Workshop with Students of the University of Kassel

As part of the SENTIMENT project – Creating Safe & Supportive Spaces for Intimate Communication with Human-Chatbot Interactions, a workshop was held with students of the University of Kassel’s School of Art and Design (Kunsthochschule Kassel), in collaboration with representatives from psychology (Lisa Mühl) and law (Maxi Nebel).

The workshop was designed to provide students with both a conceptual and methodological perspective on the interdisciplinary research conducted within SENTIMENT. First, the participating researchers offered an introduction to their specific fields of inquiry, situating their work within the broader scientific and societal debates around intimacy, communication, and privacy in human–AI interaction. This contextual framing helped students understand how the project contributes to current discourses on digital intimacy, data protection, and the ethical design of conversational systems.

Second, the focus was placed on methodological approaches. The researchers explained how studies are carried out within their respective disciplines, highlighting the diverse strategies of data collection and analysis, ranging from qualitative interviews and ethnographic observation to legal analysis and theoretical frameworks. Special attention was given to the question of what “research” means in practice, and how different disciplines generate material, evidence, and arguments in distinct but complementary ways.

Finally, the workshop opened space for dialogue and reflection, allowing students to explore the practical dimensions of interdisciplinary collaboration. By combining insights from psychology, law, and art, the session emphasized how varied perspectives enrich the understanding of intimacy and vulnerability in interactions with AI.