Research

Publications

These are my publications, including papers, software and datasets (yup I like to be inclusive). True, there’s my ORCiD and my Google Scholar and even my Zenodo, but hey, this is a curated and commented collection 🙂

2026

AI in Science: The 42 problem in AI-assisted research

Spitale G., Germani F. (2026) eLife Sciences 15:e113137 10.7554/eLife.113137

journal-article

AI, AI and information
A corpus of Swiss public-sector AI instruments

Spitale G. (2026) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.23236576

dataset

AI, AI and information, corpus, dataset, public sector, Switzerland
draw: Diagram Workspace with Sharing

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, education, software
catena: Zotero References Inside Word Documents

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
PaperTrail: Research Project Tracker, Idea to Publication

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
Grant Radar: Funding Opportunity Radar

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
Contrarian: Claim Verification Against the Literature

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
LSSR: Living Systematic Scoping Review Platform

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
paper2md: PDF-to-Clean-Text Extraction Service

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
TopicTracker: PubMed Literature Analysis Platform

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
Survey: Structured Survey Platform

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
AutoCode: AI-Assisted Qualitative Coding Platform

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, research, software
ArguMap: Argument Mapping Platform

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, education, software
RoomPulse: Live Polling for Talks and Lectures

Spitale G. (2026) borant.eu [software]

software

borant, education, software
The making of digital ghosts: designing ethical AI afterlives

Spitale G., Germani F. (2026) Ethics and Information Technology 28(3) 10.1007/s10676-026-09910-4

journal-article

afterlife, AI, AI and information, death, ethics, ghosts
Analyzing freedom: Understanding swiss COVID-19 narratives through NLP analysis

Spitale G., Germani F., Fritschi F., Merten S., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) Social Sciences & Humanities Open 13:102865 10.1016/j.ssaho.2026.102865

journal-article

COVID-19, ethics, freedom, nlp, pandemics, Public health ethics
The structural fingerprints of disinformation: a content-agnostic framework

Redaelli S., Spitale G., Germani F. (2026) Ethics and Information Technology 28(2) 10.1007/s10676-025-09886-7

journal-article

AI and information, disinformation, infodemics, infodemiology, Information Quality, misinformation
Moral contentions in the COVID-19 discourses: a qualitative content analysis of Moral Key Terms in Swiss public discourses

Fritschi F., Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N., Merten S. (2026) Critical Public Health 36(1) 10.1080/09581596.2026.2658913

journal-article

ethics, Public health ethics
The phenomenon of ‘value extraction’ in Open Access

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) Accountability in Research 33(7) 10.1080/08989621.2026.2661668

journal-article

ethics, oa, open acces, publications, Science and publishing, value extraction
Conspiracy theory as a component of religious biopolitics

Aramesh K., Germani F., Spitale G. (2026) Social Theory & Health 24(1) 10.1057/s41285-026-00255-y

journal-article

AI and information, bioethics, Bioethics and society, biopolitics, disinformation, misinformation, religion
Analyzing Misinformation and Disinformation: Understanding Swiss COVID-19 Narratives Through Natural Language Processing Analysis

Germani F., Spitale G., Fritschi F., Merten S., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) JMIR Infodemiology 6:e76441 10.2196/76441

journal-article

AI and information, disinformation, ethics, misinformation, nlp
Financial Burden in Adults With Chronic Illness in Switzerland: A Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Interviews Using Natural Language Processing and Topic Modeling

Spitale G., Seinsche J., Visscher R. M. S., Schöpf-Lazzarino A., Jurisic J., Germani F. et al. (2026) JMIR Formative Research 10:e79290 10.2196/79290

journal-article

ethics, nlp, Patient experiences
The ethical risks of open-access agreements being used for authorship leverage

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) Nature 651(8105):550 10.1038/d41586-026-00776-6

journal-article

ethics, open access, publishing, Science and publishing, scientific publishing
Perceptions of Proportionality

Mouton-Dorey C., Schwind B., Spitale G., Jafflin K., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) In Proportionality: A Guiding Principle in Public Health Law, Ethics, and Policy, 44-78 [chapter] 10.1093/9780197759370.003.0005

chapter

COVID-19, ethics, proportionality, Public Health, Public health ethics
Why ethics in social listening and infodemic management matters for public health

