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General Information

Full Name Timothée Schmude
Languages German, English, French
Email timothee.schmude(at)univie.ac.at
Website https://timothee-schmude.github.io
Summary PhD student in explainable and contestable AI, focusing on how AI systems are integrated into society and how explanations can help people understand and challenge these systems.

Education

  • Since 2022
    PhD - Computer Science
    University of Vienna, Austria
    • Thesis: 'Explainability and Contestability for the Responsible Use of Public Sector AI'
    • Research on the design of explainable and contestable AI
  • 2022
    Master of Arts - Theories and Practices of Professional Writing
    University of Cologne, Germany
    • Thesis: 'Texts of the Future: How Writing Machines Are Changing Literature'
    • Professional writing of academic, journalistic, and fictional texts
  • 2021
    Master of Arts - Information Processing
    University of Cologne, Germany
    • Thesis: 'Information Extraction from Legal Documents An Analysis of Performance and Interpretability'
    • Programming and critical assessment of technology with a focus on AI
  • 2018
    Bachelor of Arts - Media Studies and Practice
    University of Bayreuth, Germany
    • Thesis: 'On the Form and Necessity of Digital Ethics in Cybernetics'
    • Analysis and production of media, chief editor of campus radio

Experience

  • 2024 - 2025
    Visiting Researcher
    Télécom Paris, France
    • Four-month research stay in the course of PhD studies
    • Collaboration on the regulation of explainable and contestable AI
  • Since 2022
    Research Project Assistant
    University of Vienna, Austria
    • Investigating explanation design for AI novices using qualitative methods
    • Projects connecting HCI, design, and legal research
    • Lectures in HCI and Visualization
  • 2021-2022
    Lecturer
    University of Cologne, Germany
    • Lectures on deep learning architectures and applications
    • Preparation of programming problems using TensorFlow
  • 2021 - 2022
    Software developer
    molytix, Cologne, Germany
    • Calculation, analysis, and presentation of ticketing data using C#
    • Prototypes for analyzing transit specification data
    • Design, planning, and launch of company homepage molytix.com
  • 2020 - 2021
    Working student
    Fraunhofer‑Institute IAIS, St. Augustin, Germany
    • Prototype for court sentence database with automated information extraction using Python
  • 2018 - 2020
    Hostmaster
    Computing Center, University of Cologne, Germany
    • Management of university network using Linux

Fellowships

  • 2024
    • Research Fellowship for High-Level Scientific Stays (SSHN) in France
  • 2022 - 2023
    • Digital Innovation Lab Fellowship for transfer of research into business
  • 2021 - 2022
    • AI Campus Fellowship Recipient to develop and evaluate educational resources on AI

Academic Interests

  • Designing explanations of AI systems for non-technical audiences
    • Requirement analyses, design prototyping, evaluation of understanding
    • Broadening the scope of technical explanations to include information on usage and context of AI systems
  • Power imbalances created through the use of AI in public institutions
    • Intersection of explanation and contestation, designing mechanisms that support both principles
    • Bridging the design and regulation of explainable and contestable AI to provide guidance on implementation of public AI systems

Other Interests

  • Books: Politics, history, research methods, novels. Lately Technofeudalism, Unreasonable Hospitality, and Julia (1984).
  • Sports: Climbing, hiking, cycling.
  • Games: Co-operative games with friends or single player challenges. Lately Balatro, Barotrauma, and Hades 2.