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Marisa Tschopp

Head of Subject Area Humans and AI, ZHAW School of Applied Psychology; Head of AI Psychology Research, scip AG

Human-AI relationshipsTrust in AIConversational AI

Training as an organisational psychologist

Dr Marisa Tschopp is an organisational psychologist who studies artificial intelligence from a psychological perspective[1]. She holds a master's degree in Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and a bachelor's degree in business psychology[1][2].

She completed a Dr. rer. nat. in psychology at the University of Tübingen, with studies running from 2021 to 2024[2]. Her doctorate examined how people perceive their relationships with conversational AI and how those relationships influence behaviour[1]. She has studied and taught at universities in Germany, Canada and Switzerland[1].

Research at scip AG and Human-IST

Tschopp is Head of AI Psychology Research at scip AG, a cybersecurity company based in Zurich[1]. ZHAW reports that she built up scip's research practice in AI psychology[3]. Her research there covers human-AI relationships, trust in AI, agency, the behavioural performance assessment of conversational systems known as A-IQ, and gender issues in AI[1].

She also worked as a senior researcher at the Human-IST Institute of the University of Fribourg, where she studied the psychological side of human-AI interaction in AI governance[3]. Her ZHAW profile lists Women in AI among her network memberships[2].

In May 2026 scip reported two chapters co-written by Tschopp in The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science, published by Cambridge University Press[4]. One chapter looks at how the intelligence of conversational AI was measured before ChatGPT, and the other analyses the conversational abilities of large language models from a behavioural perspective[4].

Head of Humans and AI at ZHAW

Since 1 April 2026 Tschopp has led the Humans and AI subject area at the ZHAW School of Applied Psychology in Zurich, while remaining an employee of scip AG[5]. Her ZHAW profile places the role in the Institute of Human Behaviour, Society and Technology[2]. Her listed focus areas include human-AI teaming, AI companionship, AI and mental health, trust, anthropomorphism and AI literacy[2].

In an April 2026 ZHAW interview she said she wants teaching on AI and psychology to leave room for critical reflection[3]. She argued that a generation is needed that understands the effects of AI on people and society, not only how to use it[3].

Her 2026 publications include a peer-reviewed article in Cyberpsychology on how users perceive synthetic relationships in a mental health app, and a conference paper on barriers to forming relationships with companion bots[2]. She is also a co-author of a CHI 2026 paper which found that AI knowledge predicted anthropomorphisation of a language model better than personality traits[2].

Studies on chatbots and public speaking

Tschopp led a study of humanised chatbots in voice shopping, based on an online experiment with 407 participants, which was to be presented at the ACM CUI 2026 conference in Bremen[6]. According to scip's summary, most participants viewed AI assistants in hierarchical, functional terms, and for these users an overly friendly, emotional version of Alexa reduced the perceived usefulness of the service[6].

She gave a keynote on the main stage of re:publica 26 in Berlin, held from 18 to 20 May 2026, on the relationship between people and AI[7]. In August 2026 she opened the Forum KI & Recht in Zurich with a keynote on human-machine relationships[8]. She accompanied a Swiss actor through the creation of his digital clone for the SRF documentary Mein Avatar und ich, first broadcast on SRF 1 on 12 April 2026[9].

ZHAW lists a public lecture by Tschopp on 17 November 2026 on the opportunities and risks of emotional bonds with chatbots[10].

Known for

Sources

  1. scip AG: Marisa Tschopp, Head of AI Psychology Research — checked 6 Nov 2026
  2. ZHAW: Dr Marisa Tschopp staff profile — checked 6 Nov 2026
  3. ZHAW Angewandte Psychologie: interview with Dr Marisa Tschopp, 8 April 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  4. scip AG: Zwei neue Buchkapitel im Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science, May 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  5. scip AG: Dr Marisa Tschopp to lead Mensch & KI at ZHAW, March 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  6. scip AG: Veröffentlichung wissenschaftlicher Artikel, June 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  7. scip AG: Keynote auf der Hauptbühne der re:publica 26, February 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  8. scip AG: Keynote at Forum KI & Recht, August 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  9. scip AG: SRF Dok, Mein Avatar und ich, April 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
  10. ZHAW event: KI als Seelentröster? Chancen und Risiken synthetischer Beziehungen, 17 November 2026 (German) — checked 6 Nov 2026
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