative arc of this anthology follows the question of just whose emotions are being engaged through robotic interactions, why, and for what design ends. Of course, the answer is that it is our emotions that are interesting. And these emotions are not universal, despite the historically universalist paradigm of AI and how robotic emotions work. Emotions are contingent, to borrow a commonly used phrase in feminist technoscience. They are placed in space, time, and cultural context. And understanding how they are produced and engaged with will help clarify many of the political aspects of robotic interaction that are currently concealed by the shiny and allegedly neutral surfaces of robots.

The book launch takes place on October 9 at 10:00-11:00 in the KAW Lounge at Stockholm School of Economics. Lolanda Leite, Royal Institute of Technology, will introduce the book and contributing authors will be present for discussions over coffee and cake.
Welcome!

Registration
Please register below to attend the book launch.

PhD Defense: Ethical Tensions in AI-Based Systems
2025-10-09 13:00 - 16:00
Clàudia Figueras Julián defends her doctoral thesis, “Ethical Tensions in AI-Based Systems” on 9 October at Stockholm University.
See event page.
Abstract
This thesis contributes to human-computer interaction (HCI) by exploring how various stakeholders in Swedish public organisations make sense of ethical considerations and negotiate ethical responsibility in the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based systems.
While high-level ethical frameworks (e.g., guidelines that emphasise principles such as fairness, transparency, and accountability) are intended to guide AI ethics application, prior research reveals that practitioners frequently struggle to translate abstract frameworks into concrete actions within design and use contexts. Responding to calls in HCI for situated, empirical approaches to studying AI ethics in practice, this thesis investigates how stakeholders engage in ethical reasoning through three interconnected dimensions: how they reflect and make sense of ethical considerations, the ethical tensions they encounter when working with AI-based systems, and how ethical responsibility is described and negotiated across AI-based systems’ life cycles.
Drawing on two qualitative case studies combining semi-structured interviews and a multi-stakeholder focus group, the thesis develops an empirically grounded account of stakeholders’ ethical reasoning processes.
The analysis draws attention to three cross-study themes. First, stakeholders make sense of ethical considerations in situ, shaped by organisational roles, institutional demands, and technological constraints, rather than direct application of abstract frameworks. Second, ethical tensions are not simply obstacles but catalysts that prompt ethical reasoning, surfacing hidden assumptions and conflicts that require stakeholders to renegotiate responsibilities. Third, the negotiation of responsibility is made and remade among actors, shifting across the AI-based system’s life cycle in response to tensions and contextual constraints.
Together, these findings show that ethical reasoning in public sector AI work is best understood as contextual, relational, and evolving – taking shape through the interplay of sense-making, handling tension, and doing responsibilities. In doing so, this thesis invites more reflective (embracing tensions as triggers for ethical reflection), relational (attuned to the shared and negotiated nature of responsibility), and practice-oriented (grounded in the situated ways stakeholders make sense of ethical considerations in everyday work) approaches to Responsible AI.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Chiara Rossitto, Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, Stockholm UniversityTeresa Cerratto-Pargman, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, Stockholm University
Opponent
Christopher Frauenberger, Interdisciplinary Transformation University, Austria

AI for Humanity and Society 2025
2025-10-09 13:00 - 2025-10-10 17:00
About

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As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in the fabric of society, we are entering a period of profound transformation — of how we work, collaborate, and define human agency. AI is no longer simply a tool; it is a force that is reshaping institutions, labor, relationships, and the foundations of decision-making across every sector. This raises critical questions: How do we ensure that this transformation enhances human dignity and social cohesion? What new forms of collaboration — between humans, machines, and institutions—are emerging, and how can they be designed to promote justice, autonomy, and collective resilience?
This year’s conference, The Great Transformation: Collaboration, Work and Agency in the Age of AI, will explore how individuals, organizations, and societies can navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. It invites researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and civil society to come together to reflect on the new dynamics of power and participation in an AI-driven world. Through panels, keynotes and discussions, we will engage with topics such as algorithmic labor, augmented decision-making, digital justice, and the evolving nature of expertise and human value.
The WASP-HS AI for Humanity and Society 2025 conference offers a space not only to examine the challenges, but to imagine new pathways forward — where AI can be a catalyst for inclusive innovation, democratic collaboration, and meaningful work. We warmly welcome you to join us in Stockholm at the Stockholm School of Economics (Sveavägen 65, Stockholm) on October 9–10, 2025.

Keynotes

Juliane ReineckeProfessor of Management Studies,University of Oxford

Stewarding the Future Commons: Imagining Desirable Futures in an Age of AIThe accelerating advance of artificial intelligence raises profound questions about humanity’s collective future. Will AI amplify crises of inequality, climate breakdown, and democratic erosion, or help us reimagine more just, sustainable, and inclusive societies? In this keynote, Juliane argues that how we conceptualize and govern the future is itself a contested commons. Building on recent work on prospective theorizing and stewardship of the future commons, she propose that imagining desirable futures requires more than forecasting trends. It demands acts of disciplined imagination, normative commitments, and collective responsibility for how today’s practices structure long-term possibilities. Juliane will introduce a framework for navigating diverse and often conflicting modes of future making, and suggest principles of “speculative rigour” that keep our theorizing both imaginative and grounded. In doing so, she aims to develop a conceptual vocabulary that enables interdisciplinary scholarship to critically engage with AI as a site of future-making.

Gillian TettProvost of King’s College,University of Cambridge

Why One AI needs another AI (anthropology intelligence) to Make Sense of the Modern WorldAI has emerged from the field of quantitative analysis and is often discussed with awe in those terms. However there is an urgent need to use social analysis to make sense of how it is impacting our lives and how humans are framing it. Nothing illustrates this better than the question of how we do – or do not – trust AI, and some fascinating new research from Jigsaw and other groups suggests that we are framing this entirely wrong, particularly for Gen Z. Most notably, AI is entering our lines through lateral networks of distributed trust and needs to be framed in that manner.

Conference Program
Conference program may be subject to change.

Thursday, October 9
12:00 Registration opens
13:00–13:20 Welcome and introductionMagnus Mähring, the Erling Persson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation, Stockholm School of EconomicsChristofer Edling, Professor of Sociology, WASP-HS Program DirectorLisen Selander, Professor of Information Systems, University of Gothenburg
13:20–13:50 Keynote and Q&A “AI Innovation and Societal Resilience in a Multipolar World” (hybrid over Zoom)Gillian Tett, Provost of King’s College, Cambridge
14:00–14:30 Living with AlgorithmsSebastian Krakowski, Assistant Professor, House of Innovation, Stockholm School of EconomicsMia Liinason, Professor of Gender Studies, Lund UniversityLisa Irenius, Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Svenska DagbladetModerator: Magnus Mähring, the Erling Persson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics
14:35–14:55 Fika and roundtable discussions
15:00–15:30 Algorithmic Augmentation and Expertise in OrganizationsElmira van den Broek, Assistant Professor, House of Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics Marleen Huysman, Professor, School of Business and Education, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamPanos Constantinides, Professor of Digital Innovation, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of ManchesterArmin Catovic, Head of AI, Aloi and Vice Chair, Stockholm AI Moderator: Anna Essén, Associate Professor, House of Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics
15:35–15:55 Fika and roundtable discussions
16:00–16:30 Algorithmic (In)justicesOlgerta Tona, Associate Professor, Department of Applied IT, University of GothenburgCharlotta Kronblad, Postdoctor, Informatics department Gothenburg University and Research Fellow, House of Innovation, Stockholm School of EconomicsStefan Larsson, Associate Professor in Technology and Social Change, Lund UniversityBinette Seck, Tech Entrepreneur, Chairperson Microsoft AI CouncilModerator: Lisen Selander, Professor of Information Systems, University of Gothenburg
16:35–16:55 Fika and roundtable discussions
17:00–17:15 Wrap up and closingMagnus Mähring, the Erling Persson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics
17:20–18:30 Mingle and Art Tour sessionsEvening mingle with drinks and light bites. The Art Tour will take place at Stockholm School of Economics.

Friday, October 10
08:30 Registration and coffee and tea
09:00–9:05 Welcome and openingLisen Selander, Professor of Information Systems, University of GothenburgChristofer Edling, Professor of Sociology, WASP-HS Program Director
09:05–09:45 Keynote and Q&A “Stewarding the Future Commons: Imagining Desirable Futures in an Age of AI”Juliane Reinecke, Professor of Management Studies, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
09:45–10:35 Lightning Talks – WASP-HS Research Project and ResultsTeresa Cerratto-Pargman, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, Stockholm UniversityNicolette Lakemond, Professor in Industrial Management, Linköping UniversityDonal Casey, Senior Lecturer in European Law, Uppsala UniversityPontus Strimling, Professor of Analytical Sociology, IAS and Research Leader, Institute for Futures StudiesJonas Tallberg, Professor of Political Science, Stockholm UniversityModerator: Helena Lindgren, Professor in Computer Science, Co-Director of WASP-HS, Umeå University
10.35–10.55 Coffee break
10:55–11.45 Lightning Talks – New Research ClustersMartin Ebers, WASP-HS Guest Professor, Örebro UniversityAnne Kaun, Professor of Media and Communication studies, Södertörn UniversityAnna Foka, Professor in Digital Humanities, Uppsala UniversityOskar Nordström Skans, Professor of Economics, Uppsala UniversityEva Erman, Professor of Political Science, Stockholm UniversityModerator: Christofer Edling, Professor of Sociology, WASP-HS Program Director, Lund University
11:45-12:00 Closing wordsMagnus Mähring, the Erling Persson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation, Stockholm School of EconomicsChristofer Edling, Professor of Sociology, WASP-HS Program DirectorHannah Pelikan, Postdoctor, Department of Culture and Society, Linköping University

Registration
Registration is closed.

