„ExplAIn Together“ Citizen Science for Human-Centered AI Explanations

Artificial intelligence (AI) affects all of us today, whether we like it or not. Especially since the launch of AI-based chatbots like ChatGPT, the use of AI systems has become widespread among people without technical expertise. Conversations with a chatbot have become an everyday activity for many—covering a wide range of purposes: factual information, idea generation, text creation, and even personal thoughts and feelings—regardless of whether the AI system is suitable for providing reliable answers or not.
This project therefore investigates AI literacy with regard to what ideas users have about how AI systems work (mental models) and what needs to be explained. The project focuses on two different user groups: people aged 18 to 25 (“AI natives”) and people aged 60 and older (“AI immigrants”).
Approximately 10 individuals from each group will be closely involved as citizen scientists. Working separately by age group, they will collaborate with the core research team on the research process to ensure that it is as appropriate, accessible, and understandable as possible for their respective group. Subsequently, the citizen scientists will also directly participate in the data collection and, if interested, in the interpretation of the results.
The aim of this intensive citizen science approach is to tailor the research process to the target groups in a way that would not be achievable without the participation of the citizen scientists as representatives of the respective populations under investigation. In doing so, we expect to gain new insights into AI competence and the need for explanations in the real-life contexts of the studied groups—insights that can inform the future design of AI systems.