Research Unit "Communicative AI"
ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research
The Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) is one of seven central research units at the University of Bremen and is one of the important European institutions researching questions into media-related transformations at the interface of the cultural, social, and technical sciences. Our research focuses on the emerging digital society in terms of the inequalities it generates while probing the historicity of their genesis and the challenges posed by algorithmic systems, automation, and the burgeoning datafied society. ZeMKI coordinates the international „Communicative AI“ research unit.
Investigating how deep mediatization transforms society — at the intersection of culture, communication, and technology.
Exploring how communicative AI reshapes the fabric of societal communication — and what futures it opens and forecloses.
Developing and refining digital methods in context — combining computational approaches with qualitative depth.
News
Presentations by ZeMKI members at the 76th Annual ICA Conference, “Communication and Inequalities in Context”
The 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) will take place from June 2 to 8 in Cape Town, South Africa. This year’s conference is themed “Communication and Inequalities in Context” and will bring together over 2,900 researchers in the field of communication studies. ZeMKI will be represented at the conference by several (…)
1. June 2026
Philip Sinner on Deutschlandfunk discussing Kika's soccer broadcasts
28. May 2026
Emilija Gagrčin as Keynote Speaker at ECREA 2026 in Brno
27. May 2026
New Publication from ZeMKI Head Prof. Dr. Andreas Hepp - The imaginative landscape of AI: Locating Silicon Valley’s “quiet futuring”
26. May 2026
New ZeMKI Member in the Lab Platform-Governance, Media and Technology: Welcome Imane El Qochairi
Imane El Qochairi is a PhD candidate and researcher at the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen. She is part of the research project “Fostering Digital Pan-Africanism in AI Governance through Evidence and Action” with Dr. Dennis Redeker as Project Lead and she is affiliated with the ZeMKI (…)
24. May 2026
Prof. Dr. Emilija Gagrčin (University of Bremen) Anticipating and preempting polarisation: Ethnographic perspectives on democratic resilience as a communicative process in local wind energy conflicts
- Datum: 24. June 2026
24. May 2026
New ZeMKI Member in the Lab Platform-Governance, Media & Technology: Welcome Chiara Spiniello
Chiara Spiniello is a postdoctoral researcher at ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research, University of Bremen. Her research lies at the intersection of political science, comparative public law, and digital governance, with a particular focus on digital constitutionalism, digital sovereignty, electoral processes, and forms of government. In 2021, she obtained a PhD in (…)
22. May 2026
New transdisciplinary project on AI governance in Africa (AI PAN-AFRICANISM)
In April, ZeMKI launched a new international and transdisciplinary research initiative titled “Fostering Digital Pan-Africanism in AI Governance through Evidence and Action“ (AI PAN-AFRICANISM). The project is funded by VolkswagenStiftung in their ‘Change! Fellowship’ line of funding and led by Dr. Dennis Redeker. AI PAN-AFRICANISM conducts state-of-the-art mixed methods research and co-develops decolonial, rights-based, and (…)
21. May 2026