Research

We study language technologies that help people reason, deliberate, and engage critically with information. Our work connects NLP, computational argumentation, discourse analysis, structured representations, and human–AI interaction in systems that are transparent, useful, and grounded in real-world settings.

Our perspective

Language technology should support judgment, not only generate text.

We focus on settings where perspectives matter, disagreement is natural, and decisions benefit from reflection rather than speed alone. That means making reasoning visible, connecting claims to evidence, and designing systems that help people compare viewpoints more responsibly.

How we work

From theory to models, tools, and human evaluation.

Our projects combine argumentation theory, discourse studies, NLP, and human-centered evaluation. Depending on the project, we create datasets, build models and knowledge graphs, develop interactive systems, and study how people actually use them in reasoning-heavy tasks.

Human–AI reasoning and deliberation

Interactive systems that make reasoning visible, inspectable, and useful in high-stakes discussion.

Computational argumentation

Models and resources for claims, evidence, persuasion, argument search, and deliberative strategies.

Critical thinking and AI

Tools for fallacy detection, critical-question generation, bias awareness, and reflective AI use.

Discourse and structured language technologies

Narratives, discourse structure, knowledge graphs, multilingual resources, and controllable generation.

Themes

A compact view of the group's main research directions. Open a theme for keywords, motivation, and representative publications.

We study how AI systems can participate in structured reasoning with people instead of only producing final answers. This line combines multi-agent discussion, moderation, real-time summaries, argument maps, critical-question generation, and hybrid human–AI workflows for reasoning-intensive tasks.

Keywords
Human–AI interactionDeliberationMulti-agent systemsReasoning support
Why it matters

For contested or high-stakes questions, users should be able to inspect, challenge, and shape the reasoning process. We therefore focus on systems that keep people meaningfully inside the loop.

Representative publications

This is the group’s core line of work on how arguments are expressed, structured, and evaluated in natural language. It spans argument components and relations, evidence types, persuasion strategies, argument arrangement, deliberative strategies, causality, and search over arguments at web scale.

Keywords
Argument miningPersuasionArgument searchDeliberative strategies
Why it matters

Arguments are central to public discourse, education, and information access. Modeling their structure supports analysis, retrieval, and comparison of viewpoints across editorials, discussions, and social media.

Representative publications

This theme asks whether AI helps people think better: identify fallacies, ask the right critical questions, compare alternatives, and notice bias or audience effects. It connects reasoning support with the evaluation of persuasiveness, stance balance, and reflective use of AI.

Keywords
Critical thinkingFallacy detectionEvaluationBias and balance
Why it matters

Fluent output is not enough. We need language technologies that help people reason more carefully, question assumptions, and stay actively involved in judgment-heavy tasks.

Representative publications

We examine how discourse organization, narrative, framing, and structure shape communication, and we build representations and tools that make these patterns computationally useful. This includes narrative use in online discussions and Arabic discourse, argumentation knowledge graphs, controllable generation, and structure-aware exploration tools.

Keywords
NarrativesKnowledge graphsGenerationDiscourse analysis
Why it matters

Many language technologies still treat text as flat output. Structured representations make claims, evidence, issues, and narrative patterns more explicit, interpretable, and reusable in downstream systems.

Representative publications
Projects

Our current projects connect structured language analysis with usable systems for search, deliberation, generation, and multilingual discourse research.

AKASE developed argumentation knowledge graphs that encode structured, multi-perspective arguments for advanced search settings. In collaboration with OpenWebSearch.EU, the project used large-scale open web data to support more balanced retrieval, richer justification, and search interfaces that surface credible arguments across perspectives. The project was completed in 2026.

Focus

Argumentation knowledge graphs, multi-perspective search, justification, and reasoning-aware search interfaces.

Why it matters

It helps move from flat document retrieval to richer access to arguments, perspectives, and explicit support for reasoning.

This project explores the relationship between narratives and argumentation in persuasive communication. It examines how storytelling patterns, argumentative schemes, and discourse organization interact in online discussions and other forms of public reasoning.

Funding

Funded by the University of Groningen.

Focus

Narrative structure, argumentative schemes, persuasion, annotation, and pattern analysis.

Why it matters

It helps explain how stories and arguments work together in persuasion, deliberation, and human–AI communication.

This project develops resources and methods for Arabic argument mining across domains such as debate, editorials, and public discourse, with attention to claims, evidence, and cross-domain generalization.

Funding

Funded by QatarDebate.

Focus

Annotation, dataset creation, cross-domain modeling, and broader multilingual coverage for argumentation research.

Why it matters

It supports more inclusive language technology and opens new directions for Arabic and cross-domain argument analysis.

Thesis

We welcome thesis students who want to work on language, reasoning, and society. Topics can be scoped for bachelor’s or master’s level and connected to ongoing projects, datasets, and tool development.

We regularly supervise bachelor’s and master’s theses connected to ongoing group research.

Examples
Argument miningHuman–AI deliberationCritical thinking supportNarrative analysisStructured generationKnowledge graphs
How topics are shaped

Topics are scoped around the student’s background, level, and interests, and can involve annotation, modeling, evaluation, or interface design.

We welcome students who are curious about language, reasoning, AI, and society.

What we value

Clear thinking, methodological care, and a willingness to connect technical work with broader questions about communication and human judgment.

Good starting point

Contact us early with your interests so a topic can be developed in a way that is both feasible and intellectually strong.