In the afternoon of October 10, participants are welcome to attend Dialogues on Digital, a half-day conference hosted by the Stockholm School of Economics — House of Innovation. With its focus on how digital innovation is reshaping what it means to be human, the event offers a continuation of the conversations from WASP-HS AI for Humanity and Society — especially for those interested in the societal and personal dimensions of digital transformation.

Conference Chairs

Magnus Mähring

the Erling Persson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics

Lisen Selander

Professor of Information Systems at the University of Gothenburg

Workshop: Girls Just Want to Have Sc(AI)ence—Part 4
2025-10-10 10:00 - 11:00
Critical Robotic Dialogues: Exploring Robots in the Present and Future
Please note that this event is independently organized by a WASP-HS researcher and not the WASP-HS Program Office.
While feminist approaches to technoscience are getting increasing attention, fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Human-Robot Interaction and Human-Computer Interaction are still male-dominated. Similarly, new technologies, from assistive robots to chatbots, are often imbued with the same intrinsic gender and ethnic stereotypes and biases present in our Western society. An increasing number of scholars have thus called for a feminist reboot, praising more ethical, sustainable and inclusive research practices and epistemologies in the hope of better technology. Our workshop series “Girls just want to have Sc(AI)ence” aims to foster knowledge and discussions on critical and feminist approaches to technology by engaging scholars working with AI from a variety of disciplines -from data science to art, political studies and philosophy, and invite them to reflect and imagine together how to use tools and theories from critical and feminist studies to implement more thcial, sustainable and inclusive technology-related practices and research.
When & where: 10 October 2025 at 10:00–11:00, online only via Zoom.
This event is sponsored by WASP HS and Lund university profile area Natural and Artificial Cognition
Read more about the workshop series.
Invited Speakers
– Iolanda Leite, KTH Stockholm, Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning
– Katie Winkle, Uppsala University, Department of Information Technology; Vi3; Human Machine Interaction
Description
Featured in the NAC Week and part of the Girls in Sc(AI)ence seminar series. This seminar invites participants to critically reflect on the role of robots in contemporary society and their possible futures.
Speaker Bios
Iolanda Leite is an Associate Professor at the Division of Robotics, Perception and Learning at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on developing robots that can capture, learn from, and respond appropriately to the subtle dynamics that characterize real-world situations, allowing for truly efficient and engaging interactions with people
Katie Winkle is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, where she is part of the Vi3 division and the Human–Machine Interaction group. Her research explores socially responsible and participatory approaches to human–robot interaction at the individual level as well as at the family, group, community and societal levels.
Registration
To participate is free of charge. Registration for online lecture.

Dialogmöte: Utmaningar för kulturen och kulturskaparna i AI-utvecklingen
2025-11-04 13:30 - 16:00
Foto: Dipqi Ghozali

Om

Program

Registrering

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Välkommen till ett dynamiskt kunskapsutbyte där vi sätter strålkastarljuset på den snabbt växande AI-utvecklingen och dess påverkan på kulturskapare. I takt med att generativ AI tar plats i kreativa processer uppstår både nya möjligheter och brännande frågor. Hur skyddar vi upphovsrätt och konstnärlig integritet när algoritmer tränas på mänskligt skapande? Vad händer med uppdrag och arbetstillfällen när maskiner kan skapa på egen hand? Och hur försvarar vi våra personligheter i en tid av deepfakes och digital användning av bland annat röster och utseenden?
Detta möte är en del av WASP-HS möteskoncept för Dialogmöten som tidigare kallats Community Reference Meetings. Eventet hålls i samarbete med KLYS. KLYS utgör en samlad röst för Sveriges yrkesverksamma kulturskapare och företräder genom sina 14 medlemsorganisationer nästan 30.000 kulturskapare inom olika konstområden såsom bild- och form, musik, scen och film, litteratur och journalistik. KLYS främsta syfte är att förbättra villkoren för dessa yrkesgrupper och därmed stärka konstnärlig frihet och kvalitet, samt kulturell mångfald.
Läs mer om KLYS och KLYS arbete på deras hemsida.

Program
13.30–13.40 Välkomnande och introduktionUlrica Källén, verksamhetschef KLYSKatja de Vries, universitetslektor i offentlig rätt, Uppsala Universitet
13:40-14:40 KeynotesJosefine Engström, Ordförande i Svenska Tecknare – “Hur kulturarbetares arbetsförhållanden påverkas i kölvattnet av generativ AI”Thorbjörn Öström, Advokat och grundare av Öström Advokat, konsult KLYS – ”AI och den kreativa sektorn – juridiska utmaningar”Johan Axhamn, Docent, Lunds universitet – ”Upphovsrätt och AI: Licensiering, ersättning, upphovsmannaskap och plagiat”Andreas Kotsios, Universitetslektor i Europarätt, Uppsala universitet, WASP-HS – ”En rättvis marknad för data – ett rättssociologiskt perspektiv”
14.40–14.50 – Paus
14.50–15.35 – DiskussionsgrupperUpphovsrätt – Rundabordsansvarig: Katarina Renman Claeson, Förbundsjurist, Konstnärernas RiksorganisationLicensiering – Rundabordsansvarig: Åsa Anesäter, jurist, Författarförbundet & Claes Reimertz, Business Development Manager, StimPersonlighetsrätt – Rundabordsansvarig: Jakob Malmlöf, jurist, fackförbunden Svenska Musikerförbundet och Sveriges Yrkesmusikersförbund
15.35–15.55 – Avslutning och sammanfattningReflektioner och insikter från gruppdiskussionerna
15.55–16.00 – Tack och avslut
Notera att detta event hålls på svenska. Programmet uppdateras löpande

Medverkande
Keynotes

Josefine EngströmOrdförande, Svenska tecknare

Thorbjörn Öström, Advokat, grundare av Öström Advokat

Johan Axhamn, Docent, Lunds universitet

Andreas Kotsios, Universitetslektor i Europarätt, Uppsala universitet

Rundabordsansvariga

Katarina Renman Claeson, Förbundsjurist, Konstnärernas Riksorganisation

Åsa Anesäter, Jurist, Författarförbundet

Claes Reimertz, Business Development Manager, Stim

Jakob Malmlöf, Jurist, fackförbunden Svenska Musikerförbundet och Sveriges Yrkesmusikersförbund

Dialogmötesvärdar

Ulrica Källén, Verksamhetschef, KLYS

Katja de Vries, Universitetslektor i offentlig rätt, Uppsala Universitet

Registrering för detta event har stängt.

PhD Defense: Multisensory Interactions with Biophilic Flying Robots
2025-11-10 09:00 - 12:00
Ziming Wang defends his doctoral thesis, “Multisensory Interactions with Biophilic Flying Robots” at Chalmers University of University.
See event page.
Abstract
The relationship between nature and humanity has evolved throughout history and across technological epochs. This thesis advances the hypothesis that integrating natural characteristics into robot design can enrich human–computer interaction (HCI) by drawing on our deep-rooted familiarity with and affinity for the natural world. To investigate this proposition, I examined close-range interactions with flying robots under different proxemic conditions, employing a mixed-methods approach.
The thesis comprises four empirical studies, each probing a different pathway through which biophilic elements might shape human perception, interaction, and imagination. Study I examined how overlaying natural soundscapes such as birdsong and rainfall affected the perception of a noisy flying robot (N = 56). Study II explored nature narratives, particularly the conceptualization of indoor drones as animal-like companions through function framing (N = 60). Study III compared experiences with a bioinspired flapping-wing drone—foregrounding organic forms and biomimetic movement—against a similarly sized quadcopter (N = 56). Study IV staged a speculative dinner theater in which participants (N = 6) engaged with the provocative scenario of eating a biohybrid drone, highlighting hybrid living components as a design material. Across these studies, variations in spatial proximity (from very near to relatively far) and temporal framing (from near- to far-future scenarios) were integrated to reveal how context shapes engagement and experiences.
Collectively, the findings show that nature-inspired design elements can foster intuitive, relatable, and emotionally resonant interactions with flying robots, while also surfacing ethical and practical challenges. This thesis contributes empirical insights into how people respond to biophilic flying robots and argues for moving beyond surface-level biomimicry toward intentional, context-aware integration of natural elements. By treating nature not merely as aesthetic inspiration but as a lens for crafting meaningful, embodied interactions, we can design technologies that resonate more deeply with human experience—particularly in close-range, affective, and everyday settings.
See full thesis.
Supervisor
Morten Fjeld, Professor
Pedro Cardoso-Leite, Associate Professor
Opponent
Joseph Paradiso, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