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N., Varaidzo Machiri S., von Harbou K., Emiroglu N. et al. (2026) BMJ Public Health 4(1):e003652 10.1136/bmjph-2025-003652

journal-article

AI and information, ethics, infodemics, Public health ethics
Trump’s statements about acetaminophen and the problem of epistemic corrections

Germani F., Spitale G., Caplan A. L. (2026) BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, bmjebm-2025-114372 10.1136/bmjebm-2025-114372

journal-article

AI and information, Public health ethics
Perceptions and Misconceptions of PSA Screening in Switzerland: A Preference Epidemiology Study

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2026) Social Science & Medicine 389:118806 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118806

journal-article

health decision making, preference epidemiology, prostate cancer, PSA screening, Public health ethics, public perception
2025

Frames of ethics: a systematic scoping review of graphic novels in ethics education

Rigter F. H. W., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N., Spitale G. (2025) International Journal of Ethics Education 11(1):5-29 10.1007/s40889-025-00227-2

journal-article

Bioethics and society
Source framing triggers systematic bias in large language models

Germani F., Spitale G. (2025) Science Advances 11(45) 10.1126/sciadv.adz2924

journal-article

AI, AI and information, ethics
FINK NLP: A Natural Language Processing Toolkit for Structured Analysis of Multilingual Interview Data

Spitale G. (2025) Zenodo [software] 10.5281/zenodo.15373202

software

interviews, nlp, Patient experiences, software
Psychedelics beyond medicine: Treatment, enhancement, hype, consent, and the limits of medicalization

Caraccio M., Cheung K., Porsdam Mann S., Bruce L., Jacobs E., Villiger D. et al. (2025) Philosophical Psychology 38(7):3340-3383 10.1080/09515089.2025.2532761

journal-article

Bioethics and society, ethics, psychedelics
Healthcare resource allocation for rare diseases: an exploratory survey of Swiss citizens’ preferences

Germani F., Spitale G., Fischer C., Tag B., Reichenbach J., Devuyst O. et al. (2025) Swiss Medical Weekly 155(9):4243 10.57187/s.4243

journal-article

ethics, Public health ethics, rare diseases, resource allocation, survey
A Mixed-methods Study of Deep Brain Stimulation’s Temporal Impact on Parkinson’s Disease Patients: Insights from Short-, Medium-, and Long-term Experiences

Spagnolo D., Spitale G. (2025) Neuroethics 18(2) 10.1007/s12152-025-09601-9

journal-article

deep brain stimulation, DIPEx, ethics, mixed methods, nlp, parkinson, Patient experiences, quality of life
S.A.R.A.H. and the decline of trust in health information: a case study

Germani F., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2025) Health Policy and Technology 14(3):101032 10.1016/j.hlpt.2025.101032

journal-article

AI, AI and information, ethics, Information Quality, WHO
Mastering critical thinking skills is strongly associated with the ability to recognize fakeness and misinformation

Redaelli S., Biller-Andorno N., Gloeckler S., Brown J., Spitale G., Germani F. (2025) Frontiers in Education 10 10.3389/feduc.2025.1577692

journal-article

AI and information, critical thinking skills, ethics, infodemics, misinformation, scientific literacy
Introducing Preference Epidemiology: Improving Patient-Centered Approaches in Health Decision-Making

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2025) International Journal of Public Health 70 10.3389/ijph.2025.1608617

journal-article

ethics, preference epidemiologu, preference epidemiology, prepidemiology, Public health ethics
On Religious Influence in Bioethics: The Limits of Pluriversalism

Spitale G., Germani F., Earp B. D., Mann S. P., Barış M., Annoni M. et al. (2025) Bioethics 39(6):620-629 10.1111/bioe.13419

journal-article

Bioethics and society, ethics, religion
Social listening in infodemic management for public health emergencies: guidance on ethical considerations

World Health Organization (2025) World Health Organization [report]

report

AI and information, ethics, infodemics, infodemiology, Social listening
Emotional prompting amplifies disinformation generation in AI large language models

Vinay R., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N., Germani F. (2025) Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 8 10.3389/frai.2025.1543603

journal-article

AI, AI and information, ethics, LLMs
Mi fa male la scienza

Germani F., Spitale G. (2025) Tlon [book]

book

AI and information, Science and publishing
Women’s Perceptions of the Medicalization of Pregnancy and Their Preferred Models of Care: A Qualitative Analysis

