From SNU Chennai to Germany: Students from the Dept. of CSE Present AI Research at ACM WebSci Conference 2026 at TU Braunschweig, Germany

 

Two undergraduate students from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Shiv Nadar University Chennai – Achyuth Mukund and Nandini Arimanda, presented their research at the 18th ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci 2026), held in Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany from 26th to 29 May, 2026. Their paper, Invisible Influences: Investigating Implicit Intersectional Biases through Persona Engineering in Large Language Models, was co-authored with Dr. Sakthi Balan Muthiah (Professor, SNU Chennai) and Dr. Rajesh Sharma (Plaksha University, Punjab). The work was accepted to the conference and included in the official proceedings of WebSci’26.

 

Their work introduces a novel framework called BADx (Bias Amplification Differential and Explainability Score). The framework studies how bias in AI systems changes when models are prompted to adopt different social personas and contexts. By moving beyond traditional static evaluations, the research provides a systematic approach to identifying context-sensitive bias in modern language models.

 

The work was presented during Session 5: Framing, Fairness, and Privacy, chaired by Prof. Eelco Herder, alongside research contributions from institutions across the world. The presentation generated engaging discussions on fairness, explainability, and responsible AI, reflecting the growing global interest in understanding the societal impact of large language models.

 

Beyond presenting their findings, the students had the opportunity to interact with researchers, academics, and industry professionals from diverse backgrounds, gaining valuable perspectives on emerging challenges in Artificial Intelligence, Web Science, and digital society.

 

A highlight of the conference was the reception hosted by the City of Braunschweig at the historic Altstadtrathaus (Old Town Hall), where participants from across the world gathered to exchange ideas and discuss future directions in research. The event provided an enriching platform for interdisciplinary collaboration and international academic engagement.

 

The presentation at ACM WebSci 2026 marks an important milestone in the university’s growing research contributions in Artificial Intelligence and Responsible Computing. It also highlights the opportunities available to undergraduate students at Shiv Nadar University Chennai to engage in impactful research and contribute to global academic conversations.

 

The university congratulates the student researchers and faculty collaborators on this achievement and wishes them continued success in their future research endeavours.