Peggy Sylopp: Listening with Purpose: How Human-Centric AI Democratizes Sound

What does it mean to design your own way of hearing?
In a world where audio technologies are largely standardized and market-driven, citizen science opens new paths toward autonomy. Peggy Sylopp—computer scientist, design researcher, artist, and founder of sincEARe UG—speaks not only as a researcher but also from personal experience. After being diagnosed with hearing loss, she understands firsthand how profoundly technology shapes our lives. This is why she is dedicated to developing inclusive, human-centered solutions.
Her journey began with Hear How You Like To Hear (Fraunhofer IDMT), a citizen science project that invited people with hearing impairments to actively explore and co-create their auditory worlds. This pioneering initiative laid the groundwork for , her current research with Fraunhofer IDMT and Charité Berlin. Built on a human-centered AI technology so novel that it recently led to a patent—with Sylopp as co-inventor—AIHEARS exemplifies how disruptive innovation can also be deeply personal.
In her keynote, Sylopp interweaves art, technology, and society around a central question: What does self-determination sound like? Through an interactive Mentimeter, the audience will be invited to reflect on their own hearing as a shared experience. From open-source algorithms to sound art, she demonstrates how inclusion, sustainability, and innovation can meaningfully converge.