Human-Centered AI
Designing AI systems that augment rather than replace human cognition. Explainability, oversight, and metacognition treated as first-class design constraints.
Dean & Chair · LMU Munich
Albrecht
Schmidt
Albrecht Schmidt is Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics at LMU Munich, where he holds the chair in Human-Centered Ubiquitous Media. His research investigates how digital technologies amplify human cognition and perception — spanning human-centered AI, ubiquitous computing, AR/VR, and physiological sensing. He coined implicit human–computer interaction in 1999/2000 and currently leads the ERC Advanced Grant AI-Twin, building on his earlier ERC Consolidator AMPLIFY. He has supervised 38 PhD students to completion and co-founded the ACM conference series TEI and Automotive User Interfaces.
ACM Fellow · Member of Leopoldina · ACM SIGCHI Academy
84h-index
43kcitations
300+publications
38PhDs supervised
€10M+research funding
2ERC grants
Google Scholar · DBLP · ACM DL · ORCID
01 — Research focus
Six threads framing the work of the group.
Implicit Interaction & Context
Foundational research on systems that act on context beyond location — the state of the person, devices, and environment. Coined implicit HCI in 1999/2000.
AR/VR & Physiological Sensing
Cognition-aware adaptation through EEG and other physiological signals; haptic illusions and electrophysiological correlates of perception.
Embodied AI & Human–Robot Interaction
Robot curiosity, intent communication, and how embodiment extends earlier work on context-awareness into a new dimension.
ERC Advanced Grant
Personal Generative AI — AI-Twin
Personal generative models grounded in lived experience as cognitive extensions for memory, knowledge, metacognition, and communication.
Public AI Information Infrastructure
Foundation models in shared public spaces — trust, civic participation, and democratic discourse as core HCI questions.
02 — Publication highlights
Selected papers that frame the trajectory.
2024
ACM Interactions 31(1) · Jan–Feb 2024
Simulating the Human in HCD with ChatGPT: Redesigning Interaction Design with AI
First comprehensive discussion of how generative AI changes the practice of human-centered design itself.
doi.org/10.1145/3637436
2023
ACM TOCHI 29(6), Article 56 · Dec 2023
The Placebo Effect of Artificial Intelligence in Human–Computer Interaction
Users change behaviour and performance when they believe AI is assisting — even when it is not.
doi.org/10.1145/3529225
2025
IEEE Transactions on Haptics 18(3) · Jul–Sep 2025
Electrophysiological Correlates for the Detection of Haptic Illusions
EEG-based detection of haptic illusions — a foundation for evaluating VR/AR haptics neurophysiologically.
doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2025.3578076
Human Behavior
2025
Computers in Human Behavior · 2025 · Open access
AI makes you smarter but none the wiser: The disconnect between performance and metacognition
LLM use improves task performance but degrades users' self-assessment accuracy — flattening the Dunning–Kruger effect, especially for users with higher AI literacy and confidence.
doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108779
03 — Event highlights
Recent keynotes, chairing, and community moments.
General Co-Chair, ACM AVI 2026
18th International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces.
Scientific Co-Chair, Heidelberg Laureate Forum
Annual gathering of Abel, Fields, Nevanlinna, Turing, and ACM Prize laureates with young researchers.
Keynote, ACM IUI 2025
Reality Design — Shaping Experiences Beyond Interfaces.
General Co-Chair, ACM CHI 2023
4,000+ participants. Flagship conference in Human–Computer Interaction.
04 — Teaching
Open courseware, freely available since 2020.
Human–Computer Interaction
Foundations course on HCI — from sensing and input to interaction techniques and evaluation.
hci-lecture.org →
Intelligent User Interfaces
AI as design material — from context-aware UIs to LLM-driven and adaptive systems.
iui-lecture.org →
Sketching with Hardware
Physical computing for prototyping. Students build functional digital–physical artefacts.
sketching-with-hardware.org →
Current courses at LMU also include Multimodal Interaction, Creative Coding, and programming for Computer Science, Media Informatics, and Art students.
05 — Service & community
Conferences, editorial, and governance.
Conference chairing
- General Co-Chair, ACM AVI 2026
- General Co-Chair, ACM CHI 2023 (Hamburg)
- Conference Co-Chair, ACM UIST 2018 (Berlin)
- Technical Program Co-Chair, ACM CHI 2014
- Co-founder, ACM TEI & ACM AutoUI
Editorial
- Editorial Board, ACM Transactions on Computer–Human Interaction (2016–2025)
- Associate Editor in Chief, IEEE Pervasive Computing (2010–2015)
- Forum Editor, ACM Interactions (2014–2018)
Governance & advisory
- Dean, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Statistics, LMU Munich
- Scientific Co-Chair, Heidelberg Laureate Forum
- Member of the Board of Directors, Dagstuhl (2016–2025)
- International Scientific Advisory Board, Honda Research Institute
- Member, ERC Starting Grant Evaluation Panel (2023, 2025)
Memberships
- ACM Fellow (2023)
- Member of Leopoldina, German National Academy of Sciences (since 2020)
- Member of the ACM SIGCHI Academy (since 2018)
06 — Entrepreneurship
Building beyond the lab.
-
2024 — present
Ease Of Mind GmbH
Co-founder. Munich, Germany.
