Large Language Models (LLMs) have advanced rapidly but often still cater only to a narrow set of users. This talk advocates for a human-centered approach to NLP technology—one that embraces linguistic variation, improves reasoning and safety, and better serves diverse communities. In this talk I will outline paths toward more inclusive and trustworthy language technology.

Barbara Plank is Full Professor for AI and Computational Linguistics at LMU Munich, Co-director of the Center for Information and Language Processing, Head of the MaiNLP lab at LMU Munich and Visiting Professor at the Computer Science department at the IT University of Copenhagen. Her research lab (Munich AI and NLP lab) focuses on robust machine learning for Natural Language Processing with an emphasis on human-inspired and data-centric approaches. Barbara Plank an ELLIS Fellow (the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) and regularly serves on international committees, including the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL), the European Chapter of the ACL, and she was president of the Northern European Association for Language Technology (NEALT).