Study of human cultures using computational approaches

Study of human cultures using computational approaches

AI has huge societal and economic potential and is widely used. But it also brings challenges: how do we combine human values with AI, how do we make AI more transparent and understandable, and what can AI and human cognition learn from each other, for example about language learning?

Human AI is where artificial intelligence and machine learning meet philosophy, cognitive science, and the creative arts. Examples of research questions in this domain are: 'Can an algorithm be creative by human standards?', 'Can creative processes, such as composing music or writing poetry, be modelled?',…

From self-driving cars to innovative drug development: artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change our lives in many different ways. We study this technology at a deep and fundamental level. And we seek answers to questions about liability and privacy, for example. Our researchers from…

Responsible AI for science and a strong and resilient society.

The newly developed AI Collaboration Centre aims to forged alliances with the (local) government, companies and other educational institutes.

In this paper, Sarah Giest and Bram Klievink highlight the effects of AI implementation on public sector innovation. This is explored by asking how AI-driven technologies in public decision-making in different organizational contexts impacts innovation in the role definition of bureaucrats.

The Digital Humanities and Cultural Analytics minor will be offered in the 2026 academic year, and replaces the 2025/2026 Digital Humanities and AI Minor.

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga and Hadassah Drukarch from eLaw - Center for Law and Digital Technologies, recently published the book ‘AI for Healthcare Robotics’, published by CRC Press from Taylor and Francis Group in their AI for Everything Series.

How is generative AI changing the way we learn, communicate, and make sense of the world today? As AI tools become part of everyday life, they don’t just produce text but shape meaning, influence trust, and impact how we find and share information. This project explores how people use, experience and…

Are you keen to develop your digital skills and critical thinking? Then the Digital Humanities and Cultural Analytics minor might be something for you.

AI:Liner develops cutting-edge digital solutions for sewer asset management while ensuring responsible AI adoption through comprehensive social science research and ethical frameworks.

LUCDH are delighted to offer students of the Humanities a range of courses to develop their digital skills and critical thinking. Keen to learn more about our Digital Humanities minor 2026? All of our course descriptions will be updated in March. Check back soon!

This PhD project investigates how automatic sign language recognition technology can be further developed to analyse static images and textual descriptions of signs.

Lecture, LUCL Colloquium

The Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeoloy examines human remains and their burial context to address questions about the human past.

Musical instruments are multiple things: they are objects but also means of communication; they are technological and also deeply connected to embodiment through the player; and they leave certain cultural traces (Ricoeur 1975/1984). This research project explores how literary texts from the 19th century…

The Centre for Digital Heritage undertakes collaborative international research in the field of Digital Heritage. It is an initiative of the University of York.

The rise of the digital age affects public governance in many ways. Digitalisation and data impact every aspect of public governance and policy. Within Leiden University’s Public Administration institute, based in The Hague -the administrative capital of the Netherlands- our centre seeks to understand…

Third-year Security Studies students tackle real-world security challenges for organisations such as Microsoft, the NCTV and Schiphol. From AI and human smuggling to international cooperation, they present their recommendations to professionals in the field.

At the Humanities Hub, researchers can immerse themselves in the world of Digital Humanities, while students get the opportunity to develop their digital and media skills within the field of the humanities. The lab spaces of LUCDH, the Faculty of Humanities, and Journalism and New Media provide modern…

Leiden University College and the Erasmus Center of Law and Digitalization, with the support of the Sectorplan SSH-Breed on Digitalization and the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research, are announcing a Call for Abstracts for a two-day workshop, Digital and AI Governance at a Time of Geopolitical…

While humanities once mainly involved books and archives, nowadays we can’t imagine life without AI. Next semester a new faculty-wide course will be introduced, taking you along with this development. University lecturer and course coordinator Yann Ryan tells us more about it.

Hermeneutics and the Humanities: Dialogues with Hans-Georg Gadamer / Hermeneutik und die Geisteswissenschaften: Im Dialog mit Hans-Georg Gadamer

AI Labs are collaborations of Leiden University with external parties such as industry, governmental parties and other universities on the topic of Artificial Intelligence. The Science institutes of Leiden University are unique located in the largest Bioscience Park of the Netherlands, next door to…

Despite the field’s general agreement that pyrotechnology had a significant impact on the cultural evolution of humankind, our understanding of the origins and development of fire use and its role in humankind’s cultural evolution is very limited, blurred by strong disagreements over its chronology…

The AI Humanities Lab in Huizinga 0.09c is an innovative space where researchers explore the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities. 

The Humanities Hub is a central location in Huizinga designed to strengthen the collaboration, connection and exchange of ideas in teaching and research on humanities in the digital world.

What do a linguist, an artist, a Professor of Conservation and Restoration, and a lecturer at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science have in common? They all use Artificial Intelligence. On 7 April they discussed the use of AI at Leiden’s Kijkhuis cinema.

Melanie Fink, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Europa Institute of Leiden University, has published her book Frontex and Human Rights, Responsibility in 'Multi-Actor Situations' under the ECHR and EU Public Liability Law. This work is based on her doctoral dissertation, which she defended in December…

At Leiden University there are currently three different locations where there are AI Facilities in the form of laboratories: - The Digital Lab part of the Humanities Hub in the Huizinga Building - The Physical Twin Lab in the Gorlaeus Building - The Archaeology Lab in the Van Steenis Building

Online platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) have become part and parcel of everyday media use. Journalists incorporate posts from politicians into newspaper reports, scientists share their insights in short posts or videos, and the judiciary uses social media to explain their…

If we want to build robots and computer systems that are not only smarter but also possess more social skills, we first need to find out more about how humans interpret information. Max van Duijn and Tessa Verhoef conduct research at the intersection of cognitive science and AI.

The currently available in vitro generated human skin equivalents resemble the human skin in many aspects. However, some essential barrier characteristics do not fully mimic the native barrier. Consequently, the human skin equivalents cannot be used for screening of drugs for skin penetration.

In this article, Friso Selten and Bram Klievink explore how public organisations strategically manage the adoption of AI.

From deepfakes and disinformation to killer robots, surgical robots and AI lawmaking: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is changing our world. That raises the question whether this requires some form of regulation. At eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, prof. Bart Custers…

Leiden’s Faculty of Humanities is one of the broadest of its kind, offering courses in no fewer than 80 different languages and a very broad spectrum of academic disciplines.

The Faculty of Humanities

On 1 October 2019 the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial law hosted its 19th guest lecture starring Paul Sharma, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal and co-head of the European Financial Industry Regulatory Advisory Services practices.

This article discusses the degree of independence that is required for national human rights institutions to function successfully.

The Faculty of Humanities has 8 institutes:

This interdisciplinary research project explores several adaptive machine learning methods which can give insight into the interaction between human and machine. The ultimate goal is open and natural communication between humans and AI that should result in mutual trust, cooperation and coordination…

In the Humans of Humanities series, we will do a portrait of one of our researchers, staff members or students, every other week.

As a Faculty of Humanities graduate you are part of a valuable network. Discover how you can remain in contact with other alumni and the University!