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AICS-SOUNDS Colloquium on AI and Law
The AICS-SOUNDS Colloquium on AI and Law brought together researchers from computer science, law, and the social sciences to explore emerging research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and legal studies. Organised jointly by AICS (AI, Computing & Society) and SOUNDS, the colloquium built on ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration to advance research on the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) to legal reasoning, empirical legal studies, and online content moderation.
The programme featured invited research presentations followed by a collaborative working session focused on identifying future research directions, strengthening interdisciplinary partnerships, and developing new collaborative research initiatives.
SOUNDS at the GESIS Institute Day
GESIS, the Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences, recently celebrated its 40th birthday. This year’s institute day was held under the motto “The Impact of Data”. In event's keynote Prof Dr Daniela Braun and Prof Dr Ingmar Weber presented the Societal Observatory Using Novel Data Sources (SOUNDS), which harnesses innovative data sources to systematically study societal transformations. SOUNDS bridges computer science and social sciences to advance research methodologies that leverage unconventional data such as social media analytics, satellite imagery, and web search trends. By combining Saarland University's expertise in informatics with insights from social science research, SOUNDS aims to become a central hub for innovative, empirical studies addressing contemporary societal challenges. Ultimately, SOUNDS seeks to inform decision-making, foster public engagement, and support democratic resilience, positioning itself as both a research powerhouse and a think-and-do tank dedicated to solving real-world societal issues.
SOUNDS at the Campus Day
How can we make the SOUND of our society measurable? To answer this question, we used an interactive survey to ask visitors at the 2026 Open Campus Day: “Where do you meet other people?” The results show that - whether at work, in daily life, during leisure time, in the evening, or virtually - people enjoy meeting in a wide variety of places, but above all in locations where public life unfolds. These places form a vital foundation for democracy, for democracy takes place wherever people meet and exchange ideas. These encounters reflect the collective mood - the SOUND of society. And that is precisely what we aim to measure: using the Democracy Barometer.
Past news can be found in the archive.