Workshop: Girls Just Want to Have Sc(AI)ence—Part 5
2025-11-17 12:30 - 15:00
Reimagining the Politics of AI: Co-Creating Tools to Confront Gender-Related Violence
Please note that this event is independently organized by a WASP-HS researcher and not the WASP-HS Program Office.
Such of today’s AI development is driven by large-scale models that demand vast datasets, compute resources and invisible human labour — often reinforcing the very inequalities they claim to solve. But what might AI look like if we built it differently? Drawing from the participatory, feminist work of the Data Against Feminicide project, this talk will explore how we can shift the politics of knowledge and data production in AI development towards non-extractive approaches that centre context, collaboration and care.
Data Against Feminicide is a collaborative research and design project focused on supporting the work of civil society organisations and grassroots activists who monitor gender-related violence and feminicide — the gender-related killing of cisgender and transgender women and girls. Across the world, many activists and grassroots groups produce their own data to draw attention to this systemic, lethal violence, hold public institutions accountable, support collective action and remember lives lost.Since 2019, our interdisciplinary team has worked with activists and civil society groups across the Americas and in Sub-Saharan Africa to co-design machine learning tools that support activists’ existing data production strategies rather than replace their labour. This work has included participatory data annotation and model evaluation with attention to the socio-spatial and ethical complexities of defining and detecting feminicide across contexts.
The talk will reflect on what this work reveals about the politics of AI, showing how choices about who is involved, how technology is developed, and to what ends directly shape its social impact. It will argue for a feminist data epistemology that moves from centralised, extractive data practices towards collaborative forms of knowledge production; from abstract, generalising models towards bespoke tools attentive to local and contextual difference; and from harmful automation towards more reflexive, caring engagements that question not only what machine learning can do but whether it should be applied at all.
Using concrete examples from the project, the talk will also explore the tensions of co-producing AI: how such tools can alleviate activist labour, where biases remain and what it means to democratise technical know-how. Ultimately, it will invite researchers and practitioners to rethink how AI can be designed with and for communities on the frontlines of social justice.
Practical Information
The workshop is arranged in a hybrid format on 18 March, 2025– 12.30 to 13.20: Hybrid lecture on zoom– 12.30 to 15.30: On-site lecture plus workshop in SOL:A129b, Helgonabacken 12, Lund, Sweden
Invited speaker: Ericka Johnson, Professor at Linköping University
Programme 17 November
13.00 – 14.00 Lecture (hybrid)
14.00 Coffee break
14.15 Workshop session
Registration
To participate is free of charge. Registration for online lecture or for both lecture and workshop on-site in Lund at ai.lu.se.

Study Abroad Tips and Tricks
2025-11-24 16:00 - 17:15
Interested in going abroad for a semester? WASP-HS PhD students are welcome to this session where your fellow PhD students who have been abroad can share their ideas and thoughts about their experience.
Please join November 24, at 16:00 – 17:15.
Zoom link: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/65780063878

Generously funded by the Wallenberg Foundations.

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PhD Defense: Mapping Small Water Channels Using Machine Learning
2025-12-05 08:30 - 12:00
Mariana Busarello defends her doctoral thesis “Mapping small water channels using machine learning” on December 5 at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Abstract
Boreal landscapes are shaped by a dense network of natural streams, modified streams, and ditches. Together, they regulate hydrology, nutrient transport, and ecosystem function. Historically, streams were modified to accommodate log transportation, and drainage ditches were dug to improve food and timber production. Although new ditching has mostly stopped, historical changes to the drainage network still affect forestry and water management. Small streams and ditches are the landscape’s capillaries, but they remain poorly mapped despite their vital hydrological and ecological roles. This thesis addresses this gap in knowledge by developing a novel, national-scale framework for mapping small streams and ditches using high-resolution topographic data and machine learning techniques. Combining convolutional neural networks, XGBoost classification, uncertainty quantification, and drainage analyses, this work identifies geomorphological and hydrological indices that distinguish streams from ditches across the landscape. The highest-performing model shows that integrating digital elevation models with terrain indices and machine learning delineates the channel networks successfully for ditches (recall=76%, precision=88%) and moderately for natural streams (recall=58%, precision=56%). Furthermore, the produced uncertainty maps highlight low-certainty pixels from the background that can be used to potentially improve the mapping of streams in the future. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that can separate streams and ditches on maps across an entire nation. By providing consistent, scalable maps of small channels, this research supports restoration prioritization, sustainable forestry planning, and national reporting under EU and UN environmental frameworks. The methodology also offers a reproducible approach for characterizing coupled natural-artificial drainage systems in boreal and temperate regions worldwide.
See full thesis.
Supervisor
William Lidberg, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Opponent
Chris Soulsby, University of Aberdeen

AI and Society: Fresh Perspectives from PhD Graduates
2025-12-08 15:00 - 16:00
Welcome to second webinar in the AI and Society: Fresh Perspectives form PhD Graduates series! Join us as newly minted PhD students from WASP-HS Graduate School discuss their insights into the implications and entanglements of AI for society and humanity in a series of lightning talks.
Program
“Conflicting Aims of Welfare Technology” Maria Arnelid, Linköping University
“The End of a Platform Exeptionalism”Silvia A Caretta, Copenhagen Business School / Women in AI
“How to Build Nice Robots”Jakob Stenseke, Lund University
“Transparency in Trustworthy AI”Kasia Söderlund, Lund University
Registration
Register by 7 December to receive a zoom link.
Register here.

AI Futures: Navigating Ethics, Law, and Heritage
2025-12-16 13:15 - 15:00
Please note that this event is independently organized by a WASP-HS researcher and not the WASP-HS Program Office.
Can AI models be lawfully and ethically trained on copyrighted and cultural heritage–protected materials? This question has become one of the most pressing and contested issues in Sweden’s AI and cultural policy landscape. Recent debates between rights-holder organizations and public institutions have highlighted tensions around copyright, lawful access, and the future of generative AI.
This roundtable, hosted by WASP-HS Research Cluster AI Futures of Culture and Memory, WASP-HS Research Cluster The Rule of AI, the Swedish Research Council Research Environment VOICE and the Swedish Research Council Excellence Network in Ground Breaking Technologies Culture Code at Uppsala University, brings together experts from law, technology, cultural heritage, and creative sectors to foster an informed and respectful dialogue beyond polarized public discourse.
When & where: 16 December 2025, 13:15–15:00, Online event
Type: Workshop
Organiser: WASP-HS Research Cluster AI Futures of Culture and Memory, the Swedish Research Council Research Environment VOICE and the Swedish Research Council Excellence Network in Ground Breaking Technologies Culture Code at Uppsala University
Contact person: Kailin Hatlestad
Invited Speakers
– Jens Västberg – Chief Legal Officer, Riksarkivet (Swedish National Archives)– Love Börjesson – Head of KB Lab, National Library of Sweden– Josefine Engström – Chair, Svenska Tecknare (The association of Swedish illustrators and graphic designers) & Vice Chair KLYS (Swedish Joint Committee for Artistic and Literary Professionals)– Marijn Storm – Partner at Morrison Foerster, involved in GPT-NL development
Each speaker will provide a 5-minute perspective with one slide, introducing themselves and sharing their thoughts on opportunities and challenges related to AI training on cultural heritage data.
Who Should Attend?
Researchers, policymakers, cultural heritage professionals, rights-holder organizations, and anyone interested in the intersection of AI, law, and culture.
Organized by:
– Anna Foka, Professor of Digital Humanities, Uppsala University– Katja de Vries, Associate Professor in Public Law, Uppsala University
Registration
To participate is free of charge. Register here!

Knowledge Exchange: Algorithm Watch
2026-01-12 16:30 - 17:30
We welcome all WASP-HS researhers to exchange knowledge about political aspects of algorithms together with Oliver Marsh from Algorithm Watch, Berlin. The goal of the one hour workshop is to explore strategies to manage the increasingly algorithm-driven society.
Speaker
Oliver Marsh, Head of Tech Research at Algorithm Watch
About Algoritm Watch
Algorithm Watch is a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Berlin and Zurich. We fight for a world where algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) do not weaken justice, human rights, democracy, and sustainability but strengthen them.
Read more.
Registration
Do you want to join the webinar? Send an email to graduate.school@wasp-hs.org for the link!

PhD Defense: Life and AI at NASA: An Ethnography of How Scientists and Engineers Make Tools to Explore Other Worlds
2026-01-30 13:15 - 17:00
Alicja Ostrowska defends her PhD thesis, “Life and AI at NASA: An Ethnography of How Scientists and Engineers Make Tools to Explore Other Worlds” on 30 January at Chalmers University of Technology.
See event page.
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly introduced into scientific practices, including NASA’s missions that explore conditions for life and habitability on other planets and moons. How does the development of new AI tools within these missions transform scientific knowledge production?
Drawing on theories from Science and Technology Studies (STS), this dissertation analyzes science as a cultural practice. It is based on ethnographic research conducted at NASA and within the wider community of planetary scientists and astrobiologists, including interviews and documentary materials.
The dissertation demonstrates how efforts to realize visions of autonomous science beyond Earth already reshape the everyday work of scientists on the ground. It shows how AI is shaped by organizational structures, knowledge infrastructures, and scientific cultures at NASA, while simultaneously feeding back into these dimensions. Boundary work to sustain the legitimacy of planetary missions influences the purposes for which AI can be developed – to identify organic molecules, to explore habitability and potential biosignatures.
The study further shows how field sites, laboratories, and national databases together constitute a knowledge infrastructure that shapes AI by determining which data are available for training. Choices of field sites are influenced by accessibility and symbolic value, rendering some places more popular than others, which skews knowledge production. Digital databases and AI training datasets serve as libraries of knowns against which the unknown is identified. Decisions about anomalies, artifacts, and novelty in data are central to both AI design and scientific discovery. The study highlights the limits of performance metrics and the importance of negotiations with domain experts, particularly in the emerging use of synthetic data.
Although AI remains at an early stage of development in the cases studied, it already reshapes power relations in scientific knowledge production by introducing new ideals of epistemic order and altering who determines the value and usability of data.
By providing an empirical account of AI development in one of the most impactful scientific institutions, this dissertation contributes to discussions about data-driven solutions in science, and the epistemic consequences of using AI in science on Earth and beyond.
See full thesis.
Supervisor
Francis Lee, main supervisor
Shai Mulinari, co-supervisor
Opponent
Marisa Cohn, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Winter Conference 2026
2026-02-04 09:00 - 2026-02-06 12:00
About

Exchange

Posters

Workshops

Program

Registration

The WASP-HS Winter Conference 2026 will be in LUX, the Joint Faculties for Humanities and Theology, at Lund University 4-6 February. It will be filled with workshops, poster presentations, and interactive discussions, with ample opportunity for networking.
Please join us and contribute to the conversation!

