This workshop, investigates whether current AI systems are capable of cultural reasoning, like handling conflicting preferences due to varying cultural backgrounds of users. Are such capabilities required and (how) can they be machine-learned?
It will be held at Trier University and is part of the CURIA-GR project, awarded by the University of the Greater Region as part of the Guest Professorship scheme.
While AI systems are often presented as globally applicable, their training data and design choices are shaped by particular linguistic and cultural contexts. The multilingual Greater Region of SaarLorLux, with its overlapping traditions and language across Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Belgium, provides an ideal setting to examine whether AI models can recognise differences between closely related cultures or whether they tend to reproduce dominant perspectives at the expense of local or minority ones.
Participants will discuss questions of evaluation, fairness, and responsibility: How can cultural sensitivity in AI be meaningfully assessed? Should language models adapt to local contexts or remain culturally “neutral”? And what challenges emerge when AI misrepresents or overlooks cultural distinctions in border regions where identity is highly contextual? The workshop will feature one or two keynote talks, structured discussions, and a poster session for which abstracts will be invited. By focusing on the cross-border dynamics of the Greater Region, the event aims to create a space for collective reflection on how cultural reasoning in AI can be better understood, tested, and improved.
Dr. Alistair Plum (Université du Luxembourg)
Prof. Dr. Achim Rettinger (Universität Trier)
We invite the submission of abstracts that broadly deal with the theme and questions (see below) of the workshop. Accepted abstracts will be presented at a poster session during the workshop.
-> Send abstracts (300 words) to alistair.plum@uni.lu
Please note that abstract submission is optional, and that abstracts will not be published as part of the workshop.
Workshop: 17/11/25 10:00 - 17:00
Registration Deadline:
Abstracts due: 31/10/25
Poster notification: 05/11/25
Room K101 (old chapel)
Campus II
Trier University
Anyone interested in participating is invited to register (free) at the link below.
https://forms.gle/RHC8iREGQrKQZ5Xp8
alistair.plum@uni.lu
| Time | Session | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Welcome & Introduction | Opening remarks and overview of aims. |
| 10:15 – 11:05 | Keynote I | Christoph Purschke – Cultural Language Processing. Human and artifactual perspectives — keynote + Q&A. |
| 11:05 – 11:35 | Coffee Break | ☕ |
| 11:35 – 12:30 | Session I: Framing the Discussion | Thematic group discussions on what “cultural reasoning” means in AI and what participants expect from the day. |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch Break | 🍽️ |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Keynote II (Online) | Katharina Zügel – The right to reliable information in culturally diverse contexts in the age of AI — short keynote + discussion. |
| 14:00 – 15:00 | Poster Session | Interactive poster session with submitted abstracts. |
| 15:00 – 15:30 | Coffee Break | ☕ |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Session II: Connecting Themes | Small-group exchange linking poster topics to workshop questions; mapping shared challenges and research directions. |
| 16:30 – 16:55 | Roundtable Discussion | Joint summary and identification of future collaborations. |
| 16:55 – 17:00 | Closing Remarks | Final reflections and thanks. |
We thank the University of the Greater Region for supporting this workshop as part of the Guest Professorship project “Cultural Reasoning in AI: Examining Large Lanaguage Models in the Context of the Greater Region”.