ETHICOMP 2025 in Lisbon: The MoralPLai Project Lead Shares Findings from Audience Feedback Study

ETHICOMP 2025, the 22nd International Conference on the Ethical and Social Impacts of ICT, was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from September 17–19th, 2025, under the theme “Shaping Digital Ethics Together”. Over the years, ETHICOMP has built a global community of scholars, technologists and practitioners committed to examining the ethical challenges of computing. The conference provides a vital forum for interdisciplinary exchange, engaging with philosophical, professional and practical questions in the field.

The conference engaged with a broad spectrum of ethical questions related to artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies across diverse domains. Discussions covered themes such as reexamining cybersecurity practices, the ethical dimensions of human relations and education in the age of AI, gender and future digital technologies, challenges of AI literacy, the transformative effects of AI on individuals and society, ethical issues in digital business and the influence of AI and social media on youth, among others.

The conference kicked off with an opening speech by Professor José Amado da Silva, the Rector of UAL, and a panel discussion on “AI: panacea or pain?” featuring panelists Professor Kiyoshi Murata, Professor Shalini Kesar, Dr. Xenia Ziouvelou, Professor António Duarte Santos and panel moderator Professor Simon Rogerson.

During a session on AI literacy, MoralPLai Project Lead, Dr. Franziska Poszler, introduced the MoralPLai project and shared early research findings related to The Third Voice performance in a presentation titled “Research-Based Theater as an Engaging and Effective Method for Promoting AI Literacy? – Insights from Audience Responses”. An integral part of the MoralPLai project was the accompanying research, which included impact assessment and audience feedback, made possible through funding by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.

In her presentation, Dr. Poszler outlined the range of methodologies used to gather audience responses, including post-it notes collected in the foyer during the event on May 22nd, 2025, an immediate post-performance poll, a team debriefing the following day, a follow-up survey conducted a few weeks later and in-depth interviews held several months after the performance. She then gave an overview of the initial findings and highlighted comments from audience members’ responses.

“The follow-up survey showed that most audience members felt theater is an effective way to raise awareness in civil society about the responsible design and use of AI chatbots. Our survey participants also indicated that the play deepened their understanding of both the potential consequences and the diverse perspectives involved when using AI chatbots as moral dialog partners or advisors. However, some of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement: ‘I left the play with more information than I came in with’. This may be linked to the audience demographics: around one-third worked in academia, and the majority held at least a master’s degree. Insights from the in-depth interviews confirmed that many attendees already had prior knowledge or professional experience in the field of responsible AI.” – Dr. Franziska Poszler

Audience members’ responses about the The Third Voice performance and its addressed themes included, for example:

• “Moral deskilling is a thing. Use of chatbots as a ‘third voice’ can help, but needs guidance and careful promotion.”
• “Individual responsibility and forming a moral character are the most important parts. Not regulation, incentives or whatever.”
• “In the end, the key is education (as with almost every matter), so in this case, AI literacy to support people in becoming responsible users.”
• “These characters [of the play] were so relatable to everyday life, […] to their own life story. I think that’s the door opener compared to a scientific paper, where not many people have access to…Not many people will understand or put time into reading it.”

Key takeaways from the presentation highlighted the idea that research-based theater can promote AI literacy by introducing relatable characters, evoking emotional responses and stimulating initial interest in engaging with scientific findings. In addition, it was suggested that the impact could be strengthened by reaching the right audiences through targeted outreach and campaigns, and by providing supplementary resources–such as recommended readings or glossaries of key terms and concepts–to help contextualize the play and its themes.

Additional speakers in the AI literacy session included Ludovica Paseri PhD, who talked about “Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Research: the Missing Link of Literacy for Security Concerns” as well as Professor Ugo Pagallo, who spoke on his joint work with Eleonora Bassi PhD on “Just Hallucinations? the Problem of AI Literacy with a New Digital Divide”.

Professor Ugo Pagallo explained that, according to Article 3(56) of the AI Act, literacy is defined as the skills, knowledge and understanding that enable providers, users and those affected to make informed choices about the deployment of AI systems, while also recognizing both the opportunities and risks involved. He illustrated this with several examples of AI hallucinations and emphasized their paper’s claim: “today’s AI illiteracy can trigger a new digital divide much harsher than the first wave of the late 1990s and early 2000s”.

Dr. Poszler also attended sessions and presentations closely related to the MoralPLai project and its research focus. These included talks at the intersection of healthcare and AI, such as Professor Anne Gerdes’ presentation on “Ethical Issues in the Use of Generative AI Chatbots for Therapeutic Purposes” and Hugh Brosnahan’s talk on “Why Hemisphere Theory Matters for How We Think About Ethics and AI in Medicine”. Other contributions explored how AI chatbots shape human thinking and engage in moral dialog, including Professor Elizabeth O’Neill’s “Artificial Moral Discourse and the Future of Human Morality”, Dr. Andrew Rebera’s “Stakes, Context and AI: How AI Challenges Human Ways of Knowing” and Professor Iordanis Kavathatzopoulos’s “How AI May Affect Our Thinking”. Other sessions at the conference also addressed the link between AI and creativity, such as the presentation of Professor Inês Almeida on “How AI is Reshaping Creativity: Deepseek vs ChatGPT plus in Lego® Serious Play®”.

The conference concluded with a panel on “Rethinking Society: Living with AI” with keynote panelists Professor Anne Gerdes, Professor Martha Wilcoxson, Professor Adrian-Horia Dediu and Professor Ugo Pagallo, as well as panel chair Dr. Mario Arias-Oliva. The panel discussed whether there are significant differences between previous digital revolutions and the current AI revolution, what main opportunities to acknowledge and risks to fear in the AI landscape, how to use AI ethically in teaching, research and everyday life, and whether AI can and should be legislated to strike a balance between ethical innovation and regulation.

The ETHICOMP 2025 webpage can be viewed here: https://autonoma.pt/en/ethicomp-2025/.

The conference program can be found here: https://easychair.org/smart-program/ETHICOMP2025/.

The abstracts of the conference presentations are available in open access:

https://repositorio.grupoautonoma.pt/items/35ac8b99-5f05-4ee7-b40a-2dc78e7b83bd.

The conference proceedings are published by Springer: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032014283.

Interested in learning more? Visit the MoralPLai Project webpage and stay tuned for updates: https://www.ieai.sot.tum.de/research/moralplai/.