International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)

Jana Hecktor

Media ethics, philosophy of technology & AI

Jana Hecktor studied media studies in Düsseldorf and Bochum and was subsequently a doctoral student at the Bochum graduate programme "The Documentary". In her research, she takes a critical approach to machine (learning) systems, data processing, prediction processes based on them and the associated social application contexts.

Within the ethic center she's working in a project that researches privacy-sensitive data driven business models (PriBizz).

Research Interests

  • Machine Learning and AI
  • Data Science (Bias/Fairness)
  • Real time predictions from a philosophical perspective
  • Digital Media
  • Games

 

Publications

Hecktor, J. (2026). Zwischen Echtzeitvorhersage und Informationsgenerierung. In: (Eds.), Zukunft unter Vorbehalt (55-77). Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839431580-055

Hecktor, J. (2026). "Ethische Perspektiven auf Große Sprachmodelle am Beispiel von Trainingsdatenqualität". In: Medien und Sprache aus ethischer Perspektive: Zwischen Hassrede, Framing und generativer Künstlicher Intelligenz. Baden-Baden: Nomos. Ingrid Stapf, Jessica Heesen & Laura Martena (Hrsg).

Hecktor, J. & Stapf, I. (2026): Die Social-Media-Verbotsdebatte. Ethische Reflexionen des Digital Wellbeing von Kindern am Beispiel des Social-Media-Verbots in Australien. Blog BedenkZeiten, Internationales Zentrum für Ethik in den Wissenschaften (IZEW), Universität Tübingen, 29.04.2026. Verfügbar unter: Universität Tübingen – Die Social-Media-Verbotsdebatte.

Hecktor, J., & Krampe, T. (2026). Ethical Implications of Using Generative AI for NPCs in Videogames: The Case of Diversity. In: Artificial Game. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Video Game Studies. Published by: The Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad. https://sviconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Svi-prelom-spreads1.pdf 

Co-Publishing a position paper on AI & Regulation together with Tori Ekstrand, Jessica Heesen, Lisa Koeritz, Amanda Reid (and 15 other researchers). https://uni-tuebingen.de/pt/285402 

Stapf, I., & Hecktor, J. (2025). Gute Kindheit in der Digitalität: Eine kritische Annäherung an ein ethisches Konzept des Digital Wellbeing. merz | medien + erziehung, 69(4), 60-68. https://doi.org/10.21240/merz/2025.04.16

Hecktor, J., & Krampe, T. (2025, Juni 16). Towards ethical guidelines for videogame character creation with GenAI. In Abstract Proceedings of DiGRA 2025: Games at the Crossroads. DiGRA. https://doi.org/10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2596

Biet, Marion, Hecktor, Jana, Klomfaß, Vanessa, Richter, Tilman and Schade, Julia. Dokumentwerden: Zeitlichkeit, Arbeit, Materialisierung, Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839467329

“(Un)Sichtbarkeit - zwischen Exzess, Entzug und Apophänie”, in Text\Werk. Lektüren zu Hito Steyerl, Lilian Haberer, Philipp Hohmann, Anna Polze, Julia Reich, Jolanda Wessel (Hg.), Berlin: Hatje Canzt, 2023.

Hecktor, Jana. "Wo bin ich? Eine Analyse der spielerisch-operativen Wissensgenerierung am Beispiel GeoGuessr.", 2022.

 

Lectures and moderation

2026

July

  • Presentation: “Key (Technical and Digital) Characteristics of AI Systems (Especially Generative Models): Potentials, Limitations, and Misconceptions”, together with Lisa Koeritz, at the TÜSE Workshop, University of Tübingen.
  • Co-organization of the international workshop “Playful Media and Sustainable Futures”, together with Martin Hennig, Theresa Krampe, and colleagues from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Tübingen.

June

  • Co-organization of the workshop “On Using Generative AI in Research: Discussing Different Approaches”, together with Csilla Duray, Natalie Marie Gulsrud, Simon David Hirsbrunner, and Anders Madsen, at the Danish STS Conference 2026, Copenhagen.
  • Presentation: “Prompting the Future: Critical Reflections on Generative AI as a Research Tool for Scenario Creation”, at DASTS 2026.
  • Presentation: “Ethical Perspectives on AI-Driven Characters”, at DiGRA 2026, Maynooth.

May

  • Co-organization of the AG Interfaces workshop “Interfacing Work” at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, together with Sascha Dickel, Benjamin Doubali, Christoph Ernst, and Marcel Thiel-Woznica.
  • Presentation: “Finding Common Ground: Interdisciplinarity and (Gen)AI”, together with Lisa Koeritz, at the workshop “Co-laborative Technology Development in the Context of Generative AI” organized by STS Graz.

April

Summer  2026:
Seminar: “Copyright and Generative AI” at the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig).

