Joel Wester’s Page


About

My name is Joel, and I am a PhD Fellow in the Human Centred Computing research group at Aalborg University. With a background in cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy, I bring a multifaceted viewpoint to human-AI interactions.

I am curious about how interactive systems can support people’s wellbeing. Much of my work focuses on how people engage with AI-powered conversational user interfaces and how design shapes that interaction. I aim to understand how these systems can better support users, be it in everyday tasks or by helping them feel better emotionally. By drawing insights from various disciplines, I strive to create interactions that are both meaningful and tailored to the needs of everyday citizens.

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Publications

Google Scholar Profile

🏆 Best Paper Honorable Mention
Joel Wester, Tim Schrills, Henning Pohl, Niels van Berkel
“As an AI language model, I cannot”: Investigating LLM Denials of User Requests
Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’24)
Paper


Joel Wester, Bhakti Moghe, Katie Winkle, Niels van Berkel
Facing LLMs: Robot Communication Styles in Mediating Health Information between Parents and Young Adults
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW’24)
Paper


Joel Wester, Henning Pohl, Simo Hosio, Niels van Berkel
“This Chatbot Would Never…”: Perceived Moral Agency of Mental Health Chatbots
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW’24)
Paper


Joel Wester, Sander de Jong, Henning Pohl, Niels van Berkel
Exploring People’s Perceptions of LLM-generated Advice
Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2024
Paper


Naja Kathrine Kollerup, Joel Wester, Mikael B. Skov, Niels van Berkel
How Can I Signal You To Trust Me: Investigating AI Trust Signalling in Clinical Self-Assessments
Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS’24)
Paper


Andreas Brännström, Joel Wester, Juan Carlos Nieves
A formal understanding of computational empathy in interactive agents
Cognitive Systems Research, 2024
Paper


Sander de Jong, Joel Wester, Tim Schrills, Kristina Secher, Carla Griggio, Niels van Berkel
Assessing Cognitive and Social Awareness among Group Members in AI-assisted Collaboration
Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM’24)
Paper


Joel Wester, Minha Lee, Niels van Berkel
Moral Transparency as a Mitigator of Moral Bias in Conversational User Interfaces
Proceedings of the International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI’23)
Paper


Joel Wester, Andreas Brännström, Juan Carlos Nieves, Niels van Berkel
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”: A Formal Understanding of the Critical Friend Agent
Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI’23)
Paper


Adjunct Proceedings

CHI’24 EA
Joel Wester, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Sander de Jong, Naja Kathrine Kollerup, Helena Bøjer Djernæs, Niels van Berkel
Theory of Mind and Self-Presentation in Human-LLM Interactions
Paper

CHI’23 EA
Joel Wester, Julien Delaunay, Sander de Jong, Niels van Berkel
On Moral Manifestations in Large Language Models
Paper

CHI’23 EA
Niels van Berkel, Sander de Jong, Joel Wester, Naja Kathrine Kollerup
The Challenge of Bias Mitigation in Clinical AI Decision Support: A Balance Between Decision Efficiency and Quality
Paper

HRI’23 EA
Joel Wester, Eike Schneiders, Niels van Berkel
Perceived Moral Agency of Non-Moral Entities: Implications and Future Research Directions for Social Robots
Paper

IJCAI-ECAI’22 EA
Joel Wester, Andreas Brännström, Juan Carlos Nieves
Towards a Formalization of the Critical Friend and Socio-Moral Decision-Making in Autonomous Systems
Paper