boy and robot

Humans and Machines

The Center for Humans & Machines conducts interdisciplinary science, to understand, anticipate, and shape major disruptions from digital media and Artificial Intelligence to the way we think, learn, work, play, cooperate and govern.

Learn more about the concepts that guide our research here

Upcoming: Machine+Behavior Conference
When: 29-30 April 2024
Where: Harnack House Berlin
Who: Researchers of Behavioral Science, Complexity Science, and Cultural Evolution
Register Now!

Canonical Papers

nature human behaviour

Machine Culture

The ability of humans to create and disseminate culture is often credited as the single most important factor of our success as a species. We explore the notion of ‘machine culture’, culture mediated or generated by machines . . . Read more.

nature machine behavior

Machine Behavior

Machines powered by artificial intelligence increasingly mediate our social, cultural, economic and political interactions. Understanding the behavior of artificial intelligence systems is essential . . . Read more.

moral machine

The Moral Machine Experiment

Adoption of self-driving, Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) promises to dramatically reduce the number of traffic accidents. But some inevitable accidents will require AVs to make tradeoffs . . . Read more.

nature human behaviour

Bad Machines Corrupt Good Morals

As machines powered by AI influence humans’ behavior in ways that are both like and unlike the ways humans influence each other, worry emerges about the corrupting power of AI agents . . . Read more.

nature machine intelligence cover

Cooperating with Machines

We develop state-of-the-art machine-learning algorithms that cooperate with people and other machines at levels that rival human cooperation in two-player repeated games . . . Read more.

Our Events

See all upcoming events on our Events page, or view an archive of our past events in Past Events.

Seminar: Sebastian Fehrler

  • Date: Apr 9, 2024
  • Time: 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Sebastian Fehrler, Universität Bremen
  • Location: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin
  • Room: Small Conference Room
  • Host: Center for Humans and Machines

In the Media

Getty / The Atlantic
A Failure of Empathy Led to 200,000 Deaths. It Has Deep Roots.
22 September 2020
Written by Olga Khazan more
Article in The New Yorker
A Study on Driverless-Car Ethics Offers a Troubling Look Into Our Values
24 January 2019
Written by Caroline Lester more
Story in The Economist
Whom should self-driving cars protect in an accident?
27 October 2018 more
Article in The New York Times
Efforts to Acknowledge the Risks of New A.I. Technology
22 October 2018
Written by Cade Metz more
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