WASP-HS Annual Exchange
Encountering DigitalizationWhat happens when interactions are automated and digital agents intervene? Welcome to this year’s WASP-HS Annual Exchange — a dynamic conversation on human-centred digitalization with Prof. Brit Ross Winthereik, Dr. Kash Haresamudram, Dr. Charlotte Högberg and Dr. Malin Heintz.

Speakers

Brit Ross Wintereik

Professor, Dept of Technology, Management and Economics, Technical University of Denmark

Kashyap Haresamudram

PhD in Technology and Society, Lund University

Charlotte Högberg

PhD in Technology and Society, Lund University

Malin Heintz

PhD in Economics, Arbetsförmedlingen

Poster sessions for all
Come and see the most recent PhD project results and give your feedback and contribute with your insights.
Please download and use the poster template for the poster session.Download poster template (.pptx)

Workshops
Open for WASP-HS PhD students:
Bias and Prejudices in AI Training DataModerator: Sarah de Heer
Smashing the Cloud with a Hammer: Exploring AI Through RejectionModerator: Martin Lindstam
History a la ChatGPTModerator: Johannes Widegren, Nasrin Mostofian and Mo von Bychelberg
AI experts meet AI narratives on BlueskyModerator: Igor Ryazanov
Open for all WASP-HS researchers:
AI in Higher Education – limitations and risks

Program

Wednesday, February 4
09:00—11:30Workshop: AI in Higher EducationC214, and breakout rooms:C213C212 (the Staff canteen)
Workshop: Smashing the Cloud with a HammerB352
11:30—13:00Lunch and Poster PresentationsOutside of Lux Auditorium
13:00—15:00WASP-HS Annual ExchangeLUX Auditorium
15:00—15:20CoffeeOutside Lux Auditorium
15:20—18:00How to Write a PostDoc ApplicationC214
15:20—18:00Posters that Don’t Suck: From Awkward to Awesome!B336
18:00—18:30PhD student council meetingB336
19:00Conference dinner PhD certificate ceremonyForum Medicum, Sölvegatan 19

Thursday, February 5
10:00—12:00Poster sessions by WASP-HS PhD students
12:00—13:00Lunch
13:00—15:00Supervisor meetingLUX C214
13:00—16:00Workshop: Bias and Prejudices in AI Training DataB240
Workshop: History a la ChatGPTB352
Workshop: AI Experts Meet AI Narratives on BlueskyB339 CANCELLED
18:00Pool for PhD studentsParadis Biljard

Friday, February 6
9:30—12:30Oral presentations by PhD studentsLUX Auditorium
Click here for abstracts
09.30: Welcome and introduction by Ericka Johnson, WASP-HS Graduate School Director
09.35 Johannes Widegren: Archives +Sapmi = AI?
10.05 Nicolas A. de Pieuchon: Countering Bias in AI Methods for Text Data
10.35 Coffee
11.00 Ziming Wang: A Meat-Summer Night’s Dream: A Tangible Design Fiction Exploration of Eating Biohybrid Flying Robots
11.30 Laetitia Tanqueray: Reframing Robots for Care: Situating Informal Caregivers in the Development of Social Robots
12.00 Sarah de Heer: When Algorithms Shape Care: AI-Driven Medical Device, Precision Medicine and Quality under the Right to Health

Registration
Registration is closed

PhD Defence: Figuring the Boundary Between Human and Robot
2026-03-06 08:00 - 17:00
On 6 March 2026, Dominika Lisy defends her doctoral thesis, “Figuring the Boundary between Human and Robot: A Feminist New Materialist Perspective on Dermally Layered Relationality”, at Linköping University.
See event page.
Abstract
Social robots are expected to become ubiquitous across different areas of both the private and public spheres of human life, assisting in care, education, and daily tasks. Hopes for meaningful, efficient, and enjoyable interactions with these kinds of robots drive social robotics research, but there are also ethical concerns and critiques concerning negative social consequences. Both sides involve assumptions about the boundaries around what it means to be human in relation to the non-human. In order to disentangle optimistic and pessimistic notions about this relationality, there needs to be a reconsideration of how the boundaries constituting the human/non-human divide are understood and figured in encounters with robot bodies. Following Dominika Lisy’s personal experiences that have been documented as reflections, diary entries, and by photographing moments of meeting different social robots, this thesis starts at the first point of contact: the skin.
But how might the skin be used to rethink boundaries between humans and social robots? The research in this thesis illustrates an interdisciplinary endeavour to weave together insights from feminist theory and methodology, research on affective and tactile robots, and the biology and neurophysiology of the skin. Grounded in feminist new materialism, which embraces the entanglement of matter and discourse, the thesis develops a figuration of the skin through which both the form and content of the thesis’ text illustrate what it means to pay attention to boundaries during encounters with affective and tactile robots. Figuring boundaries in this way, they can be described as multilayered, flexible yet sturdy, hardening over time, and dependent on un/noticeable sensations, just like the skin. This thesis aims to contribute to feminist theories of human/non-human relationality.
The thesis presents a situated feminist account of making sense amidst diverse knowledges through the skin and personal embodied experiences in order to develop a sensitivity and ethical responsibility for human–robot relations.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Katherine Harrison, PhD at Linköping UniversityHarald Wiltsche, Professor at Linköping University
Opponent
Maaike Bleeker, Professor at Utrecht University

AI and The Paradox of Agency
2026-03-13 08:00 - 2027-01-17 17:00 | Bildmuseet
Who holds the power when AI enters our lives? AI and the Paradox of Agency is curated by Sarah Cook, WASP-HS Guest Professor, and Museum Director Katarina Pierre, and features new commissions by international artists, from interactive games and immersive installations to sculptures and a drone-read hand-painted textile.
The exhibition is open between 13 March, 2026 and 17 January 2027.
Artists: boredomresearch, Tega Brain, Dennis Delgado, Linda Dounia Rebeiz, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Nicolas Gourault, Zeno Gries, Lawrence Lek, Rachel Maclean, Stephen Marche, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Florian Model, Yuri Pattison, Planetary Portals, Raqs Media Collective, Daniel Shanken, Caroline Sinders & Romy Gad el Rab, Paola Torres Núñez del Prado, and Addie Wagenknecht. Curators: Sarah Cook and Katarina Pierre.
AI and the Paradox of Agency is produced by Bildmuseet at Umeå University with support from the Jacob Wallenberg Foundation and WASP-HS (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society).

Read more

Girls Sc(AI)ence 7: Conversations on How AI is Eroding Human Rights (And What Can We Do About It)
2026-03-24 10:00 - 11:15
Creating a Research Network to Foster Women’s Participation in Technoscience

Please note that this event is independently organized by a WASP-HS researcher and not the WASP-HS Program Office.

Topic:Conversations on how AI is eroding human rights (and what can we do about it)Invited speaker: Sue Ann Teo, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and Faculty of Law, Lund University
When: March 24th, 10.00 to 11:15Where: hybrid – link by registration– On site: at LUX B:339, Department of Philosophy, Lux, Helgonavägen 3 Lund– Online on zoom

Read more

Who Is Speaking? Artificial Intelligence in Art and Culture: From AI-generated Voices to Data-Driven Cultural Heritage
2026-04-15 13:15 - 21:00 | Humanistiska Teater, Uppsala University
Please note that this event is independently organized by WASP-HS researchers and not the WASP-HS Program Office.

Who is speaking? The conference is on AI in art and cutlure including generated voices to data-driven cultural heritage. The full day conference program is ended with an evening program filled with artistic music performances involving AI.

Read more and register

AI Futures of Culture and Memory

The conference is partly hosted by the WASP-HS research environment AI Futures of Culture and Memory.

Read more

Research Opportunities at the Intersection of Society, Life Sciences, and Technology
2026-05-07 09:00 - 2026-05-08 17:00
A Joint Conference between DDLS, WASP and WASP-HS
Uniting Sweden’s life science, machine learning and artificial intelligence communities, we welcome researchers from all disciplines to explore new research opportunities in a changing world.
Participants will have the opportunity to network, be inspired by excellent international keynote speakers, and take part in the latest research in Sweden. In addition to plenary keynotes, the program will offer a panel discussion, a poster session and ample time to mingle.
Practical Details
DatesMay 7-8, 2026
VenueUppsala Konsert & Kongress

Keynotes

Maja Fjaestad

Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Computing Science, Umeå University

Olli Kallioniemi

Research Director at FIMM University of Helsinki, Professor of Molecular Precision Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab

Danica Kragic

Professor at the School of Computer Science and Communication at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH

Conference Program
The program may be subject to change.

