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Prof. Dr. Martina Mara

Martina Mara gratuated in Communication studies at the University of Vienna and earned her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Koblenz-Landau with a dissertation on the user acceptance of anthropomorphic machines. After having worked for non-university research institutions such as the Ars Electronica Futurelab and the Institute of Design Research Vienna for more than a decade, she became Professor of Robopsychology at the Johannes Kepler University Linz in April 2018. Her current research interests include public attitudes towards robotics and AI, psychological effects of simulated human-likeness and intention signaling of mobile and collaborative robots. Mara is a member of the Austrian Council for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (ACRAI). She is a newspaper columnist who writes for a wide audience, regularly commenting on what is going on in the world of technology. In 2018, she received the BAWAG Women’s Prize and the Futurezone Award in the category “Women in Tech.”

portrait photo showing Martina Mara ©Paul Kranzler

  • Mara, M. (6.9.2019). Humanizing AI: The Still Important Issue of Diversity. Ars Electronica Festival 2019, Linz, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (6.6.2019). Why we don't trust androids — and other insights from Robopsychology. Invited Guest Lecture at TU Wien, Vienna, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (14.5.2019). Die Demystifizierung des Roboters: Warum wir informierte Nutzer und verstehbare Maschinen brauchen. Keynote, Informationstechnisches Kolloquium 2019, Vienna, Austria.

  • Mara., M. (14.5.2019). Mensch im Mittelpunkt: Ein optimistischer Blick auf unsere Zukunft mit intelligenten Maschinen. Keynote, Meet Science 2019 - Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Vienna, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (8.5.2019). Kollege Roboter: Wie das Teamwork zwischen Mensch und Maschine gelingen kann. Keynote, Joining Smart Technologies - 6th International Automotive Conference, Fronius, Sattledt, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (4.4.2019). Die Demystifizierung des Roboters. Keynote, WKO eDay, Vienna, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (28.3.2019). Roboter: Meine neuen besten Freunde? Invited Fireside Chat, Center for Human-Computer Interaction, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.

  • Mara, M. (21.3.2019). Trust and Predictability of Robot Behavior. European Robotics Forum (ERF 2019), Bucharest, Romania.

  • Mara, M. (10.3.2019). Robopsychology and AI Culture. South by Southwest Conference (SXSW 2019), Austin, USA.

  • Mara, M. (15.1.2019). Warum es uns vor Androiden gruselt und andere Erkenntnisse der Robopsychologie. Invited Guest Lecture at the University of Passau, Germany.