Theresa Züger

Theresa Züger is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). She heads the AI & Society Lab at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, an interdisciplinary interface for new research approaches and knowledge transfer in the field of AI. 2025 she started a new research project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation called Impact AI. In this project she and her team develop and test an auditing method to assess the impact of AI projects, in regards to the public interest and sustainability. 

Before, she was leading a research group focussed on public interest AI development in theory and practice. With her interdisciplinary team she developed AI prototypes such as an application to simplify online texts for greater accessibility on the internet and a fact-checking tool to combat disinformation. Theresa Züger also worked in the international project Women* in the Tech Sector on intersectional issues relating to equal rights for women* in the technology sector. Previously, she headed the office of the Third Engagement Report of the FederalGovernment on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). In 2017, Theresa received her doctorate from the Humboldt University of Berlin in the Department of Media Studies with a thesis on ‘Digital Civil Disobedience’. 

Theresa Züger is vice chair of the UNESCO Expert Committee on Communication and Information. She is and was also a member of several juries, including the Deep Tech Award (by the Senate of Berlin), Digital Places – Land of Ideas, and the Civic Innovation Fund. In addition, she regularly moderates events, including for the Berlin-Brandenburg Media Authority, re:publica, transmediale, and the Disruption Network Lab.