Fostering understanding of AI through figurative language

Starting October 2024, Anna Henschel was selected to take part in this year's Cyber Valley Journalist-in-Residence (JIR) program. As part of her 3-month residency, she will focus on the humanization of artificial intelligence (AI), how it can be avoided in public communication, and the role figurative language plays in this process.

As part of the Journalist-in-Residence program, journalists are given full access to research their own topics related to intelligent systems and the interface of journalism and AI. This program is organized by the Center for Rhetorical Science Communication on Artificial Intelligence (RHET AI) and Cyber Valley, and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Anna Henschel, editor at Wissenschaftskommunikation.de, has spent her academic and journalistic career working on the interface between humans and technology. She wrote her doctoral thesis on human-robot interactions at the University of Glasgow. She has received several awards for her journalistic work, including the prestigious Dr. Katharine Giles Award from the Association of British Science Writers. 

“I've always been fascinated by how flexible people are in dealing with new technologies. It's an understandable impulse to humanize artificial intelligence when we want to explain it. I want to find out how we can accompany the topic of AI journalistically without promoting misunderstandings,” says Anna Henschel about her motivation to take part in the program.

Henschel argues that artificial intelligence is often equated with human abilities and behavior in the public perception, which risks distorting the comprehension of AI. Descriptive, figurative language can help improve understanding of how AI works, how we interact with it, and how it is regulated. At the same time, it should help to prevent misunderstandings and keep the focus on the characteristics and capabilities of AI.

The Cyber Valley Journalist-in-Residence program bridges the gap between AI research and public understanding, fostering informed discussions. It highlights diverse perspectives in AI development and policy, encouraging a more inclusive and well-rounded dialogue on its societal impacts, as well as, improving public awareness of artificial intelligence. Cyber Valley wishes Anna Henschel much success in her work and during her residency.

About Cyber Valley Journalist-in-Residence 

In a three-to-six-month residency, one or two journalists explore how AI applications can be used for good journalism and how journalists can ensure that their reporting on the technologies behind the buzzword "artificial intelligence" is appropriate and evidence-based. The journalists are selected by an independent jury.  During this time, the journalist-in-residence can conduct research on a topic of his or her own choice in exchange with AI researchers from different disciplines - absolutely independently. Cyber Valley explicitly does not expect any reporting on AI topics or about Cyber Valley during this time. The program takes place twice a year.