-
2018 — 2022
ThingOS GmbH
Co-founder & Chief Scientist. Platform for smart environments. Acquired by HÄFELE in 2022.
-
2020 — 2025
CDTM Munich — Scientific Co-Director
Center for Digital Technology and Management; joint honors degree of LMU Munich and TU München on entrepreneurship.
07 — PhD alumni
38 doctorates completed since 2007. A selection.
- Florian Alt · 2012, Stuttgart
Full Professor, Media Informatics, LMU Munich - Stefan Schneegaß · 2016, Stuttgart
Full Professor, HCI, Univ. Duisburg-Essen - Tilman Dingler · 2016, Stuttgart
Associate Professor, Sustainable Design Engineering, TU Delft - Alireza Sahami Shirazi · 2014, Stuttgart
Director of AI/ML, PayPal AI, USA - Thomas Kosch · 2020, LMU
Assistant Professor, HCI, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Pascal Knierim · 2020, LMU
Assistant Professor, HCI, Universität Innsbruck
View all 38 alumni
- Enrico Rukzio · 2007 · Full Professor, Universität Ulm
- Matthias Kranz · 2008 · Head of Dept., Cyberagentur (was Full Professor, Univ. Passau)
- Paul Holleis · 2009 · Co-founder & Developer, artisan.plus
- Dagmar Kern · 2012 · Senior Researcher, GESIS
- Oliver Korn · 2014 · Professor, Hochschule Offenburg
- Elba Valderrama Bahamondez · 2014 · Professor, UTP Panamá
- Nora Broy · 2016 · Software Engineer & Researcher, BMW
- Bastian Pfleging · 2016 · Full Professor, TU Bergakademie Freiberg
- Markus Funk · 2016 · Director Research Applications, Cerence AI
- Tanja Döring · 2016 · Full Professor, TU Berlin
- Miriam Greis · 2017 · Lead API Consultant, codecentric
- Lars Lischke · 2018 · Principal UX Researcher, Elsevier
- Mariam Hassib · 2018 · UX Researcher, Digital Mental Health
- Yomna Abdelrahman · 2018 · Postdoc Researcher, UniBwM
- Romina Poguntke · 2019 · Senior Researcher, ZHAW
- Sebastian Feger · 2020 · Professor, HCI, TH Rosenheim
- Francisco Kiss · 2020 · Senior Researcher, Robert Bosch GmbH
- Jakob Karolus · 2021 · Postdoctoral Researcher, DFKI
- Passant Elagroudy · 2021 · Postdoctoral Researcher, DFKI
- Matti Krüger · 2022 · Researcher, Honda Research Institute Europe
- Sarah Völkel · 2022 · Staff UX Researcher, Google Munich
- Fiona Draxler · 2023 · Postdoctoral Researcher, Univ. Mannheim
- Naḑa Terzimehić · 2023 · Researcher, Chair of Human-Centered Tech. for Learning, TUM
- Matthias Hoppe · 2024 · Postdoctoral Researcher & JSPS Fellow, Keio University
- Luke Haliburton · 2024 · UX Researcher, Roche Barcelona
- Francesco Chiossi · 2024 · Senior UX Researcher, Nestlé Barcelona
- Steeven Villa · 2025 · Postdoctoral Researcher, Human-Centered AI, LMU Munich
- Maximiliane Windl · 2025 · Postdoctoral Researcher, Usable Privacy & HCI, LMU Munich
08 — Join the group
Postdoc & group leader funding opportunities.
If you're considering a postdoc — or starting an independent group with us — these fellowships fund research in our environment. Reach out before applying; we support strong proposals.
Postdoc fellowships
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Humboldt Research Fellowship
For postdoctoral and experienced researchers from outside Germany. Also: Bundeskanzler-Fellowship, Sofja Kovalevskaja Award.
humboldt-foundation.de →
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Walter Benjamin Programme
Independent funding for postdocs in early career — hosted in Germany or abroad.
dfg.de · Walter Benjamin →
DAAD
Research Grants & P.R.I.M.E.
Postdoc programmes for international mobility, including the P.R.I.M.E. fellowship.
daad.de →
European Commission
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions — European and Global Fellowships for excellent postdocs.
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu →
Early-career group leader funding
European Research Council
ERC Starting Grant
Up to ~€1.5M over 5 years for outstanding early-career principal investigators.
erc.europa.eu →
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Emmy Noether Programme
Independent junior research group, ~6 years. Albrecht ran one himself, 2004–2011.
dfg.de · Emmy Noether →
Volkswagen Foundation
Freigeist Fellowship
Unconventional, interdisciplinary early-career projects with a strong personal vision.
volkswagenstiftung.de →
Get in touch with a one-page research idea and your CV at albrecht.schmidt@ifi.lmu.de.
09 — Contact
Get in touch.
Direct
- Email albrecht.schmidt@ifi.lmu.de
- ACM albrecht.schmidt@acm.org
- Phone +49 152 22 980 549
Social
Connect on LinkedIn →
Primary social channel — talks, papers, and events as they happen.
Academic IDs
- ORCID 0000-0003-3890-1990
- Google Scholar
- DBLP
- ACM Digital Library
- Semantic Scholar
Group & projects
- Group at LMU
- hcilab.org
- ERC AI-Twin · ai-twin.eu
- ERC AMPLIFY
- Wikipedia