When: July 2-4, 2025

Where: Fürstenzimmer, Schloss Hohentübingen Tübingen, Germany

With the booming development of artificial intelligence technology, speech AI, as one of the most promising fields, is profoundly changing the way people live, work and interact socially. It is not only a technological innovation, but also a multidisciplinary research frontier involving many fields such as computer science, linguistics, media and communication, psychology, cognitive science and sociology. To further explore the evolving and complex relationship between humans and speech AI, we are planning a PhD workshop entitled “Beyond Command: The Evolving Relationship between Humans and Voice-Enabled AI” and cordially invite you to join us to discuss this cutting-edge topic.

Through interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, we hope to thoroughly analyse the interaction patterns, technological development, social impact and future trends between voice-based AI and humans. Voice-based AI is not just a simple tool for executing voice commands, it is gradually becoming an indispensable partner in human life, and its development has not only changed the way human-machine interaction is conducted, but also triggered profound reflections on human cognition, social structure and cultural evolution.

These emerging dynamics raise critical questions: What impact will this machine-mediated communication have on human behaviour and societal norms? And how will such interactions influence the ongoing development and sophistication of machine intelligence? It underscores the central theme of coexistence and co-evolution between humans and machines, which requires a nuanced exploration of the emerging symbiotic relationship.

This workshop aims to bring together leading national and international researchers and PhD students from different disciplines to explore the field of speech-based human-AI interaction. It aims to explore the cognitive, linguistic and emotional facets of human-AI interactions, as well as their socio-psychological implications for future societies. In addition, the event aims to promote networking, interaction and the potential for future collaborations among PhD students working in this innovative field.

Our keynote speakers include:

• Prof. Dr. Gabriele Gramelsberger (RWTH Aachen)

• Dr. Claudia Roswandowitz (University of Zürich & TU Dresden)

• Dr. Josef Schlittenlacher (University College London)

• Dr. Marisa Tschopp (scip AG & Human-IST Institute, University of Fribourg)

• Prof. Dr. Sonja Utz (Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien)

Final-year master's students, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who are  interested in this research topic are very welcome to participate in this  workshop. Drinks and snacks will be provided. We hope you enjoy the workshop  and have the opportunity to network with other young scholars and the keynote  speakers. This will be particularly beneficial for master's students  considering pursuing a PhD in this field. It is also a good opportunity for PhD  students to establish potential collaborations.

If you are interested in participating in this workshop, please send an email  to maximilian.zhangspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de, in which you can briefly describe your  motivation. Thanks to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF),  we can cover the accommodation costs for up to four participants studying  outside Tübingen during the workshop. Please notify us in your email if you  require this.

We look forward to meeting young scholars from a range of disciplines and  welcoming you to our workshop in Tübingen.

*Gefördert vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) und  dem Wissenschaftsministerium Baden-Württemberg im Rahmen der  Exzellenzstrategie von Bund und Ländern. / Funded by the Federal Ministry  of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of  Science as part of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state  governments.

The workshop programme is available to download here.

Maximilian Zhang
Research Associate and PhD Candidate

University of Tübingen
Institute of Media Studies
Center for Media Competence, IT & AI

Wilhelmstraße 50, 72074 Tübingen
Room 210

Phone: +49 (0) 7071 29-72327
Email: maximilian.zhang@uni-tuebingen.de