Tyebally Fang M., Kunz L., Spitale G., Wäscher S., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2025) Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 15(1):53-68 10.1353/nib.2025.a957205

journal-article

DIPEx, Patient experiences
2024

Evaluating Transformers on the Ethical Question of Euthanasia

Schneider G., Spitale G. (2024) SwissText 2024, 241-246 [conference paper] 10.5167/uzh-266909

conference-paper

AI, AI and information, Bioethics and society, ethics, euthanasia, Netherlands
Digital Democracy and Emergency Preparedness: Engaging the Public in Public Health

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N., Germani F., Merten S. (2024) International Journal of Public Health 69 10.3389/ijph.2024.1608004

journal-article

ethics, Public health ethics
The Dual Nature of AI in Information Dissemination: Ethical Considerations

Germani F., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2024) JMIR AI 3:e53505 10.2196/53505

journal-article

AI, AI and information, disinformation, ethics, misinformation, Public Health, Public health ethics
Soliciting Diaries for “Real-Time” Insights Into the COVID-19 Pandemic: Methodological Reflections on Using Digital Technologies to Engage the Public

Kaiser-Grolimund A., Schwind B., Kämpfen L., Morgan A. L., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. et al. (2024) International Journal of Public Health 69 10.3389/ijph.2024.1606912

journal-article

AI and information, ethics, infodemics, Patient experiences, Public health ethics, qualitative research
Ethical Considerations in Infodemic Management: Systematic Scoping Review

Germani F., Spitale G., Machiri S. V., Ho C. W. L., Ballalai I., Biller-Andorno N. et al. (2024) JMIR Infodemiology 4:e56307 10.2196/56307

journal-article

AI and information, disinformation, ethics, infodemics, infodemiology, misinformation, Public health ethics
TopicTracker – An advanced software pipeline for text mining on PubMed data: Bridging the gap between off-the-shelf tools and code based approaches

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2024) Heliyon 10(17):e36351 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36351

journal-article

literature review, pubmed data, Science and publishing, scientific literature, text analysis, text mining
Disruptive Technologies and Open Science: How Open Should Open Science Be? A ‘Third Bioethics’ Ethical Framework

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2024) Science and Engineering Ethics 30(4) 10.1007/s11948-024-00502-3

journal-article

AI, AI and information, disruptive technology, ethics, governance of innovation, open science, OS, science ethics
Jupyter Notebook for NLP Analyses for PD-DBS interviews

Spitale G. (2024) Zenodo [software] 10.5281/zenodo.11262575

software

deep brain stimulation, nlp, Patient experiences, software
Beyond Trade-Offs: Autonomy, Effectiveness, Fairness, and Normativity in Risk and Crisis Communication

Germani F., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2024) The American Journal of Bioethics 24(6) 10.1080/15265161.2024.2353826

journal-article

AI and information, disinformation, ethics, infodemics, misinformation, Public health ethics, risk and crisis communication
Cross country analysis of qualitative interviews: Developing a method, a community and an understanding of how Covid has been experienced around the globe

Ziebland S., Sakuma-Sato R., Grob R., Dowrick A., Navarro Dias de Souza A. R., Spitale G. et al. (2024) SSM – Qualitative Research in Health 5:100396 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2024.100396

journal-article

COVID-19, DIPEx, ethics, Patient experiences, Public health ethics, qualitative research
2023

Exploring the role of AI in classifying, analyzing, and generating case reports on assisted suicide cases: feasibility and ethical implications

Spitale G., Schneider G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2023) Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 6 10.3389/frai.2023.1328865

journal-article

AI, AI and information, assisted suicide, Bioethics and society, ethics, euthanasia
Women’s experiences with non-invasive prenatal testing in Switzerland: a qualitative analysis

Fang M. T., Germani F., Spitale G., Wäscher S., Kunz L., Biller-Andorno N. (2023) BMC Medical Ethics 24(1) 10.1186/s12910-023-00964-3

journal-article

ethics, paper, Patient experiences
AI model GPT-3 (dis)informs us better than humans

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N., Germani F. (2023) Science Advances 9(26) 10.1126/sciadv.adh1850

journal-article

AI, AI and information, ethics
The PHERCC Matrix. An Ethical Framework for Planning, Governing, and Evaluating Risk and Crisis Communication in the Context of Public Health Emergencies

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2023) The American Journal of Bioethics 24(4):67-82 10.1080/15265161.2023.2201191

journal-article

AI and information, ethics, infodemics, Public health ethics, risk and crisis communication
Patient narratives – a still undervalued resource for healthcare improvement

