About
I am an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in Computational Linguistics and Multilingual Text Analysis, and over eight years of experience in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Human-Centered AI (HAI). I study how people make decisions, how AI systems influence those decisions, and what that means for society.
I have presented my work at top-tier international AI conferences and periodically contribute as an expert and speaker at international roundtables and AI forums. I am particularly committed to promoting AI as a tool that prioritizes humans (and not just the WEIRD ones) and their well-being through human-centered design, evaluation, and governance.
I am always open to discussions, collaborations, and opportunities to expand my knowledge and impact in this exciting field. Feel free to connect with me to exchange ideas or explore potential collaborations.
News
[January 2026] Very happy to share that I joined the Interactive Visual Data Analysis Group at the University of Zurich as a Postdoctoral researcher, where I will be focusing on human preference elicitation for multi-criteria decision support. What does this mean? I tackle decision problems, where no single "optimal" solution exists, but rather where the best solution depends on what matters most to you (think of buying cars, renting apartments).
[September 2025] Very excited to be part of a workshop series on AI and Human Rights at the Latsis Symposium 2025 in Zurich.
[September 2025] Happy to have been invited to speak at the Zurich Language AI Meetup! Come and listen to my talk titled "To Trust or Not To Trust: Lessons Learned from the Black Box Problem" where I will explore the question "How can we trust AI models that we don't understand?".
[July 2025] Join me at the
AI for Good 2025 Global Summit in Geneva! Excited to be participating as an invited expert at the workshop
AI for Human Rights: Smarter, Faster, Fairer Monitoring, where we will have critical discussions on how AI can help advance global human rights efforts.
[March 2025] Very happy to share that I have
successfully defended my PhD dissertation titled "Human-Centered Strategies for Designing and Evaluating Transparency in AI-Assisted Decision Making" at ETH Zurich! A heartfelt thank you to my PhD advisor
Florian von Wangenheim, co-examiner
Tim Miller, lab mates, collaborators, friends, and family for their incredible support throughout this journey.
Selected Publications
[2025] Bridging the Knowledge Gap: Understanding User Expectations for Trustworthy LLM Standards
Benk, M., Wettstein, L., Schlicker, N., Wangenheim, F., Scharowski, N.
AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence
Mixed-methods web-based study (interviews N=12, survey N=379) identifying 68 user-centric trust criteria for LLMs. Reveals priorities for transparent governance, communication, and non-technical complements to techno-focused standards.
[2024] Twenty-Four Years of Empirical Research on Trust in AI: A Bibliometric Review of Trends, Overlooked Issues, and Future Directions
Benk, M., Kerstan, S., Wangenheim, F., Ferrario, A.
AI & Society
Bibliometric and content analysis comprising 1,156 core articles and 36,306 cited articles across multiple disciplines. Shows growth trends, shifting thematic landscape, and continuous gaps in the development of well-defined and contextualized theoretical models to understand trust in AI.
[link]
[2023] Certification Labels for Trustworthy AI: Insights From an Empirical Mixed-Method Study
Scharowski, N., Benk, M., Kühne, S.J., Wettstein, L., Brühlmann, F.
Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT)
User interviews (N=12) and survey (N=302) show certification labels boost trust and intent to use AI, especially in high-stakes contexts.
[link]
[2022] "Is It My Turn?" Assessing Teamwork and Taskwork in Collaborative Immersive Analytics
Benk, M., Weibel, R., Feuerriegel, S., Ferrario, A.
Proceedings of the 25th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW)
Empirical study of user collaboration in immersive analytics, investigating how teams navigate machine learning tasks in an immersive analytics environment.
[link]
[2022] Investigating Employees' Concerns and Wishes Regarding Digital Stress Management Interventions With Value Sensitive Design: Mixed Methods Study
Kerr, J., Naegelin, M., Benk, M., Wangenheim, F., Meins, E., Viganò, E., Ferrario, A.
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Mixed-method exploration using Value-Sensitive Design to uncover employee preferences and privacy concerns around digital stress management tools.
[link]
[2021] The Value of Measuring Trust in AI – A Socio-Technical System Perspective
Benk, M., Tolmeijer, S., Wangenheim, F., Ferrario, A.
CHI 2022 Workshop on Trust and Reliance in AI-Human Teams (TRAIT)
Critiques the predominant focus on trust as an evaluation framework for AI research. Proposes a socio-technical systems approach to measuring trust, advocating for holistic assessment beyond individual-level metrics.
[link]
[2021] Creative Uses of AI Systems and their Explanations: A Case Study from Insurance
Benk, M., Weibel, R., Ferrario, A.
CHI 2022 Workshop on Human-Centered Explainable AI (HCXAI)
Case study in insurance reveals novel creative workflows enabled by AI systems and explores how explanation mechanisms support users in these settings.
[link]
Talks and Guest Lectures
[July 2025] AI for Human Rights: Smarter, Faster, Fairer Monitoring
Invited Expert, AI for Good 2025 Global Summit
Leveraging artificial intelligence to improve speed, fairness, and effectiveness in global human rights monitoring.
[November 2024] Transparency Challenges in Human Rights Monitoring
Invited Speaker, GHRP Annual Conference – Expert Roundtable on Digital Human Rights Tracking Tools and Databases
Transparency issues and limitations in the use of digital tools and databases for human rights monitoring.
[April 2024] Guest Lecture on Human-Centered Explainable AI
Course 'KI und Ethik', University of Basel
Basics on human-centered design principles in explainable AI and their ethical implications.
[November 2023] Welcoming Sentient AI
Panelist, Zurich Independent Art Exhibition
Artistic and philosophical perspectives on sentient AI and its societal impacts.
[May 2023] Explainability and Trust: The Importance of the Human Factor
Panelist, European Data Protection Supervisor IPEN event on Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
Discussion on the critical role of human factors in the design and implementation of explainable AI systems.
[September 2022] Data Science zum Anfassen
Invited Speaker, Scientifica: Zurich Science Days
Making machine learning accessible and engaging for the public through interactive visual analytics.
[April 2019] Monitoring Hate Speech Online
Invited Speaker, Annual meeting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Approaches and challenges in using machine learning to monitor hate speech online.
