Joel Wester – Ph.D. Fellow

Joel Wester, PhD Fellow
Human-Computer Interaction
Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence

About

My name is Joel, and I am a PhD Fellow in the Human Centered Computing research group. 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.

Publications

Google Scholar Profile

CHI’24, 🏆 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
Paper

CSCW’24
Joel Wester, Bhakti Moghe, Katie Winkle, Niels van Berkel
↪Facing LLMs: Robot Communication Styles in Mediating Health Information between Parents and Young Adults
Preprint

CSCW’24
Joel Wester, Henning Pohl, Simo Hosio, Niels van Berkel
↪“This Chatbot Would Never…”: Perceived Moral Agency of Mental Health Chatbots
Paper

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

DIS’24
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
Paper

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

CUI’23
Joel Wester, Minha Lee, Niels van Berkel
↪Moral Transparency as a Mitigator of Moral Bias in Conversational User Interfaces
Paper

HAI’23
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
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