Thursday, May 7
09.00 Registration opens (coffee) + poster hanging
10.00 Opening Remarks:Program Directors from the three Research Programs
10:20-11:00 Keynote “Algorithmic rule: AI and the future of democracy”Maja Fjaestad, Strategic Advisor to the Executive Leadership at Karolinska Institutet, Adjunct Professor at Luleå University of Technology
11:05-11:35 Flash Talks: Future Ideas at the Intersection of Society, Life Sciences & TechnologyPhD Students and Post Docs from the three Research Programs

11:45-12:45 Parallel Workshops, Session 1
12:45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:40 Keynote “A plan for the Finnish Health Data Space (FHDS) in the AI era: Navigating health, data, legal, social and political aspects”Olli Kallioniemi, Research Director at FIMM, University of Helsinki, and Professor of Molecular Precision Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab
14:40-15:20 Panel: Initiatives in the NordicsArto Klami, Professor of Computer Science at University of Helsinki. Part of the Helsinki Probabilistic Machine Learning Lab, the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI, and faculty of the ELLIS Institute Finland.
Stine Lomborg, Professor of Digital Communication at University of Copenhagen, Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Tracking & Society, Chief Scientist at the Danish national center for AI in society (CAISA)
Malcolm Langford, Professor of Public Law, University of Oslo and Co-Director of TRUST: Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI.
15:20-16:00 Coffee
16:00-17:00 Parallel Workshops, Session 2
17:00 Mingle food and Poster Session

Registration
Registration is now closed.

Friday, May 8
08:30-09:30 Parallel Workshops, Sessions 3
09:40-10:20 Keynote “Perception, Action, Intercation in Physical AI systems”Danica Kragic, Professor at the School of Computer Science and Communication at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH
10:20-10:45 Coffee
10:45-11:45 Flash Talks: Funded Projects NEST & RIGTime-Resolved Imaging and Multi-Channel Evaluation of Cellular Dynamics (TIMED) – Ola Spjuth, Professor of Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics, Uppsala University
The 3D dynamics of the chromosome – Johan Elf, Professor of Physical Biology, Uppsala University
Multimodal AI-based Precision Diagnostics and Decision Support for Breast Cancer (AID4BC) – Jens Sjölund, WASP Fellow and Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Uppsala University
AI tools for mental health: Clinical Trials – Sverker Sikström, Professor Cogntive Psychology, Lund University & Axel C Carlsson Associated Professor, Karolinska Institutet
Explainable and Just AI in Data-Driven Disease Surveillance – Yana Litins’ka, Associate Professor, Lund University & Atiye Sadat Hashemi, Associate Postdoctoral Researcher, Lund University
Personalized medicine: Ethics and knowledge-making in data-driven medical prediction – Stefan Larsson, Associate Professor of Technology and Social Change, Lund University & Markus Lingman, Specialist Physician in Cardiology Adjunct Professor Medicine, University of Halmstad & Charlotte Högberg, PhD, Postdoc in Technology and Society, Lund University
11:45-12:00 Closing remarks, lunch to go

Parallel Workshops, Sessions 1-3

Parallel Workshops, Session 1
“AI for Science! An interactive discussion on a new initiative”This workshop aims at creating awareness and collecting feedback around a new initiative to support academic researchers with AI competence through a new company called AI4S AB (AI for Science), funded by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. We offer AI support to academic researchers with ongoing grants from the three largest Wallenberg Foundations for up to 6 months full time.Workshop Organizer: Salla Franzén, CEO, AI4S AB
“What is the future of AI-supported precision medicine? Scrutinizing personalized care, equal treatment and disruption of knowledge”The current development of AI-supported precision medicine, and personalization of medical knowledge and treatment, raises concerns about ethics and fair representation. This interdisciplinary workshop examines questions of ethics and knowledge in AI-supported precision medicine, including fairness, prioritization, and changing knowledge practices. The goal is to produce a discussion paper identifying policy proposals and issues in need of further cross-disciplinary discussion.Workshop Organizer: Charlotte Högberg, PhD, Postdoc in Technology and Society, Lund University
“Unpacking Technology Through Interdisciplinary Reflection”In this collaborative and hands-on workshop, we will introduce and lead participants through a series of reflective exercises known as the implosion method. This exercise outlines social and historical considerations around the responsibilities, concerns, and attentions of researchers working on and with technology. Workshop attendees are expected to learn a new method for reflecting on the socio-technical impacts of their research and making connections across disciplines.Workshop Organizer: Derya Akbaba, Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept. of Computer Science, KTH
“Large Language Models in Conflict: Knowledge, Legitimacy, and AI”Large language models contribute to the production of knowledge, such as ideas and recommendations. The accuracy and reliability of this knowledge remain questionable. What if these models contribute to the mass killing of people through mass surveillance? We ask: what does LLMs’ production of knowledge reveal about the ethical and legal dimensions of their use, given the untrustworthiness of their outputs? The discussion follows the ‘Jonsered model’Workshop Organizer: Mais Qandeel, Associate Professor (Docent) of International Law / Law and Technologies, Örebro University
“Zero-Click Futures: Safeguarding Knowledge Pluralism in the Age of Generative AI”Generative AI is reshaping how knowledge is accessed, synthesized, and trusted. This interactive workshop explores the rise of zero-click information environments and their risks for transparency, diversity, and epistemic justice. Participants will collaboratively design actionable principles for building responsible AI systems that protect knowledge pluralism, informational autonomy, and public trust.Workshop Organizer: Selcen Ozturkcan, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Linnaeus University

Parallel Workshops, Session 2
“AI-Ready Data to enable collaborations across fields”Modern machine learning methods open up opportunities for new discoveries, especially when researchers collaborate across fields. For example, a biologist may have collected a novel dataset and collaborate with an ML engineer to build new models. In this session, we will focus on AI-ready data – what it means in practice and how to prepare datasets so they can be shared, understood, and reliably used for AI applications.Workshop Organizer: SciLifeLab Data Centre: Arnold Kochari, Project manager at Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University
“Foundation models on European biomedical and healthcare data: ethical, legal, and technical pathways to life-course precision health”This workshop explores how AI foundation models applied to biomedical and health data can enable personalized prevention and healthcare, considering critical questions of governance, transparency, bias, and clinical integration. We will jointly identify current technical, social, and ethical challenges to leverage foundation models for responsible, data‑driven healthcare in Europe and discuss them with an expert panel.Workshop Organizer: Clemens Wittenbecher, Assistant Professor, Food and Nutrition Science, Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology
“Legal consciousness in the tech community”How do tech professionals navigate law in real-world design choices? This workshop uses practical scenarios and small-group discussions to examine how programmers interpret, use, or resist legal norms alongside technical and organisational expectations. The session invites computer scientists, legal scholars, and social scientists to reflect on tensions, strategies, and pathways toward more legally conscious technology development.Workshop Organizer: Katalin Kelemen, Associate Professor in Law, Örebro University
“SciLifeLab OMERO: A Collaborative HPC-Enabled Platform for Data-Driven Bioimaging Research”This workshop introduces SciLifeLab’s national OMERO service – a tool to bridge the gap between data producers and methods developers by enabling collaborative access to (bio)imaging data sets. Built on the globally recognized, open-source, data management platform OMERO1 for the visualization, management, and sharing of biological microscopy images, SciLifeLab OMERO will offer active data storage connected to HPC resources.Workshop Organizer: Sonja Mathias, Research Software Engineer & Project Lead at SciLifeLab Data Centre
“The Data of Circularity: Governing AI, Transparency, and Compliance in the Digital Product Passport (DPP)”As the EU introduces the Digital Product Passport (DPP), this interactive workshop explores how product data can enable genuine circularity—beyond data-driven greenwashing—across production, post-production, and market use. Bringing together perspectives from AI, cybersecurity, governance, and sustainable branding, the workshop explores the technical and organizational challenges in building trustworthy, transparent, and compliant product data systems.Workshop Organizer: Selcen Ozturkcan, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Linnaeus University

Parallel Workshops, Session 3
“What do I need for successful interdisciplinary research? Education as a collaborative exercise”In this interactive workshop we will discuss what makes successful interdisciplinary research, including trust and leadership, fostering an environment where mistakes can be made, and creating a shared working language. Interdisciplinary groups will then create a mock educational experience on a challenging topic to explore how interdisciplinary collaboration in education can prepare young researchers to face global challenges.Workshop Organizer: Kristen Schroeder, Scientific Training Officer, SciLifeLab
“Uses and understandings of synthetic data in DDLS domains – a conversation about generation methods and use cases across DDLS, WASP & WASP-HS”Synthetic data can mean widely varying things, which makes defining and evaluating it difficult. Likewise, it sometimes misaligns with other values, like objectivity, reproducibility and transparency. This workshop will discuss what synthetic data is, why it is useful, and what it does to the science it becomes embedded in. We will engage in hands-on, analogue activities to facilitate collaborative discussion.Workshop Organizer: Ericka Johnson, Professor in Gender and Society, Linköping University
“The Art of Human-AI Collaboration and Teaming Research”The art of Human-AI Teaming research is discovering and addressing the complications that matter, which unfold in real practice. New theory, tools and methods are required to capture the rich multi-agent setting including humans. The workshop is an excellent opportunity to expand on this research as a joint effort across expertise in the broad communities of WASP and WASP-HS.Workshop organizer: Helena Lindgren, Co-Director WASP-HS, Professor in Computer Science, Umeå University
“What Is Adaptation? Bridging Life Sciences, Neuro-AI, and Machine Psychology”Adaptation is central in biology, neuroscience, psychology, and AI – but often means different things. In this workshop, we compare key definitions and methods, from behavioral change to predictive learning and algorithmic information dynamics. Participants will map shared questions, clarify key research gaps, and identify promising cross-disciplinary directions at the intersection of society, life sciences, and technology.Workshop Organizer: Robert Johansson, Associate Professor, Stockholm University

