ARNA WOEMMEL

I'm a postdoc at the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago, where I work with Alex Kale in the Data Cognition Lab.

My research lies at the intersection of behavioral economics and computer science. I study how human behavior shapes the societal impact of new technologies. During my PhD, I focused on algorithmic fairness, examining how well-intentioned policies and system interventions may fail when they interact with (biased) humans. In my current postdoc, I empricially study questions related to AI alignment, particularly in agentic systems.

I completed my PhD in Economics at the University of Hamburg in 2025, under the supervision of  Gerd Muehlheusser (Economics) and Judith Simon (Ethics in IT). I was a doctoral fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and a member of the Research Training Group (RTG) in "Collective Decision-Making", an interdisciplinary program in philosophy, politics, and economics.

Feel free to reach out at: acwoemmel(at)uchicago(dot)edu

Research Visits:

• Columbia University, Data Science Institute (Spring 2023)

• Columbia Law School (Spring 2024)

• ETH Zürich, Center for Law & Economics (Fall 2024)