The School of EECS is hosting the following PhD Progress Review 1 Confirmation Seminar:
Modelling AI-informed Online Opinion Dynamics
Speaker: Shangqian Li
Host: A/Prof Gianluca Demartini
Abstract: With the massive development in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the past decades, people nowadays are used to fast-paced and real-time information exchange and public opinion deliberation. Therefore, it becomes incredibly challenging to model online users' opinion dynamics. Without adequately measuring factors and technology features contributing to users' opinion dynamics, relevant jurisdiction bodies can't determine whether online users experienced suspicious or biased opinions that are misleading. For instance, the EU has published its visions on the new AI act, which states that technologies that facilitate features that can proactively manipulate user opinions and behaviours are unacceptable risks. However, asserting that particular technologies would control users' thoughts is still difficult, even though a spectrum of existing research points out that specific features or algorithms can proactively direct user thoughts. The hardship in regulating AI and technologies comes from the high complexity and low interoperability of people's online decision-making processes. Thus, this gap motivated us to conclude a mechanism that can explain users' online opinion dynamics under the influence of the latest technologies and AI-related interventions.
Bio: Li Shangqian is a PhD candidate from the School of EECS under the supervision of A/Prof Gianluca Demartini. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Melbourne. His research interests are Human-centered Computing.
About Data Science Seminar
This seminar series is hosted by EECS Data Science.