AI-Supported Collective Decision-Making

Topics such as 5G, vaccines, and neutrality often generate intense debate in Switzerland, but meaningful exchange of views between people with different opinions is lacking. One reason for this is that cognitive biases such as confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and groupthink are hard to reduce. These biases often hinder structured discussion among voters and the democratic process. In order to mitigate this issue, cognitive biases need to be identified and then reduced.

We are looking for motivated students to investigate how generative AI could help identify and reduce cognitive biases within the scope of persuasive AI. The students will be required to build a system integrating AI functionalities (e.g. chatbots, podcasts), based on our knowledge of persuasive AI, and conduct an evaluation with external research partners. Expected outcomes include design guidelines and principles derived from the developed artifact.