- Research area
Governance
Regulation · Platforms · AI
New technology brings calls for new rules. Societies struggle to decide how platform companies should govern political speech, visibility, and information flows. AI companies pose new challenges, such as resource expenditure and alignment. I ask what the evidence supports and what people expect, so that rules address real risks without creating new ones.
For regulators and policymakers: how to weigh the risks of digital media and AI against the risks of regulating them.
Selected publications
- Systemische Risiken digitaler Medien für die Demokratie und Öffentlichkeit
EU regulation justifies far-reaching interventions with “systemic risks” such as disinformation and microtargeting, though research finds their reach and effects far smaller. Declaring such risks beyond the reach of evidence blocks a sober, responsible assessment.
- The Extended Reach of Game Engine Companies
Epic Games and Unity supply building blocks far beyond gaming, from extended reality to user payments and identities. Game engines have become a new kind of platform that challenges the established platform companies.
- The Politics of Artificial Intelligence Alignment
Gemini’s controversial images of the American Founding Fathers lowered support for AI moderation that corrects bias or portrays an ideal, and trust in Google. Support for moderation for safety held.
- Artificial Intelligence in Government
Telling people that AI makes government more efficient raised their trust but lowered their sense of control. Once the risks of delegating to AI came into view, trust and perceived control both dropped sharply.
Recent publications 17
Work in progress 3
- Beyond Killer Robots: General AI Attitudes and Public Support for Military AI in Nine CountriesAndreas Jungherr, Antonia Schlude, and Adrian Rauchfleisch
- How Artificial Intelligence Shapes Social Change: Adoption, Power, and GovernanceAndreas Jungherr
- Toward Meaningful Transparency for AI Chatbots: Disclosing Persuasive Intent Reduces PersuasionAdrian Rauchfleisch and Andreas Jungherr
2026 5
- AI and the Future of DemocracyAndreas Jungherr, Giulia Sandri, Mykola Makhortykh, Gemma Galdón-Clavell, and Armin Rabitsch
- Artificial Intelligence in Government: Why People Feel They Lose ControlAlexander Wuttke, Andreas Jungherr, and Adrian Rauchfleisch
- Political Disinformation: “Fake News”, Bots, and Deep FakesAndreas Jungherr
- Systemische Risiken digitaler Medien für die Demokratie und Öffentlichkeit: Begriff, Regulierung und empirische BewertungAndreas Jungherr
- The Politics of Artificial Intelligence Alignment: Public Reactions to AI Moderation in the Case of Google’s GeminiAdrian Rauchfleisch and Andreas Jungherr
2025 3
- Ja, Digitalisierung birgt Risiken – Regulierung aber auchAndreas Jungherr and Thomas Hess
- Explaining Public Preferences for Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Election Campaigns: Evidence from the U.S. and TaiwanAdrian Rauchfleisch, Andreas Jungherr, and Alexander Wuttke
- Public Opinion on the Politics of AI Alignment: Cross-National Evidence on Expectations for AI Moderation from Germany and the United StatesAndreas Jungherr and Adrian Rauchfleisch
2024 4
- Blame and Obligation: The Importance of Libertarianism and Political Orientation in the Public Assessment of Disinformation in the United StatesAdrian Rauchfleisch and Andreas Jungherr
- Digital Media in the Work of Political Parties: Opportunities and ChallengesAndreas Jungherr
- Foundational Questions for the Regulation of Digital DisinformationAndreas Jungherr
- Negative Downstream Effects of Alarmist Disinformation Discourse: Evidence from the United StatesAndreas Jungherr and Adrian Rauchfleisch