Post by Astrid Holzberger

As of last week, I am officially back at university. I started my PhD at IBA the Institut für Business Analytics der Universität Ulm of Prof. Dr. Mathias Klier, while on educational leave from McKinsey & Company 👩🏼‍🎓 My PhD will focus on Explainable AI (XAI). We are at a point where AI makes decisions that genuinely affect people's lives, yet most systems cannot tell you how they got there. Our research is about opening that black box: tracing how AI reaches its conclusions, understanding what data drives them, and designing explanations that help people trust the systems they have to act on. As a first-gen student, starting as a PhD candidate means more to me than I can put into words. I am so grateful for the opportunity and the support I receive from my friends and my network. And I can't wait to apply what I learned at McKinsey Digital to this research and connect with others working in that field! Universität Ulm #ExplainableAI #PhD #FirstGen