ExplAIn Together

Citizen Science for Human-Centered AI Explanations

Together with people between the ages of 18 and 25 and those over 60, we are researching mental models of artificial intelligence — that is, what expectations people have of AI systems such as chatbots.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an everyday feature in many people’s lives. Particularly since the introduction of chatbots, many people have been using AI to request information or to generate images and text. Even if we aren’t always aware of it, when we use these chatbots, we have a certain concept in mind of how they work. We have an idea of where chatbots can help us or how much we can trust the answers we receive. In this project, we want to explore in more detail how people interact with chatbots and what they think about them. By collaborating with citizen scientists, we aim to develop a study design that is tailored as closely as possible to the respective age groups. We hope this will provide us with data that otherwise could not be collected and that will shed light on where there is still a need for clarification regarding AI systems.

Those between the ages of 18 and 25 or over 60 are welcome to get involved in the research process through a series of workshops:

• Phase 1: Participate in three workshops and collaborate on the study design (approx. 12 hours)
• Phase 2: Data collection and conbtribution in two workshops for preparation and debriefing (additional approx. 18 hours)
• Phase 3: Participate in a workshop on data analysis and interpretation (additional approx. 4 hours)
• Phase 4: Get involved in communicating the results (additional approx. 10 hours)

At the end of each phase, citizen scientists can decide whether they would like to continue working on the project. The meetings will take place in the fall/winter of 2026/27 in Bad Leonfelden (Mühlviertel, Upper Austria). The exact dates and further details regarding participation in the research can be found on the project website

Overview of the project phases in which citizen scientists contribute.