Teaming Up with Generative AI: The research project “The Answering Machine” was there when ChatGPT entered the scene

Source: https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/newsportal/news/teaming-up-with-generative-ai-das-forschungsprojekt-the-answering-machine-war-dabei-als-chatgpt-die-buehne-betrat Parent: https://tu-dresden.de

The artistic research project “The Answering Machine” explores the interplay between artificial intelligence and human improvisational talent. Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, this interdisciplinary project began in 2022 and is now drawing to a close with a final symposium at the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden and three public events. Thanks to the rapid development of generative AI over these four years, the project team has achieved results during this time that they never thought possible at the outset.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is currently fundamentally transforming the relationship between humans and technology. Its societal significance is often compared to the invention of the printing press: as a medium of knowledge and communication, it can enable new forms of thinking, learning and collaboration – provided that its development and use are actively and responsibly shaped.

This is precisely where the interdisciplinary research project “The Answering Machine” comes in. It is supported by Dresden University of Technology, Zurich University of the Arts, the University of Stuttgart and the University of Tübingen, and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. Stefan Scherbaum, Professor of Methods of Psychology and Cognitive Modelling at TUD Dresden University of Technology, investigated the psychological aspects behind human-machine interaction in the project: “The project coincides with a period of historic upheaval. At the start of the project, we knew that the interaction scenarios we had planned were pushing the boundaries of what was feasible: stage performances in which an actor lends their voice and body to the AI. We began with classic chatbots, which, for example, produced very creative yet often nonsensical dialogues in the demo performances. Then ChatGPT arrived, and we were able to witness first-hand how the technology improved week by week, enabling us to make progress in the project and develop interaction scenarios that no one would have dared to imagine at the outset. In this way, we were able to investigate co-creative processes between humans and machines in a much more comprehensive manner than originally planned. It was a privilege to be able to conduct research on this very topic at precisely this time and to be able to participate in the developments at first hand.”

To mark the conclusion of the project, the international symposium “Teaming Up with Generative AI: From Tool Use to Partnership” will take place on 25 and 26 March 2026 at the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden. Researchers, artists and practitioners from various disciplines will come together to discuss how generative AI can be conceived not as a replacement, but as a partner to human capabilities – in the spirit of a contemporary, expanded humanism.

The symposium will be accompanied by three public events where the audience can experience the interaction between humans and AI live. All performances will be in German language.

Further information: www.theansweringmachine.de

Dates of the public evening performances:\ 24 March 2026, 8.00 pm Projekttheater Dresden “Humanize Me” (tickets)

26 March 2026, 7.30 pm Hygienemuseum “Memories of My Time as a Human”, incl. panel discussion (Sold out, possibly some remaining tickets)

27 March 2026, 7.30 pm Kulturhafen Dresden “From the Cradle to the Grave – Chatbots, Agents, Avatars” (tickets)

Contact:\ Prof. Stefan Scherbaum \ Chair of Methods in Psychology and Cognitive Modelling \ TUD \ Tel.: +49 (0) 351 463 33 258 \ Email: |

Philipp Graffe \ Project Coordinator | The Answering Machine \ TU Dresden \ Email: