Institute of Media Studies

Maximilian Jun Zhang

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Institute of Media Studies
Wilhelmstraße 50
72074 Tübingen
Room 210

+49 7071 29-72327
maximilian.zhangspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de

Office hours

  • Open office hours: on Tuesdays, 14:00 - 16:00 (just drop in). The topics could include advising on studies, study resources, and academic careers.
  • Appointments by email if necessary

Curriculum Vitae

Maximilian Jun Zhang began his bachelor's degree in Media Studies and German Language and Literature at the University of Tübingen. He completed his bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communication Studies and Film Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin. He then earned his Master's degree in Film Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin. Since October 2022, he has been pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Tübingen under Prof Dr Susanne Marschall as part of the project "The Answering Machine." 

Career

Since 2023
Research Associate

at the Zentrum für Medienkompetenz at the University of Tübingen

Since 2022
Research Associate & Ph.D. candidate

at the Institute for Media Studies at the University of Tübingen

1st supervisor: Prof. Dr. Susanne Marschall (Media Studies)
2nd supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Huff (Psychology)

2020 - 2022
Master

in Film Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin

Exchange program: Graduate School of Media and Communication, Korea University, South Korea

2017 - 2020
Bachelor

in Journalism and Communication Studies as well as Film Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin

Exchange program: School of Arts (Film), University of Kent, United Kingdom

2016-2017
Bachelor

in Media Studies and German Language and Literature at the University of Tübingen

Dissertation Project

Synthetic Voices, Authentic Connections: The Intersection of Artificial Voice, Human-AI Communication and Digital Mental Health


Summary:
For my cumulative dissertation project, I am taking an interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from communication science, sociology, and media psychology. The project is divided into three sub-studies that are thematically and methodologically complementary: The first study develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the potential of voice-based AI chatbots in the context of mental health support. I focus on how intra- and interpersonal communication processes between humans and machines are structured, and the extent to which these relationships could be therapeutically effective. To this end, I draw on interpersonal communication approaches, parasocial relationship theories, and the computers-are-social-actors paradigm to offer new insights into human-AI interaction. The second study examines the design and ethical challenges of developing voice user interfaces through qualitative interviews with experts and users. The third study employs an experimental research design to analyze how a therapeutic alliance can be formed between users and a voice-based AI chatbot. Specifically, I examine which communicative and affective parameters are crucial for developing a supportive relationship.

1. Paper: Voice, Presence, and Alliance: Towards a Theoretical Framework for Voice-based Human-AI Communication in Mental Health Support
2. Paper: Voice-Driven Futures: Conceptualising the Role of Artificial Voice in Democratising Digital Therapeutic Systems
3. Paper: Bridging the Empathy Gap? Analysing the Therapeutic Alliance of Voice-based Human-AI Interaction

Research Interests

Current focus:
Voice-based human-AI communication and mental health

Secondary interest:
East Asian cinema (including advertising)

  • from a sociological perspective (e.g., how do people watch movies today and for what reasons?)
  • from a cultural perspective (sociocultural phenomena such as fandom and the boys' love genre)

VR & AR

Future interest:
Matriarchal societies

  • Social structure,
  • media use and communication models,
  • the demarcation and fusion of matriarchal and patriarchal societies, etc.

# Open to cooperation and collaboration in the above areas ;-)

Scholarships and Grant

May 2026

Scientist-in-Residence Scholarship 2026

Collaboration with Prof Dr Thomas Probst at Paris Lodron University of Salzburg

02-04 July 2025

Doctoral student workshop (funding: approx. €6,500)

• Organizer of the workshop “Voice-based Human-AI Interaction. Beyond Commands: The Evolving Relationship between Humans and Voice-enabled AI” (Fürstenzimmer, Hohentübingen Castle)

• Funded by the University of Tübingen (Excellence Strategy) and the Volkswagen Foundation

April-June 2024

Startup Center, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Scholarship for Leadership Talent Academy, sponsored by Karl Schlecht Foundation, Germany

Research Project "The Answering Machine"

Natural language processing is increasingly enabling machines with artificial intelligence (AI) to interact as social partners. As a result, new forms of human-machine relationships are emerging that have been anticipated in a number of fictional narratives but can only now be tested empirically.

