Dr. Michael Reiss has been recognized for his outstanding communication on the topic of “AI and Politics” as part of the project “I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here!“. Over a period of two weeks, about 350 students from 19 German-speaking schools in Germany and abroad exchanged ideas with 17 researchers on the influence of AI on political processes and democratic systems. Once again, the students were able to vote for their favorite scientist. And the winner is… Michael Reiss!
In total, 22 live chats took place and 48 questions from students were answered by the researchers, often on the website.
Michael Reiss is a postdoc at the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut in Hamburg. He conducts research in the field of political communication on news consumption, news effects and the use of large language models such as GPT-4.
“The exchange was great, varied and challenging. The questions ranged from general political topics to very specific aspects of AI research,” says Michael Reiss.
He was particularly impressed by the students’ keen interest in AI and their thoughtful approach to the topic. At the same time, he noted that some tended to overestimate the power of AI: “The majority of students are well informed and have a very thoughtful approach to AI. However, a few, and I’m not sure if they were perhaps a little younger, also tended to exaggerate AI and – somewhat simplistically – see it as all-powerful and inevitable. Such tendencies are clearly evident in the new US administration, and I think this is a very problematic and false narrative.
Participating in “I’m a Scientist” was a valuable experience for him, enriching not only the communication of scientific knowledge, but also his own research.
Congratulations, dear Michael!
To the interview in German on the project website
About the project
In the “I’m a Scientist” project, students interact with scientists through live written chats and a question-and-answer feature on the website. The project takes place several times a year in week-long rounds with different topics. At the end of each round, students vote for their favorite scientists and choose a winner.