“Bridge between Industry and Academia”The workshop aims to give an introduction to WASP Research Arenas (WARA). Especially for researchers within DDLS and WASP-HS that might not be aware of the WARA. WARA act as a bridge between research and industry and offer increased research impact and potential for industrially significant breakthroughs. A unique opportunity to validate and refine scientific theories in real-world settings that are relevant to industries.Workshop Organizer: Ola Engkvist, Project Leader WARA Medicine, Adj. member AMG, Executive Director, Head of Molecular AI, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca

Testa Center Demo Day
– Exploring Digital Innovation in Modern Bioproduction
If you’re already in Uppsala for the conference, don’t miss the chance to start your visit with Testa Center’s Demo Day on May 6. This hands‑on event offers researchers a close look at how digital technologies are reshaping modern bioproduction.When: May 6Where: Testa Center, Danmarksgatan 11, 75323 UppsalaRead more and register

Read more about our keynotes, panelists and speakers

Keynote Maja Fjaestad
Title: Adjunct Professor
Dr Maja Fjaestad worked at the EU’s European Artificial Intelligence Office in 2025 and has since returned to Sweden as a strategic advisor at Karolinska Institutet, associate professor at AI Policy lab at Umeå Univerisy and adjunct professor at Luleå University of Technology. She holds a PhD in the history of technology from KTH, has conducted research at the Max Planck Institute, and is affiliated with the Institute for Futures Studies. She is also an expert coordinator at the Centre for Health Crises at Karolinska Institutet, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), an author, and a sought-after speaker.

Keynote Olli Kallioniemi
Title: Research Director at FIMM, University of Helsinki, and Professor of Molecular Precision Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab
Olli Kallioniemi is Research Director at FIMM, University of Helsinki, and Professor of Molecular Precision Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab. Trained in medicine and clinical chemistry in Finland, he later held tenure-track and tenured positions at NHGRI/NIH. He served as founding Director of FIMM (2007–2015), Director of SciLifeLab (2015–2024), and inaugural Director of the DDLS program (2022–2025). His research focuses on AI- and data-driven precision medicine, particularly in hematologic and prostate cancers. He has authored over 420 publications, holds more than 20 patents, supervised 27 doctoral theses and over 30 postdoctoral fellows. He is an elected member of EMBO, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Cancer Sciences, and the Nobel Assembly.

Keynote Danica Kragic
Title: Professor KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Danica Kragic is a Professor of Computer Science at KTH. Her research is in the area of robotics, computer vision and machine learning. She received ERC Starting Grant, Advanced and Synergy Grants, Distinguished Professor Grant from the Swedish research Council and she is a Wallenberg Scholar.

Panelist Arto Klami
Title: Professor of Computer Science
Arto Klami is a Professor of Computer Science at University of Helsinki, Finland. He is part of the Helsinki Probabilistic Machine Learning Lab, the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI, and faculty of the ELLIS Institute Finland. His main research interests are statistical machine learning, human-AI collaboration, and artificial intelligence for scientific discovery. His work spans from fundamental questions on efficiency of statistical inference to domain-agnostic workflows for supporting innovations, with broad range of applications including ultrasonic sensing, chemistry, and food science . He has published more than 100 articles on these topics, including both numerous publications in top-tier machine learning venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS) and interdisciplinary work appearing high-profile journals in diverse scientific fields, and has lead more than 10 externally funded research projects.

Panelist Stine Lomborg
Title: Professor of digital communication
Stine Lomborg is professor of digital communication at University of Copenhagen, where she directs the interdisciplinary Center for Tracking & Society. She is also a chief scientist at the Danish national center for AI in society (CAISA). Her research bridges infrastructural, organisational and citizen-focused inquiry into how technologies for datafication and automation impact our lives, as explored in the ERC-funded projects Datafied living and APPMONITOR, as well as the recently completed comparative project Automating Welfare.

Panelist Malcolm Langford
Title: Professor of Public Law
Malcolm Langford is Professor of Public Law at the University of Oslo and Co-Director of TRUST: The Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI. His scholarship is grounded in law, social science, and data science and his publications span international and comparative law, human rights and development, and AI and emergent technologies. Langford has won several prizes for his work on international adjudication and legal education and technology, and he has previously led the Digital Lawyer project, CELL Centre of Excellence in Education, and the Investor–State Dispute Settlement Academic Forum for UNCITRAL. He also leads a new Nordforsk project (NordAId: Trustworthy AI in Public Decision Making) and infrastructure project for sensitive public data (S2-Data) and he has advised a range of governments, international organisations and non-governmental organisations on human rights and technology.

Speaker Ola Spjuth
Title: Professor of Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics
Ola Spjuth received his PhD in Bioinformatics from Uppsala University in 2009 and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and the Finnish Institute of Molecular Medicine (FIMM) in Helsinki. He is currently Professor of Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University. His research focuses on how AI and automation, together with high-throughput and high-content molecular and cellular profiling technologies, can accelerate drug discovery and address complex challenges in pharmacology and toxicology.

Speaker Johan Elf
Title: Professor of Physical Biology
Johan Elf has pioneered single-molecule fluorescence microscopy in living cells. This work has been complemented by the development of microfluidics, synthetic biology, and computational analysis tools. His most significant innovations include optical pooled screening and phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing at the level of individual bacteria.

Speaker Jens Sjölund
Title: Assistant Professor
Jens Sjölund is an assistant professor in AI at Uppsala University, WASP Fellow, and ELLIS member. His research is in machine learning and optimization, with applications across science and medicine. He previously worked as a senior research scientist at Elekta, where his dose optimization work formed the basis for Leksell Gamma Knife Lightning.

Speaker Sverker Sikström
Title: Professor of Cognitive Psychology
Sverker Sikström is Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Lund University, and the founder and scientific lead of TalkToAlba, specializing in language based psychometrics and AI for mental health . He is a serial founder and recipient of innovation awards such as Lund University & Sparbanken Finns Innovations Prize and Venture Cup’s Startup of the Year. His academic work has been cited over 7,000 times, with an h index of 33.

Speaker Axel C Carlsson
Title: Associate Professor
Axel C Carlsson conduct broad research on diseases in primary care, with projects ranging from early detection of cancer, cognitive testing and machine learning for early identification of dementia, to studies on high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in the population, post-COVID syndrome, and mental health.

Speaker Yana Litins’ka
Title: Associate professor
Yana Litins’ka is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in Public Law at Lund University. She holds an LL.D. degree in Medical Law and has been appointed as Associate Professor in Medical Law at Uppsala University. Her research sits at the intersection of health law, public health, and human rights, with a particular focus on how legal frameworks shape the protection of vulnerable groups. A central thread in her work concerns autonomy in healthcare and the boundaries of coercion and voluntariness. She also engages with rights-based perspectives on access to healthcare, including migrants’ access to health services and the rights of persons with disabilities. Yana works on a range of public health topics within law, including infectious disease control measures and preparedness for future health emergencies, examining, for example, the legal regulation of vaccination, the permissibility of restrictions on freedom of movement and privacy for public health purposes, and requirements for AI-based epidemiological monitoring.

Speaker Atiye Sadat Hashemi
Title: Associate Postdoctoral Researcher
Atiye Sadat Hashemi received her Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from Semnan University and was a visiting Ph.D. researcher at the Chair of Signal Processing and Machine Learning, Institute for Communications Technology at Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany during 2020–2021. She was a postdoctoral fellow in Center for Applied Intelligent Systems Research at Halmstad university and currently she is an associate postdoctoral researcher in AI in Medicine at Lund University, Sweden, where she is the Principal Investigator of a Research Initiation Grant from SciLifeLab and serves as Co-Principal Investigator on a grant from Swedish Research Council (VR) focused on the application of artificial intelligence in infectious diseases. Her research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, with particular emphasis on disease outbreak surveillance, privacy-preserving machine learning, and adversarial learning methods.

Speaker Stefan Larsson
Title: Associate Professor of Technology and Social Change
Stefan Larsson is a social science technology researcher at the Department of Technology and Society, Lund University in Sweden, where he leads a research group on AI and society that do interdisciplinary studies on norms, ethics and governance issues linked in the human-AI/robotics intersection.

Speaker Markus Lingman
Title: Specialist Physician in Cardiology, Adj. Professor Medicine
Markus Lingman is a cardiologist, chief strategy officer and adjunct professor of medicine at University of Halmstad and affiliations at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Karolinska Institutet. His research has a focus on applied AI in healthcare and medicine leveraging real-world data.

Speaker Charlotte Högberg
Title: PhD, Postdoc in Technology and Society
Charlotte Högberg is a postdoctoral research fellow at The Department of Technology and Society, Lund University, specialized in Science and Technology Studies and medical AI. Her work concerns practices, ethics and epistemologies of the development and use of AI in medicine, healthcare and the public sector.

Background
Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), the SciLifeLab and Wallenberg National Program for Data-Driven Life Science (DDLS), and Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS) are collaborating through joint research projects and events with the ultimate goal of solving ground-breaking research questions across disciplines.

