Laura State

Laura State serves as a Research Fellow at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in Berlin, Germany, where she contributes to the AI & Society Lab's Impact AI project. This initiative develops transdisciplinary auditing methodologies to evaluate artificial intelligence systems' contributions to societal transformation and ecological sustainability through rigorous impact assessment frameworks.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Data Science from Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy (Advised by Salvatore Ruggieri and Franco Turini)
• MSc in Neural Information Processing from the University of Tübingen
• BSc in Physics from the University of Rostock

State's research synthesizes hard sciences with social perspectives to investigate AI's societal and planetary implications. She specializes in transparency and accountability mechanisms for non-interpretable machine learning models, developing assessment methodologies to determine how AI can foster sustainable futures. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates technical AI development with regulatory frameworks and ecological impact analysis, emphasizing real-world applicability through industry-academia collaboration.

Her 2023-2025 publications reveal a cohesive research trajectory centered on explainable AI and regulatory compliance, particularly regarding GDPR requirements. Key themes include legal-technical alignment for explanation systems, bias/fairness policy frameworks, and innovative evaluation tools like REASONX. The work consistently bridges machine learning theory with societal accountability, demonstrating methodological rigor in translating technical capabilities into public-interest applications.

As a core member of HIIG's AI & Society Lab, State collaborates on transdisciplinary teams examining AI's role in sustainability transitions. The Impact AI project coordinates researchers from computer science, law, and social sciences to develop evaluation frameworks that measure AI's contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goals, with active engagement in policy dialogues and public science initiatives like Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften.