My research in this area examines how people perceive, evaluate, and emotionally respond to AI-generated content, including stories, visual art, and other cultural forms. Combining methods from psychology, communication research, and the humanities, I investigate, among others, how artificial intelligence influences public understandings of human and machine agency, potentially reshaping cultural production, authorship, and creativity.
In recent work with my collaborators, we found that exposure to AI-generated art perceived as aesthetically valuable reduces the perception of AI as a realistic threat while increasing people’s willingness to recognize AI as a legitimate artistic agent.
Selected Publications
Malecki, W. P., Messingschlager, T. V., Winkler, J. R., & Appel, M. (2026). The Experience and Perception of AI-Generated Narratives. In Provoking Generative AI Futures (1st ed., pp. 156–172). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003487623-11
Malecki, W. P., Messingschlager, T. V., & Appel, M. (2025). The impact of exposure to generative AI art on aesthetic appreciation, perceptions of AI mind, and evaluations of AI and of art careers. New Media & Society, 27(9), 5410–5432. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251344590
Media coverage: Heller, P. (2025). Ist das echt? KI-Bilder fluten das Netz—Und verändern unsere Wahrnehmung. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Online). https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wissen/computer-mathematik/ai-slop-die-flut-der-ki-bilder-zerstoert-unser-vertrauen-110787427.html
Appel, M., Malecki, W. P., Messingschlager, T. V., & Winkler, J. R. (2025). I, ChatGPT: Linguistic properties and human experiences of human- versus AI-generated stories. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1892. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-06341-2