Spitale G., Glässel A., Tyebally-Fang M., Mouton Dorey C., Biller-Andorno N. (2023) Swiss Medical Weekly 153(1):40022 10.57187/smw.2023.40022

journal-article

paper, Patient experiences
2022

TopicTracker keywords and MeSH terms resulting from the analysis of papers on autonomy, equity, privacy, proportionality and trust in the context of Covid-19

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2022) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.6726339

dataset

dataset, PubMed, TopicTracker
TopicTracker Medline files and query logs generated retrieving papers on autonomy, equity, privacy, proportionality and trust in the context of Covid-19

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2022) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.6726237

dataset

dataset, PubMed, TopicTracker
Ethical dilemmas in the time of COVID-19: mapping, understanding, building systemic resilience (PhD dissertation)

Spitale G. (2022) University of Zurich [thesis]

thesis

dissertation
Addressing Volatile Ethical Issues of Covid-19 with the Core Five Enduring Values List for Health Care Professionals

Biller-Andorno N., Spitale G. (2022) NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery 10.1056/CAT.22.0108

journal-article

paper, Public health ethics
PubMed literature on patient narratives 1975 – 2021

Spitale G. (2022) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.6534888

dataset

dataset, patient narratives, PubMed
Privacy, Data Sharing, and Data Security Policies of Women’s mHealth Apps: Scoping Review and Content Analysis

Alfawzan N., Christen M., Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2022) JMIR mHealth and uHealth 10(5):e33735 10.2196/33735

journal-article

Bioethics and society, paper
Concerns Around Opposition to the Green Pass in Italy: Social Listening Analysis by Using a Mixed Methods Approach

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N., Germani F. (2022) Journal of Medical Internet Research 24(2):e34385 10.2196/34385

journal-article

AI and information, paper, Public health ethics
2021

TopicTracker: a Python pipeline to search, download and explore PubMed entries

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N. (2021) Zenodo [software] 10.5281/zenodo.4520070

software

sw
A Novel Risk and Crisis Communication Platform to Bridge the Gap Between Policy Makers and the Public in the Context of the COVID-19 Crisis (PubliCo): Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

Spitale G., Merten S., Jafflin K., Schwind B., Kaiser-Grolimund A., Biller-Andorno N. (2021) JMIR Research Protocols 10(11):e33653 10.2196/33653

journal-article

paper, Public health ethics
The TSL machine: parser, lemma analysis, sentiment analysis and autocoding for Telegram chats

Spitale G., Germani F., Biller-Andorno N. (2021) Zenodo [software] 10.5281/zenodo.5534045

software

sw
2020

Lemmas and Named Entities analysis in major media outlets regarding Switzerland and Covid-19

Spitale G. (2020) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.4792778

dataset

dataset
Factiva parser and NLP pipeline for news articles related to COVID-19

Spitale G. (2020) Zenodo [software] 10.5281/zenodo.4792669

software

sw
Google Trends normalized hits for COVID-19 generated in Switzerland

Spitale G., Biller-Andorno N., Jafflin K., Merten S. (2020) Zenodo [dataset] 10.5281/zenodo.4550750

dataset

COVID-19, dataset, Google Trends, Public health ethics
COVID-19 and the ethics of quarantine: a lesson from the Eyam plague

Spitale G. (2020) Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 23(4):603-609 10.1007/s11019-020-09971-2

journal-article

paper, Public health ethics
Making sense in the flood. How to cope with the massive flow of digital information in medical ethics

Spitale G. (2020) Heliyon 6(7):e04426 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04426

journal-article

paper, Science and publishing
2018

[The influence of consent models, donor registries and relatives’ decision on organ donation. An assessment of the current literature] Der Einfluss von Zustimmungsmodellen, Spenderegistern und Angehörigen- Entscheid auf die Organspende. Eine Beurteilung der aktuellen Literatur

Christen M., Baumann H., Spitale G. (2018) Zenodo [report] 10.5281/zenodo.6623268

report

Bioethics and society, report
2017

Hestia

Spitale G. (2017) Il Poligrafo [book]

book

Bioethics and society
Una storia per la vita

Spitale G. (Ed.) (2017) Edizioni Paguro [book]

book

Bioethics and society, donazione, storytelling
2015

Il dono nelle donazioni

Spitale G. (2015) Il Poligrafo [book]

book

Bioethics and society