Political scientist Andreas Jungherr becomes a new member of the bidt Board of Directors

How are digital media used by the population, in politics and in the media? What influence does artificial intelligence have on democracy? And how is the digital transformation changing society? These and other questions are at the centre of Andreas Jungherr’s research. With his expertise, the political scientist is joining the bidt’s eight-member interdisciplinary directorate. He has held the Chair of Political Science, in particular Digital Transformation, at Otto Friedrich University Bamberg since 2021.

Jungherr is already involved in two research projects at the bidt: The project „Generative Artificial Intelligence in Elections: Uses, Preferences, and Trust“ looks at how German parties use generative AI and what influence this has on election campaigns and public trust. The project is part of the research focus „Humans and Generative Artificial Intelligence: Trust in Co-Creation“. The consortium project „Authoritarian AI: How large language models (LLMs) are adapted to Russia’s propaganda“ investigates how large language models are developed in today’s Russia and what impact authoritarian data has when fed into democratic LLM-supported systems.

The influence of digital change on politics and the public sphere – Jungherr brings broad expertise to the table

„Professor Andreas Jungherr is a great asset to the bidt Board of Directors. In recent months in particular, it has become clear on the global political stage just how much the digital transformation is influencing democratic processes“, says Professor Alexander Pretschner, Chairman of the bidt Board of Directors.

As a renowned political scientist whose expertise is also in public demand, Andreas Jungherr will enrich the bidt portfolio enormously. The bidt is currently conducting over 30 interdisciplinary research projects throughout Bavaria. We look forward to gaining valuable new impulses for our research through him.

Prof. Dr. Alexander Pretschner To the profile

Prior to his current position, Jungherr was Professor of Communication Science with a focus on digitalisation and the public sphere at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Junior Professor at the University of Konstanz, among others, and completed his doctorate at the University of Bamberg. His research and analyses on election campaigns and the digital public sphere, political communication and disinformation regularly attract international attention and have been quoted in leading media such as The New York Times, FAZ, Der Spiegel and the Wall Street Journal.

The digital transformation is not an end in itself, but an important building block in shaping our future – be it in dealing with global crises, in the transformation of the state and economy or in the protection of democratic institutions. This is not just about technology, but above all about a smart social framework. As a member of the bidt Board of Directors, I would like to contribute to understanding and explaining the actual influence of digital technology in politics and society based on facts – beyond alarmism and digital rapture.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Jungherr To the profile

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