Since its inception in 1996, the MSCA has grown into the European Union’s flagship programme for researcher training, mobility and career development, supporting more than 150,000 researchers at all stages of their careers, fostering international mobility, cross-sector collaboration and excellence in research across Europe and beyond.
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary, the MSCA, filmed an interview with Marie Skłodowska Curie’s granddaughter, Prof. Dr. Hélène Langevin-Joliot.
alignAI is proud to be a part of this remarkable legacy!
As fellows, alignAI DCs’ personal experiences and achievements play a vital role in shaping and demonstrating the MSCA programme’s impact.
Read excerpts of a Q&A, wherein DCs share about their journeys:
Q: What motivated you to join this project, and how will it shape your research journey and your future career path?
I have always been interested with the intersection of human behaviour and technology. Both of my theses examined the effects of social media on people. As AI has become one of the most rapidly developing areas of our time, it felt like a natural next step to extend my research focus in that direction. Coming to this project as a psychologist who typically works with empirical and participatory methods, joining a project that aims to align these technologies with human values felt really relevant and also necessary. – Simay Toplu
The intersection of society and technology has always been at the centre of my interests, both personal and academic. This project builds exactly on the principle that our understanding of societal issues is shaped by the tools we use to navigate them, with profound implications on our collective living. The MSCA alignAI project is a stepstone to gain further experience and contribute in a multidisciplinary research field that aims at bringing together these two complementary traditions. – Stefano Sorrentino
Q: Can you share examples of discoveries, breakthroughs or novel approaches your project is aiming to contribute to your field?
My project focuses on online news production and consumption in the age of AI. The concept itself of automated text generation is something that represents a breakthrough in our understanding of how information is formed, with profound implications on what it means to write, to read, to be an author, to be responsible for what is published. All these concepts are essential for the democratic and civic function of journalism: for this reason, my research aims at implementing participatory design for AI-alignment, proposing new ways to integrate LLMs into journalistic workflows and reading experiences. – Stefano Sorrentino
My project aims to articulate what impact values have in value alignment overall, and better articulate what and how values factor into machine learning concepts. An emerging framework that points out conceptual differences in how values are discussed in the field of value alignment (in both academia and policy) was released as part of my deliverable in WP3. – Julia Li
Q: In what ways will your project foster collaboration for you? Please describe any interdisciplinary partnerships, teamwork or networks that are enriching your work.
This project fosters collaboration that I otherwise would have struggled to start on my own. for instance, I have been able to work with the DCs at Tu/e during my secondment and benefit from the philosophy of technology scholars in the Netherlands and the new ideas they bring into my project. I also have an ongoing collaboration with the DCs in WP3, particularly at EPFL who I work with closely to combine frameworks from philosophy and social science, with innovations to standing problems in value alignment. – Julia Li
Q: How will your project contribute to innovation, whether in methods, technology development or practical applications? Can you give examples of how your work will have a broader impact on society, industry or policy?
My project contributes to innovation by developing new methods and frameworks for understanding how LLMs can be responsibly integrated into journalism. Rather than treating AI adoption only as a technical challenge, my work examines how these systems affect editorial authority, accountability, transparency and public trust.
Methodologically, the project combines qualitative research with conceptual and governance-oriented analysis. By engaging directly with journalists, editors, media organisations and news audiences, it aims to identify the values and practical constraints that should guide AI adoption in newsrooms. This can support the development of more context-sensitive methods for evaluating LLMs, especially in relation to journalistic standards such as truthfulness, source verification, transparency and editorial responsibility.
In terms of practical applications, the project can contribute guidelines and participatory frameworks for news organisations adopting AI tools. For example, my work on Gradual Voluntary Participation can help newsrooms involve journalists in AI governance without making participation tokenistic or burdensome. Similarly, my work on editorial authority can help organisations identify where responsibility and decision-making power shift when LLMs are used for tasks such as summarisation, headline generation, personalisation, or content production.
The broader societal impact lies in supporting a more trustworthy AI-mediated news ecosystem. Journalism plays a central role in democratic life, and AI systems that shape news production or consumption can influence what people know, trust and discuss. By helping newsrooms adopt AI in ways that preserve human judgment, transparency and accountability, the project can contribute to more responsible information environments.
For industry, the project offers practical insights for media organisations and technology developers on how to design and deploy LLM-based tools that respect professional values rather than simply optimising for efficiency. For policy, it can inform discussions on AI governance, transparency obligations, accountability structures and responsible AI use in high-impact domains such as media. Overall, the project aims to turn AI alignment from an abstract principle into concrete practices for journalism and public communication. – Matilde Barbini
Q: Have you had any personal epiphanies or impactful moments while working on your research?
The biggest shift in how I think about research came from letting go of the expectation that I need to create something entirely new from scratch. I think many people (myself included) come into a PhD with the idea that the work has to be groundbreaking in some dramatic sense. What I have come to realise is that research is more like adding a piece to something much larger than yourself. Your contribution might be small when you look at the bigger picture, but it is a real piece, something that others will hopefully build on, update and carry forward. I think there is something motivating about that realisation. It takes the pressure off and replaces it with a sense of responsibility and belonging to something bigger than any single project. – Simay Toplu