International Media Psychology Conference: Focus on Digital Trust!

International Media Psychology Conference: Focus on Digital Trust!

On September 8th, 2025, international media psychology will be in focus as the renowned conference on media psychology will take place in Duisburg from September 10th to 12th. The event, organized by the Media Psychology Section of the German Psychological Society, attracted over 230 participants from 21 countries who submitted 221 contributions. This 14th conference is dedicated to the psychological and social dimensions of digital technologies and offers a forum for exchange on media literacy and regulatory issues.

Prof. Dr. German Neubaum, a leading figure at the conference, emphasizes the importance of such international meetings for gaining knowledge in dealing with technologies. The Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen is using this opportunity to strengthen its interdisciplinary profile, while the cooperation with the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) further strengthens the Ruhr area as a science location.

Diverse program and focuses

The conference program will offer a variety of formats, including workshops, presentations and poster sessions. The highlights include two keynotes: Prof. Dr. Jessica Piotrowski from the University of Amsterdam will talk about promoting skills in the digital society, while Dr. Mitra Shamsi from Iran will provide insights into digital visibility and feminist activism in authoritarian contexts. The pre-conference workshops begin on September 10th and also include offers for doctoral students as well as a workshop on AI tools in research.

The use of artificial intelligence in media psychology opens up numerous new questions. With the release of Chat GPT 3 in November 2022, AI became accessible to many non-technical people and has now become a tangible conversation partner. Users can ask chatbots about different topics and experience them as friendly, helpful interaction partners. GPT 4.0 now even enables real-time communication with AI, which further deepens the questions surrounding the use and perception of chatbots. Media studies question whether the so-called media equation phenomena also apply to AI chatbots and to what extent the interaction with them is similar to that between humans.

Trust in AI systems

The question of trust plays a central role in research on chatbots. Recent findings consider trust as a social interaction and relationship partner, leading to a nuanced analysis of the psychological mechanisms behind user-AI interaction. These topics are extremely relevant in the context of the increasing integration of AI into everyday life. AI-supported systems use digital mass data and powerful processors to operate in a global social nervous system.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly influence social decision-making processes. Automatic decision-making systems, which are used, for example, in financial and educational contexts, can decide on opportunities and risks through their algorithmic evaluations. These systems therefore require a high level of public attention and critical reflection. In particular, algorithmic discrimination and the data protection challenges arising from constant data collection and analysis represent a significant topic of discussion.

While the German population shows a moderate awareness of discriminatory AI patterns, the effects of such systems are significant, according to research reports. The legal regulation, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), sets formal limits on the use of data-based decision-making systems, but the acceptance of such technologies often increases under pressure for efficiency.

In summary, the 2025 conference on media psychology will not only be a place for exchange for experts, but also a platform for critically examining the challenges and opportunities that digital transformation brings with it. The debates initiated here could provide far-reaching impulses for future social and political decisions.

For more information and to register, please visit Website of the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Research platform on chatbots as well as the Expertise on artificial intelligence and critical media education.