"The Answering Machine" is an interdisciplinary project that aims to explore human-AI interactions in their cognitive, linguistic, and emotional depth, using the theater stage as a testing ground for in-depth, iterative experimentation. Machines, social bots, digital agents, artificial intelligences, or machine learning systems are brought into improvisational dialogue with human improvisational theater actors. We vary AI language models to explore specific questions from the four participating disciplines - psychology, computational linguistics, theater and media studies - as well as general phenomena such as anthropomorphism, human perception, and human-machine co-creativity.

In collaborative labs and public performances, the project brings together technological development, artistic research, and critical reflection, stimulating a public understanding of AI that goes beyond the dystopian/utopian binary of popular fictional narratives.

Teaching Activities

Winter semester 2026/27 & summer semester 2027

Master's course

Teaching research project

(in German)

Institute of Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Together with Prof Dr Susanne Marschall
Seminar 1: Film - Culture - Transformation in East Asia (China, Korea & Japan): Theoretical Approaches

Seminar 2: Film - Culture - Transformation in East Asia (China, Korea & Japan): Practice

Summer semester 2025

Bachelor's course

(in English)

Institute of Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Together with Sanny Schulte
Seminar: Introduction to Film Analysis

16-20 December 2024

Master's course

One-week workshop

(in English)

Merz Akademie - University of Applied Arts, Design and Media

Titel: From Concept to Creation: Media Studies and Critical Media Practices in Film, Art and Design

Winter semester 2024/25

Bachelor's course

(in German)

Institute of Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Seminar: Digital Media and Tübingen Citizens' Initiatives
22-26 April 2024

Bachelor's course

(in German and English)

Merz Akademie - University of Applied Arts, Design and Media

Titel: Human-AI Collaboration: Pushing the Boundaries of Human Creativity

Winter semester 2023/24

Bachelor's course

(in English)

Institute of Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Seminar: The Answering Machine: Human-Chatbot Encounter

Publications

  • Zhang, M. J. (2025): Künstliche Intelligenz in der Filmproduktion: Anwendungsfelder und Perspektiven. In: A. Burkhardt, O. Kramer, & S. Marschall, Artificial Turn? Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven auf Künstliche Intelligenz. Freiburg: wbg (im Erscheinen).
  • Zhang, M. J. (2025): Eine neue Perspektive auf die Filmzensur in China. Sisterhood im Spannungsfeld von Queer Reading in Green Snake (1993 & 2021). In: S. Marschall, Universale Archive. Erinnerungskulturen und ihre medialen Praktiken. Köln: Herbert von Halem Verlag (im Erscheinen).

Presentations

December 2025

transformativ – Sharing Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence, A conference by RHET AI and experimenta, Heilbronn
Titel: Technological affordances to promote mental health: opportunities and challenges (in English)

November 2025

Institute for Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Title: Research, Teaching, Thinking Ahead: Insights into an Academic Career in Media and Communication (in German)

September 2025

Aligning AI with Society Workshop, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, USA

Titel: Synthetic Voices, Authentic Connections: The Intersection of Artificial Voice, Human-AI Communication and Digital Mental Health (Poster Talk, in English)

November 2024

Institute for Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Title: My Imaginary Doppelgänger: Empathetic Encounters with Artificial Intelligence (in German)

December 2023

KI Maker Space, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Title: Creative writing with generative AI. Generative AI as an opportunity or challenge? (in German)

November 2023

Institute for Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Title: Research on and with AI (in German)

September 2023

Annual Conference of the Society for Media Studies (GfM), Bonn

Titel: Emotional Attachment to Artificial Intelligence: Affective Engagement & Cognitive Effects (in German)

May 2023

Nanjing University of the Arts, China

Keynote Speaker: Towards a “New Concept” of Creativity: AI-Generated Images and Their Aesthetics (in English, online)

Science Communication

31 July 2025

Landestheater Tübingen (LTT)

Organizer of the theater performance “My Colleague is a Machine” and the symposium “AI, Creative Industry, and Ethics”

June-August 2025

Stadtbücherei Tübingen (City Library)

Curator of the exhibition “Between Light and Fog - A Memory of Hayden Taylor” (An AI Biography)

January 2024

Institute for Media Studies, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Guest on the student podcast project “How to PhD”

August 2023

Institut für Medienwissenschaft, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Guest in a video production by Campus TV Tübingen: SCIENCE SLAM CHALLENGE #8 The Answering Machine. Communication between Humans & Chatbots

March 2023

Wissenschaft im Dialog

Participation in the “I am a Scientist” project as a scientist/expert on AI in film: live chats with school classes and offline Q&A. Target group: school students