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.
Publications
2025
ToMinHAI at CUI’2025: Theory of Mind in Human-CUI Interaction
Qiaosi Wang, Joel Wester, Marvin Pafla, Minha Lee, Justin D. Weisz, Mei Si
Proceedings of the International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI’25)
to appear
Projecting Challenging Futures: Using Chatbots to Reflect on Aging and Dementia
Rucha Khot*, Teis Arets*, Joel Wester*, Franziska Burger, Niels van Berkel, Rens Brankaert, Wijnand IJsselsteijn, Minha Lee
Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’25)
URL
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General Practitioners’ Perspectives on a Pre-Consultation Chatbot for Shared Decision-Making
Mana Samiee, Joel Wester, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Michael Skovdal Rathleff, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS’25)
to appear
| to appear
Prompt Machine: A Tangible Generative AI Tool for Supporting Children’s Learning and Literacy
Martin Lindrup, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Joel Wester, Niels van Berkel, Dimitrios Raptis, Peter Axel Nielsen
Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS’25)
to appear
| to appear
Impact of Agent-Generated Rationales on Online Social Conformity
Sander de Jong, Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Joel Wester, Senuri Wijenayake, Jorge Goncalves, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FaccT’25)
to appear
| to appear
2024
“As an AI language model, I cannot”: Investigating LLM Denials of User Requests
Joel Wester, Tim Schrills, Henning Pohl, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’24)
URL | PDF | 🏆 Best Paper Honorable Mention
Facing LLMs: Robot Communication Styles in Mediating Health Information between Parents and Young Adults
Joel Wester, Bhakti Moghe, Katie Winkle, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW’24)
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“This Chatbot Would Never…”: Perceived Moral Agency of Mental Health Chatbots
Joel Wester, Henning Pohl, Simo Hosio, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW’24)
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Exploring People’s Perceptions of LLM-generated Advice
Joel Wester, Sander de Jong, Henning Pohl, Niels van Berkel
Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2024
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How Can I Signal You To Trust Me: Investigating AI Trust Signalling in Clinical Self-Assessments
Naja Kathrine Kollerup, Joel Wester, Mikael B. Skov, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS’24)
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A formal understanding of computational empathy in interactive agents
Andreas Brännström, Joel Wester, Juan Carlos Nieves
Cognitive Systems Research, 2024
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Assessing Cognitive and Social Awareness among Group Members in AI-assisted Collaboration
Sander de Jong, Joel Wester, Tim Schrills, Kristina Secher, Carla Griggio, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia (MUM’24)
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2023
Moral Transparency as a Mitigator of Moral Bias in Conversational User Interfaces
Joel Wester, Minha Lee, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI’23)
URL | PDF
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”: A Formal Understanding of the Critical Friend Agent
Joel Wester, Andreas Brännström, Juan Carlos Nieves, Niels van Berkel
Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI’23)
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Adjunct Proceedings
CHI’25 EA
Rune Møberg Jacobsen, Joel Wester, Helena Bøjer Djernæs, Niels van Berkel
Distributed Cognition for AI-supported Remote Operations: Challenges and Research Directions
PDF
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
PDF
CHI’23 EA
Joel Wester, Julien Delaunay, Sander de Jong, Niels van Berkel
On Moral Manifestations in Large Language Models
PDF
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
PDF
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
PDF
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
PDF