Christina Potschka

Christina Potschka serves as Research Associate at the Department of Theological Ethics within the Faculty of Catholic Theology at Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg since October 2017. Her academic foundation includes a Master's in Teaching for Vocational Schools specializing in Social Pedagogy and Catholic Theology, with thesis work examining advance directives ('The contract with death') and media violence impacts on children.

Her research centers on critical ethical engagement with emerging technologies through three interconnected pillars: Robot Ethics (examining social robots in care and workplace automation), Medical Ethics (focusing on end-of-life decisions and AI in healthcare), and Theological Ethics in Digital Contexts. This manifests in analyses of robot animals in therapy, human-robot interaction dilemmas, and the theological implications of AI's 'flawless' social performance.

Her publication trajectory reveals intensifying focus on technology ethics since 2019, with peer-reviewed contributions in theological journals, interdisciplinary volumes on animal ethics, and public intellectual platforms. Key themes include dehumanization risks in care robotics, moral agency of AI, and religious perspectives on technological enchantment.

Professionally active in the Network for Moral Theology's Digitalization & Health Working Group, she bridges academic research with public discourse through frequent lectures at diocesan assemblies (e.g., Erlangen 2019), theological conferences (Nuremberg 2024), and community education forums (KEB series 2018-2019). Her supervision of vocational teaching theses demonstrates commitment to applied ethics education.

Current research examines the 2025 Animal Ethics publication on robot-assisted interventions while developing frameworks for evaluating AI's impact on human relationality through the lens of theological anthropology and virtue ethics.