March

  • Presentation: “Finding Common Ground: Interdisciplinary Dialogue as Translation”, together with Lisa Koeritz, at ACLA 2026, Montreal.
  • Presentation: “Copyright and Generative AI”, at the workshop “AI, Ethics and Education”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • Co-organization of the Film and Television Studies Conference (FFK) 2026, Halle (Saale), Germany.

February

  • Co-organization of the online workshop “AI as a Digital Actor”.

 

2025

October

  • Organization of the guest lecture by Jaylexia Clark, “The Power of Racialized Emotions: Racial Profiling and Surveillance within the Platform Economy”, at the International Center for Ethics in the Sciences (IZEW), University of Tübingen.

Winter 2025/26

  • Seminar: “Between Code, Character, and Knowledge” at the Braunschweig University of Art (HBK Braunschweig).

September

  • Co-organization of the workshop “Aligning AI with Society” at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill (September 25-26), together with Anneliese Brei, Amartya Banerjee, and Lisa Koeritz, with support from Prof. Snigdha Chaturvedi, Prof. Danielle Szafir, Prof. Dr. Jessica Heesen, and Dr. Mone Spindler. https://sites.google.com/cs.unc.edu/aligning-ai-with-society/
  • Conference presentation: “Virtual Influencers”, AG Interfaces panel “PowerRelations of Interfaces”* at the 2025 Annual Conference of the German Society for Media Studies (GfM).
  • Panel chair: AG Games panel “There Are Consequences! Video Games in Sociocultural Contexts”, featuring contributions by Franziska Ascher, Nils Bühler, Theresa Krampe, and Sebastian Richter, at the 2025 GfM Annual Conference.
  • Conference presentation: “Vibe Coding”, AG Affective Media Technologies panel “The Power of Vibe(s)” at the 2025 GfM Annual Conference.
  • Conference presentation: “Prompted Possibilities: Integrating Generative Models into Participatory Scenario Design”, presented in the workshop “Investigating the Use of Generative AI for the Social Study of Science and Technology” at the STS-CH Conference, Zurich (11 September 2025).
  • Workshop co-organization together with Lisa Koeritz and Simon Hirsbrunner.

July

  • Conference presentation: “Towards Ethical Guidelines: Videogame Character Creation with Generative AI”, together with Theresa Krampe, presented at DiGRA 2025.

May

  • Co-organization of the workshop “Platform Politics: Mediations of (In)Visible Image Practices and Interface Operations” (AG Interfaces), Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG Karlsruhe).

March

  • Co-organization of the transatlantic conference “Towards a Transatlantic Roadmap for AI Regulation” at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  • Conference presentation in the panel “Ludic Lightning Talk (Gaming Practices)” at the Film and Television Studies Colloquium (FFK) 2025, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.

February

  • Invited lecture: “Large Language Models: Ethical Standards for Training Data Quality”, presented as part of the event “Between Hate Speech, Framing and Generative Artificial Intelligence” at the Academy for Civic Education (Akademie für Politische Bildung), Tutzing.

January 

  • Presentation of the project “PriBizz” at the European Data Protection Day event “Digitalization at Any Cost?”, held at the Representation of the State of Hesse to the Federal Government, together with project partners from the University of Augsburg.
  • Conference presentation: “Environmental AI: Between Ubiquity, Infrastructure, and Ecology”, presented at the event “Artificial Intelligences and Their Environments” in Weimar, organized by the Data and Networks Working Group of the German Society for Media Studies.

2024

July

  • Lecture on  “Towards ethical guidelines. Videogame Character Creation with Gen-AI” together with Theresa Krampe (DIGRA 2025)

March

  • Lecture in the panel “Ludic Lightning Talk: Spielpraktiken” during the 38. FFK in Düsseldorf on “NPC Design with the help of AI.” (The panel was organized together with Laijana Braun, Benjamin Schäfer an Marcel Thiel-Woznica)

February

  • Keynote during the Studi-Konferenz Osnabrück “(Data) addiction? Interdependencies between people, media, and technology”, on “Ethical perspectives on AI”. 
     
  • Lecture on “Large Language Models: Ethical Standards for Training Data Quality” as part of the event “Between Hate Speech, Framing, and Generative Artificial Intelligence” at the Academy for Political Education, Tutzing.

January

  • Presentation of the PriBizz project as part of European Data Protection Day at the event “Digitalization at any price?” at the Hessian State Representation together with colleagues from Augsburg.
     
  • Lecture on “Environmental AI - Between Ubiquity, Infrastructure, and Ecology” as part of the event “Artificial Intelligence and Its Environments” in Weimar. Organized by the Data and Networks Working Group of the Society for Media Studies.

