Marco Dehnert

I am a Doctoral Candidate and Graduate Teaching Associate in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University. I am a multi-method social scientist who studies Human-Machine Communication, Human-AI Communication, and the social impact of communication technologies.

I use qualitative, quantitative, and rhetorical methods including interviews, textual analysis, thematic analysis, surveys, and experiments. My work integrates methods, concepts, and theories from a variety of disciplines and areas including communication studies, critical/cultural studies, human-computer and human-robot interaction, as well as sexuality studies.

Currently, I am working on my PhD with a focus on how humans build relationships with machines such as social robots and AI technologies. In particular, my dissertation uses qualitative methods to explore human-machine relationality (how humans form relationships with machines like robots).

My research has been published in a variety of academic journals such as Human Communication Research, Human-Machine Communication, Review of Communication, and in book chapters published by Routledge and SAGE (forthcoming). My article "Persuasion in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Theories and Complications of AI-based Persuasion" received the 2022 Outstanding Article Award from the Human Communication and Technology Division of the National Communication Association.

In June 2022, I was featured on the National Communication Association’s Podcast Series “Communication Matters” on the topic of alternative academic careers for communication graduate students. In October 2022, I was featured on the German science communication portal Wissenschaftskommunikation.de in an interview about the topic of transformation.