Catharina Rudschies

Catharina Rudschies is a Research Associate and PhD candidate at the Department of Informatics within the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences at the University of Hamburg. As part of the HIVAM project team, she investigates ethical, legal, and social implications of intelligent virtual agents in healthcare. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies from Maastricht University (including participation in the MaRBLe excellence programme) and a Master of Science in Politics, Economics and Philosophy from Universität Hamburg.

Her research examines:

• Ethical frameworks for AI governance and healthcare technology
• Solidarity as a design principle in AI systems
• Privacy implications in surveillance societies
• Therapeutic applications of virtual agents
• Policy analysis of AI ethics guidelines

Her publications show strong thematic clustering in AI ethics, healthcare technology, and digital governance, with recent work exploring metaverse applications in psychotherapy and regulatory approaches to AI bans. Research often employs interdisciplinary methods combining informatics, philosophy, and social sciences.

Awards:

• Best Paper Prize (Runner-up) - A Metaverse for the Good Conference 2024

She contributes to academic service as:

• Member of the Council of Questions on Ethics in Science (Academic Senate, Universität Hamburg)
• Member of the local ethics commission at the Department of Informatics

She previously taught seminars on 'Philosophy, Society and IT' and worked as a journalist prior to her academic career.