December

  • Lecture on "Implications of GenAI for NPCs in Videogames: An Ethical Examination" together with Theresa Krampe at the SVI conference in Novi Sad, Serbia

October

  • Lecture on "Real-Time Predictions of Machine Systems: Between Future Prediction, Instructions for Action and Determination of the Present" as part of the conference "What If? Scenarios and Forecasts in a Post-Probabilistic World." of the FernUniversität Hagen
     
  • Presentation of the PriBizz project at the symposium "Digital Sovereignty and Data Protection. Final event of the Tester and Periscope projects.
     
  • Member of the panel discussion as part of the symposium “Digital Sovereignty and Data Protection. Final event of the Tester and Periscope projects.”

September

  • Lecture on "Dimensions of Responsibility in Operationalizing "Responsible AI"" together with Lisa Koeritz as part of the workshop "Sociotechnical Consequences of AI" at UNC, Chapel Hill
     
  • Lecture on "Documentation of the Future? Predictions of and with Machine (Learning) Systems" at the Conference for Practical Philosophy 2024, Passau
     
  • Lecture on "AI & Children and Youth Protection" at the Conference for Practical Philosophy 2024, Passau
     
  • Moderation of the panel "Illusion, Imagination, Representation: Games and Practices of Gathering" as part of the annual conference of the Society for Media Studies "Versammeln", 2024

2023

September

  • Moderation of the panel "ELIZA's Erb*innen. Stories and interpretations of what may be the first chatbot" at the GfM annual conference in Bonn.

2022

May

  • Moderation of the keynote "Image Diagrammatics and the Documentation of the Future. Conversation between Katia Schwerzman and Christoph Ernst." as part of the annual conference "Becoming a Document" of the Bochum Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and withdrawal"
     
  • Moderation of the panel "Digital Document Becoming" as part of the annual conference "Document Becoming" of the Bochum Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and withdrawal"

April

  • Lecture on "Digital becoming of Documents. Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and NFT" as part of the workshop "Becoming a Document and Archive", Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and withdrawal".
     

January 

  • Lecture on "Imaginations of the Future/Visualizations of the Absent" as part of the event "In the Fixation Bath of History. Historical Reconstructions in Photography and Film". Lecture and workshop with Peter Geimer.
     
  • Lecture on "Temporality(s) of Machine Learning Systems" as part of the lecture series "The Documentary IV"

2021

December

  • Lecture on "Reddit and Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality" as part of the workshop "Tribunals and Judgement of the Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and Withdrawal" together with Jan Harms & Robin Schrade

October 

  • Lecture on "Algorithmic Prediction. The constitutive process of non-human decision making" as part of the panel "The algorithmic turn of prediction" at the 4S conference in Toron

Event organization + Teaching

2025

May

  • Co-Organisation of a workshop on “Platform policies” from the AG Interfaces at Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe.

March

  • Co-Organisation of the conference  “Towards a Transatlantic Roadmap for AI Regulation” at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

 

2024

October

  • Co-organization of a workshop on "Digital Business Models" as part of the annual conference of the Platform Privacy, 2024.

September

  • Co-Organization of the workshop "The Sociotechnical Consequences of AI: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Ethical, Organizational, Social, and Computational Dimensions" together with Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi, Jessica Heesen, Regina Ammicht Quinn, Jan-David Bühler, Jana Hecktor, Lisa Koeritz, Jimmy McKinnell, and Laura Schelenz

2022

Summer Semester 2022

  • Seminar on "Future (anticipations) in, by and with machine learning systems", at the Ruhr-University Bochum

July

  • Co-Organization of the event "Of Futures, Crises and Catastrophes" with lectures by Eva Horn and Stefan Willer. Together with Fynn Richter.

May

  • Co-Organization of the annual conference "Becoming a Document. Temporality | Work | Materialization" of the Bochum Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and withdrawal".

April

  • Co-organization of the event "Becoming a Document and Archives. Remediatization, affectation, operativity." Lecture and workshop with Mario Wimmer, as part of the Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and withdrawal".

2021

September

  • Co-Organization of the Reading Group "Collaboration/Documentation: Power and Aestheis" between the Bochum Research Training Group "The Documentary. Excess and Withdrawal" and Northwestern University, US. Together with Marion Biet, Philipp Hohmann, Vera Mader, Anna Polze and Julia Schade

July

  • Co-Organization of the workshop "Faces in the Wild. Operative Imagery and Digital Image Cultures" lecture and workshop with Roland Meyer. Together with Carina Dauven, Anna Polze and Theodor Frisorger

Additional

Membership

  • Member of the Society for Media Studies
  • Member of the working group “AG Games”
  • Member of the working group “AG Affective Media”
  • Member of the working group  “AG Interfaces”
  • Member of the working group “AG Data and networks”

Organisation

  • Organisation of the reading group within the working group “AG Affective Media”