Dennis Assenmacher

Hello there, I am Dennis, a computational social scientist currently working as a Post-Doc at GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, at the department for Computational Social Science. In 2022 I received my doctoral degree from the University of Münster, working at the Chair of Data Science: Statistics and Optimization.

Research Focus

I investigate the impact of digital technologies on communication spaces and societal discourses, aiming to create technological frameworks that enable safe, constructive, and fair expression of opinions—free from hate, discrimination, violence, and systematic manipulation.

A central focus of my research is harmful online communication and the question of how digital behavioral data can be efficiently captured, processed, annotated, and sustainably utilized. I develop responsible, transparent, and methodologically sound approaches to studying complex phenomena such as hate speech, sexism, and dehumanization at scale, while addressing challenges related to data quality, subjectivity, multilingualism, multimodality, and the volatility of digital communication.

More broadly, I investigate the capabilities and limitations of large language models for analyzing digital communication and simulating human perspectives, including questions of bias, validity, and representativeness. By bridging machine learning, social science data analysis, and ethical considerations, my work seeks to enable a deeper understanding of the interactions between technology, society, and public opinion formation.

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If you are interested in my work, I recommend checking out the publications section.