PhD Defense: Emerging AI and Ethics in Higher Education: A Technology Mediation Perspective
2026-05-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Lilla hörsalen, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet (The Swedish Museum of Natural History), Frescativägen 40, Stockholm, Sweden
On 8 May 2026, Alexandra Farazouli defends her doctoral thesis, “Emerging AI and Ethics in Higher Education: A Technology Mediation Perspective”, at Stockholm University.
See event page.
Abstract
The emergence of AI has become a defining issue for higher education worldwide, and Sweden is no exception. At the same time, emerging AI technologies reconfigure priorities and valuations within educational practice by mediating teaching and learning and opening new paths for how teachers and students relate to higher education practices. In this context, AI-mediated practices raise ethical questions that are often presented as unprecedented yet are deeply rooted in longstanding practices in higher education. This thesis undertakes an empirical exploration of AI-mediated practices in higher education, foregrounding teachers’ perspectives and focusing on the ethical issues arising from such mediations. Drawing on postphenomenology and technology mediation theory, the thesis examines how teachers perceive and experience emerging AI artefacts (automated grading systems (AGS) and generative AI (GAI) chatbots) in relation to their practices, and how these artefacts mediate their understandings of what they ought to do and how they ought to act when balancing sometimes competing demands of autonomy and accountability.
The thesis is a compilation of four complementary studies. Study I examines the ethical considerations of AGS, reviewing the literature on AGS and analysing their specificities through a relational ethics approach. This study highlighted that AGS not only introduce technical and procedural considerations but also reconfigure educational practices and relationships in ways that demand ongoing, situated, and relationally attuned ethical reflection. Study II is an interview study with AGS developers who are also university teachers using these systems. It examines their expectations, experiences, and the disruptions that AGS introduce into assessment practices. The findings underscore the ambivalent role of AGS as both promising and disruptive, offering efficiency and consistency, but also introducing ‘new’ frictions and ethical dilemmas. Study III is a study inspired by the Turing test, followed by focus group interviews with university teachers. It explores how GAI chatbots mediate teachers’ perceptions of their assessment practices. The findings indicate that the presence of GAI chatbots, allowing the possibility of AI-generated writing, shapes evaluation practices, prompting teachers to question authorship and, in some cases, reinforcing mistrust within the student–teacher relationship. Study IV is a focus group interview study examining how teachers experience and interpret the emergence of GAI and how it mediates their perceptions of their professional roles. Participants described GAI as both disruptive and potentially transformative. They were compelled to reconsider assessment formats, teaching priorities, and their responsibility to foster critical and ethical engagement with technology.
The combined findings of the four studies show that the emergence of AI unsettles established practices and intensifies the uncertainties that characterise educational situations, placing greater demands on teachers’ professional judgment. The thesis also argues that the emergence of AI exposes and amplifies longstanding ethical issues, such as fairness, academic integrity, and equity, reshaping how these issues are understood and enacted as the technologies become embedded in higher education practices.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Cormac McGrath, Associate Professor, Department of Education, Stockholm University.Teresa Cerratto Pargman, Professor, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University.Klara Bolander Laksov, Professor, Department of Education, Stockholm University.
Opponent
Wayne Holmes, Professor, Institute of Education, University College London (UCL).

PhD Defense: Ethical Reasoning in Tech Work: From Individual Responsibility to Collective Action
2026-05-08 14:00 - 17:00 | Q2, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Malvinas Väg 10, Stockholm, Sweden
On 8 May 2026, Kristina Popova defends her doctoral thesis, “Ethical Reasoning in Tech Work: From Individual Responsibility to Collective Action”, at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
See event page.
Abstract
Technology production is a complex process that requires the accumulation of resources and in which very little is done individually. Given the fragmentation of tech development and the limits of individual action, how much can tech workers affect the tech they produce? Do they care about the tech they are building and its implications for the world? Who should act to ensure that technology is “ethical”? What are the possibilities for individual and collective action that exist in tech workplaces? These are the questions I aim to answer in my dissertation.
This dissertation is an interdisciplinary project connecting four studies with the methods from design research, ethnomethodology and sociology. The papers are published within the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and positioned within the tradition of studying ethics in practice, which approaches ethics by studying the work practices in specific tech organisations. Theoretically, my work is grounded in the philosophical tradition of ethics of care with its focus on concrete situated actions instead of omnirelevant rules, in the ethnomethodological tradition of respecifying theoretical phenomena as matters of practice, and in moral anthropology with its focus on ethics as shaped by communities.
The four papers combined in the thesis explore the ethical reasoning of tech practitioners in academic settings, government officials working with AI in Sweden, and technology practitioners working in commercial companies in Europe. I rely on a variety of qualitative data: (1) a video-ethnography of design ideation sessions at the university; (2) an interview-study of ethical responsibility by tech practitioners in academia, governmental sector and the industry; (3) a a workshop-based study of voicing discomfort (critique) in a design workshop with academic; (4) an interview-based study of ethics discourses in tech companies in Europe. The studies contribute to design and HCI with an empirical research of ethical reasoning in everyday design work.
The thesis aims to advance an anthropological, human-centred take on ethics in HCI. I argue in favour of including affect and emotion of tech practitioners into the discussion on ethics in HCI and emphasise the limitations of an individualistic take on ethics. Affect is important for connecting the level of everyday practices with structural power relations. Understanding the limitations of individual action and focusing on the potential for collective action instead is important for balancing responsibility with power. This thesis also draws attention to the inequality within the tech sector as a factor that hinders the possibility for forming a shared agenda and engaging in collective action.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Robert Comber, Associate Professor.Airi Lampinen, Professor at Stockholm University.Kristina Höök, Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Opponent
Katie Shilton, Professor at University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, US

PhD Defense: Reframing Robots for Care: Situating Informal Caregivers in the Development of AI-driven Technologies
2026-05-22 09:00 - 17:00 | Lecture Hall V:B, building V, Faculty of Engineering LTH, Lund University, Lund., Klas Anshelms väg 14, Lund, Sweden
On 22 May 2026, Laetitia Tanqueray defends her doctoral thesis, “Reframing Robots for Care: Situating Informal Caregivers in the Development of AI-driven Technologies”, at Lund University.
Read more about the event.
Abstract
The current framing of AI-driven technologies situates them as solutions to a looming care crisis. However, this overlooks informal caregivers’ key role to current State budgetary deficits impacting healthcare services happening in Europe. As States increasingly rely on informal caregivers to provide care before the necessary involvement of healthcare services, there is already well-established research on the growing care demands on informal caregivers. Yet, in the development of AI-driven technologies, little attention has been given to this group. To attend to this gap, this thesis situates informal caregivers in order to reframe current developments of AI-driven technologies for care.
The aims of this thesis are therefore grounded in visibilising and situating informal caregivers within the development of AI-driven technologies. This is achieved in two ways: (1) by conducting interdisciplinary research on informal caregivers to bring forth the significance of critical social sciences in Human-Robot Interaction on health care as well at times Human-Computer Interaction; and, (2) shedding light on current societal challenges on care regarding informal caregivers, especially informal caregivers under the age of 18 (referred to as young carers), to the development of AI-driven technologies. The first aim is directed at the academic community, whilst the second aim is directed towards society by empowering specific stakeholders in envisioned AI-driven technologies as artefacts. To answer to those aims, a socio-legal STS theoretical lens is established, to bring forth the power of law, social norms, plans and situated knowledge and care.
The findings are based on four scientific papers, which report on HRI research practices on health care (Paper I), a theoretical framework to account for norms within adaptive technologies (Paper II), positioning young carers into AI-driven technologies (Paper III), and finally, an empirical study on young carers’ perspectives of robots for care (Paper IV). These ultimately showcase that the development stage of this technology provides a pivotal opening to include informal caregivers, ahead of deployment. This thesis offers hope on how to attend to an overlooked stakeholder, namely informal caregivers. This includes reflections on including a group that has previously been neglected from AI research, namely young carers, and how to do so ethically.

See full thesis.
Supervisors
Stefan Larsson, Supervisor, Lund UniversityKatie Winkle, Assistens supervisor, Uppsala University
Opponent
Sara Ljungblad, Chalmers University of Technology

Learning to do Research with AI: Towards Building a Toolkit to Support Doctoral Training
2026-05-27 10:00 - 12:00 | Zoom
Please note that this event is independently organized by WASP-HS researchers and not the WASP-HS Program Office.

In this workshop, we invite senior researchers (including doctoral supervisors) to participate in a focused discussion aimed at collecting inputs, suggestions, reflections that will be translated into material for creating the toolkit. The toolkit will consist in a bespoke card-like game kit (called “the EDUCArds”). The cards design will take inspiration from the method material NOVA, developed by Vinnova. These cards will be pilot-tested at the AI for Humanity and Society 2026 conference, and then refined to produce a freely-available web-based resource. The workshop is scheduled on May 27th, 10-12, and is fully online. We look forward to having you at the workshop!
Registration
If you wish to attend the workshop, please register your participation here (please make sure to click on Save your Response). Please note the deadline for registering is 12 May (note that this has been changed from previous version which said April 24th).
Organizers
Katherine HarrisonValentina Fantasia
More About the Project
The project “Learning to do research with AI: Rethinking Academic Practices and Doctoral Training” builds on a recognised interest within the WASP-HS community for support and discussion around use of genAI tools in the production of research, with particular reference to the training and guidance of doctoral students. In particular, the project aims to design and pilot an interactive toolkit to facilitate conversations and actionable discussions on the use of genAI tools between supervisors and PhD students, but also senior researchers involved in doctoral training programmes at large.

Human Futures, Machine Pasts: Rethinking AI through Cultural Memory and Imagination
2026-05-27 10:15
In partnership with The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, WASP-HS launches an international research initiative on the global context of AI. Human Futures – AI Transitions in a Global Context is carried out in collaboration with Tokyo College and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS, South Africa). Running from 2026 to 2027, the initiative brings together scholars from a range of disciplines to examine the broader transformations associated with the rapid development and deployment of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems across different global contexts.
As part of this series we are welcoming you to the open lecture “Human Futures, Machine Pasts: Rethinking AI through Cultural Memory and Imagination” on May 27, 2026. Keynote speaker is Anna Foka, Professor of Digital Humanities, Uppsala University

Abstract
The opening keynote explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping not only the way societies imagine the future but also how we understand the past and define humanity itself. Drawing from cultural heritage, digital humanities, and critical AI studies, it argues that the technologies driving automation and prediction are deeply entangled with inherited cultural narratives, biases, and epistemologies. By tracing the historical continuities between past imaginaries of intelligence and today’s algorithmic systems, the lecture highlights the need for interdisciplinary approaches that foreground ethics, creativity, and global diversity. Ultimately, it asks how the humanities can help us reclaim agency and meaning in an increasingly automated world—turning AI from an object of control into a shared space of interpretation and reflection.
Registration
Pre-registration for the physical event (not Zoom) is required by 25 May 2026 at the latest.

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Anna Foka

Professor of Digital Humanities, Uppsala University

About Anna Foka
Anna Foka is Professor of Digital Humanities at Uppsala University and research leader och the WASP-HS research environments AI Futures of Culture and Memory. She is National Mentor for AI in the Swedish South Korea Collaboration in the Research and Innovation Programme (SKERIC). Foka’s work focuses on the cultural and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence, digital heritage, and interdisciplinary methods across the humanities and technology. She has published widely on digital transformation in museums, archives, and cultural institutions, and currently leads several international projects on AI, sustainability, and cultural knowledge infrastructures. Her latest books are AI and Image (Cambridge University Press) and Evolving Perspectives in Digital Classics (Routledge).

PhD Defense: The Development of Complex Intelligent Systems: A Study of Engineering and Project Management Approaches
2026-05-29 09:00 - 17:00 | A2, A-building, Campus Valla, Linköping, Sweden
On 29 May 2026, Appu Balachandran defends his doctoral thesis, “The Development of Complex Intelligent Systems: A Study of Engineering and Project Management Approaches“, at Linköping University.
See event page.
Abstract
Advances in software and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly transforming society. Many of the systems that underpin everyday life, such as aircraft, vehicles, energy systems, and transportation infrastructure, are complex technical systems that are becoming increasingly software-intensive. As these systems gain the ability to make decisions, learn from data, and adapt to their environment, they evolve into what this thesis refers to as Complex Intelligent Systems (CoIS).
This thesis examines how the development of such systems is changing as software and AI grow in importance, with a particular focus on engineering and project management approaches. Traditionally, complex systems have been developed using systems engineering, often supported by model-based approaches to ensure structured, traceable, and predictable development. At the same time, development projects have typically been organized through phase-based Stage-Gate processes.
However, the growing integration of software and AI has led to the emergence of data-driven engineering approaches and more iterative and flexible agile practices. This thesis investigates how these different approaches interact in the development of CoIS.
The study is based on interviews with experts from the aviation, automotive, and naval industries, complemented by an in-depth case study in the automotive domain. The findings show that the development of CoIS rarely involves replacing established approaches with new ones. Instead, organizations need to combine multiple approaches simultaneously. Model-based approaches remain essential for safety-critical systems, while data-driven and agile approaches are required to support learning and adaptability. This creates fundamental tensions between predictability and control on the one hand, and learning and flexibility on the other. The thesis contributes to understanding these tensions by showing that it is not only merely a practical or methodological challenge, but rooted in fundamentally different underlying logics of development embedded in the approaches used.
The results also highlight the role of system architecture as a key mechanism for managing this complexity. By structuring systems appropriately, organizations can combine different development approaches without compromising safety or functionality. Overall, the main challenge is not choosing a single approach, but managing the interplay between multiple approaches across both the system and the organization.
This thesis contributes by providing an integrated perspective on the development of CoIS and by identifying the organizational and managerial challenges that arise when different development logics intersect. As CoIS development is still evolving, further research is needed to understand how organizations can develop the capabilities required to manage these dynamics over time and across industries.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Gunnar Holmberg, Adj. Professor, Linköping University (Main supervisor)Nicolette Lakemond, Professor, Linköping University (Co-supervisor)Gouthanan Pushpananthan, Assistant Professor, Linköping University (Co-supervisor)
Opponent
Tobias Larsson, Professor, Blekinge Institute of Technology.

Workshop - WASP-HS Research Environment “The Rule of AI”
2026-06-01 09:30 - 17:30 | Örebro University, Room T137
The WASP-HS Research Environment “The Rule of AI” explores both the regulation of AI and the ways AI is transforming regulatory processes. The researchers examine the dynamics shaping AI governance, as well as AI’s role in compliance and policy implementation. At this first interdisciplinary workshop the researchers will present their current research and discuss opportunities for future collaboration. All interested researchers are warmly welcomed.
Program

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Registration
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The Rule of AI
Want to know more about the WASP-HS Research Environment The Rule of AI?

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PhD Defense: Repairing Creative AI: Critical explorations of frictions, reconfigurations, and reflexivity
2026-06-02 14:00 - 17:00 | Flodis (F3), KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Lindstedtsvägen 26 & 28, Stockholm, Sweden
On 2 June 2026, Anna-Kaisa Kaila defends her doctoral thesis, “Repairing Creative AI: Critical explorations of frictions, reconfigurations, and reflexivity“, at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
See event page.
Abstract
The impact of AI technologies on cultural and creative sectors and industries is expected to increase dramatically in the upcoming years. As significant uncertainties rattle the political economy of artmaking, not all stakeholders feel their interests and concerns are equally recognised. At stake here are not only individual career prospects but the entire horizon of our envisioned cultural-technological futures.

This dissertation examines artificial intelligence (AI) models in creative domains, focusing on their emerging impact on the conditions and infrastructures of artistic work. It frames the transition of this socio-technical system as an instance of a broken world, and extends Creative AI ethics beyond abstract principles towards the situated, lived experiences of the various stakeholders involved: artists and music communities, as well as developers and service providers of Creative AI applications. Grounded on critical analysis and ethics of care, the dissertation explores the tensions and transitions practising artists experience in their working environments in the context of rapid AI proliferation, and how AI development work practices could better support artists in navigating the rapidly changing socio-technical AI landscape.
Drawing on six empirical case studies, the dissertation contributes, first, an analysis of the frictions and reconfigured conditions of artmaking, as experienced by Nordic AI artists in the early 2020s. Second, it introduces care ethics to the analysis of Creative AI and proposes sustained reflexive repair as a novel conceptual lens for managing disrupted cultural data relations in AI development. Overall, the dissertation argues that foregrounding repair can make the emergent ethical impacts of AI technologies and practices visible and help reconfigure paradigms for developing, designing, using, and regulating Creative AI that foster fair market conditions for artist economies and cultivate artistic integrity and agency.

See full thesis.
Supervisors
André Holzapfel, Associate professor, Medieteknik och interaktionsdesign Bob Sturm, Associate professor, Tal, musik och hörselCecilia Åsberg, Professor, Linköping University
Opponent
Baptiste Caramiaux, PhD, ISIR, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France

Navigating Uncertain Futures – Sensemaking with AI in Complex System Planning
2026-06-05 13:15 - 17:00
Elinor Särner defends her doctoral thesis, “Repairing Creative AI: Critical explorations of frictions, reconfigurations, and reflexivity“, on June 5, 2026, at Linköping University.
See event page.
Abstract
Technological development is an integral part of human life that both shape and is shaped by society. In today’s volatile society, anticipating and interpreting emerging changes is crucial to face future challenges. The predictive abilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support planning in such conditions. Yet AI adoption remains slow in sectors such as energy systems, and urban development, which are characterized by entangled dependencies, critical social services, and multiple involved actors and stakeholders, making planning and management challenging. This thesis addresses key questions about how AI, which relies on historical data, can support future-oriented planning processes in such complex systems. From an innovation management point of view, AI integration is organizationally challenging, shaped by interacting internal and external dynamics – such as tasks, workflows, technical prerequisites, and societal trends – calling for a holistic socio-technical perspective to ensure feasibility and desirability.
This thesis promotes “cooperative intelligence” emphasizing humans’ and AI’s reciprocal dependencies. AI-integration in complex system planning relies on collective sensemaking, especially in the process of constructing meaning of potential futures and identifying possible actions to shape those futures. AI’s predictive ability can guide the navigation of uncertainty and ambiguity in this process and contribute as boundary objects in mediating meaning across domain and organizational boundaries. However, it can also embed historic conditions and introduce new uncertainties. This duality calls for conscious involvement and negotiation among diverse actors.
This thesis sets out to explore how humans together with AI make sense of potential futures in complex system planning building on two empirical studies in the Swedish energy sector. The first study follows the development of an AI-prototype to assist planning of energy systems in new city districts. The second study investigates the implementation of an AI-tool to assess impacts of societal trends on the future energy system.
The thesis contributes to existing literature by informing how AI connects temporal dynamics of imagination and action in human-AI cooperation, how it reconfigures cross-boundary collaboration, develops the notion of intelligent boundary objects, and how organizational structures need to evolve. It contributes to innovation management research, detailing how AI-integration shapes prospective sensemaking and strengthens organizational planning capabilities.
See full thesis.
Supervisors
Anna Yström, Professor at the Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping UniversitySusanne Ollila, Professor, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Technology Management and Economics
Opponent
Kirsimarja Blomqvist, Professor of Knowledge Management, LUT University Business School
