Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ai-Powered Information Retrieval In Meeting Records And Transcripts Enhancing Efficiency And User Experience, Srushti Nitin Ghadge

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares the traditional search methods, which is to search from video recordings of the meetings by moving the slider back and forth or by keyword search in transcripts versus integrated AI video plus transcript search. Based on the previous test results, we introduced some human-centric design features to the AI and built a new enhanced AI search tool for information retrieval. For search technique efficiency testing, the method had two set of experiments. The first results of the experiment showed that AI-based search algorithms were more accurate and faster than conventional search approaches. Participants were also happier with …

From Polygraphs To Truth Machines: Artificial Intelligence In Lie Detection, Jo Ann Oravec

Critical Humanities

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced lie detection tools in business, educational, community, and governmental contexts signals a new era of deception detection. With these AI developments, collections of intimate biometric information such as facial and retinal data, keystroke patterns, brain scans, and physiological changes in the cardiovascular system are combined with personal profiles to produce analyses of a subject’s supposed veracity. This article explores some early lie detection technologies (such as the polygraph) and discusses the influences that lie detection initiatives have had in human interactions through the decades. It addresses the empirical issues of whether specific AI technologies …

Human Vs Machine: Hyper-Realistic Avatars And Their Efficacy As A Communication Channel, Jill S. Schiefelbein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hyper-realistic avatars (HRAs), a form of synthetic media, are custom-created digital embodiments of a human, created by capturing and combining that person’s video and vocal likeness. This is the first known study of the efficacy of videos delivered by hyper-realistic avatars as a communication channel in comparison to videos delivered by their human counterparts. An experiment testing how information retention, engagement, and trust vary between viewers of videos delivered by a real human, videos delivered by the HRA representing that same human, and videos delivered by the HRA that discloses to viewers that it is a hyper-realistic avatar is presented. …

Columnas: The Honors Program Newsletter At Bentley University, Hailey Jennato, Samson Shen, Clara Williams

Honors Program

Page 1: HOW AI IS IMPACTING THE BENTLEY CLASSROOM AND EDUCATION OVERALL ~ by Nayeli Franco ’24

Page 2: A BEAUTY OF DIVERSITY ~ by Yun Song ’26

Page 3: RESURRECTING THE DEAD THROUGH COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY: HONORING THEIR MEMORY OR EXPLOITING THEIR LEGACY? ~ by Hailey Jennato ’24

Page 4: THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ~ by Isa Ramirez Perdomo ’26

Page 5: FROM STRUGGLE TO STRENGTH: THRIVING AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ~ by Ledion Hoti ’25

Page 6: CHASING BUTTERFLIES ~ by Alyssa Galin ’27

Ensuring Responsible And Transparent Use Of Generative Ai In Extension, Paul A. Hill, Lendel K. Narine

The Journal of Extension

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of generating human-like text, images, and ideas from existing data based on user-defined prompts, will inevitably impact Extension, including increasing efficiency, productivity, and performing tasks previously exclusive to humans. There are ethical and risk-related considerations surrounding the use of generative AI, including concerns about bias and unintended consequences. It is important for Extension to consider these implications and take steps to ensure that generative AI is used in a responsible and transparent manner. Extension must ensure that educators and staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively utilize and integrate this technology.

Chatgpt, Lamda, And The Hype Around Communicative Ai: The Automation Of Communication As A Field Of Research In Media And Communication Studies, Andreas Hepp, Wiebke Loosen, Stephan Dreyer, Juliane Jarke, Sigrid Kannengießer, Christian Katzenbach, Rainer Malaka, Michaela Pfadenhauer, Cornelius Puschmann, Wolfgang Schulz

Human-Machine Communication

The aim of this article is to more precisely define the field of research on the automation of communication, which is still only vaguely discernible. The central thesis argues that to be able to fully grasp the transformation of the media environment associated with the automation of communication, our view must be broadened from a preoccupation with direct interactions between humans and machines to societal communication. This more widely targeted question asks how the dynamics of societal communication change when communicative artificial intelligence—in short: communicative AI—is integrated into aspects of societal communication. To this end, we recommend an approach that …

Artificially Intelligent Communication: An Exploratory Study On Replika Mobile Application, Nouran El-Ashry

Theses and Dissertations

This paper aims to address artificial intelligence from a communication perspective by looking at the usage of Replika, an AI-based platform. A quantitative survey was conducted to analyze the frequency of usage, attitude toward the application and the level of attachment to it. Moreover, qualitative questions were developed to get in-depth understanding of the type of relationship users have with their Replika application and reasons behind their usage. Results show no significant relationship between demographics and the application consumption except for age where older users communicate more frequently with the application than younger ones. Moreover, attachment levels were related to …

A Field Test Of Popular Chatbots’ Responses To Questions Concerning Negative Body Image, Ruopeng An, Christopher W. Byron Jr., Chen Chen, Xiaoling Xiang

Health Behavior Research

Background: Chatbots are computer programs, often built upon large artificial intelligence models, that employ dialogue systems to enable online, natural language conversations with users via text, speech, or both. Body image, broadly defined as a combination of thoughts and feelings about one’s physical appearance, has been implicated in many risk behaviors and health problems, especially among adolescents and young adults. Little is known about how chatbots respond to questions about body image.

Methods: This study assessed the responses of 14 widely-used chatbots (eight companion and six therapeutic chatbots) to ten body image-related questions developed upon validated instruments. Chatbots’ responses were …

Just Trust Me (2023-2024), Gabrielle Wall

Argument

The argument essay, “Just Trust Me,” covers a range of sources, motives, and technologies involved in the spread of disinformation. From Google search results to AI generated content and deep fakes, Wall ultimately argues for regulation of AI and intervention from government organizations rather than banning information. Her argument focuses on the consequences, such as voting or health decisions that can stem from unregulated practices of disinformation.

The Great Unknown: Unlimited Artificial Intelligence (2023-2024), Kathryn O'Brien

Argument

O’Brien begins this argument essay with the following reminder that “We use A.I. every day without even realizing. There are so many different algorithms built into every single app we use, as well as search engines like Google.” She goes on to consider the use of Artificial Intelligence in algorithms, online information availability, healthcare, and the arts. Throughout the use of examples within these various contexts, O’Brien interrogates the need for limits to AI in order to counter bias, limit the prevalence of hate speech, and ultimately preserve our humanity.

Local Radio Journalists’ Usage And Perception Of Artificial Intelligence In The Production Of Local News, Imani Nia Springer-Norris

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The study of human-machine communication seeks to explore journalists’ opinions and perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) in the newsmaking process, but few studies explore the impact of artificial intelligence on local news, particularly local nonprofit radio journalism. In a case study of a midwestern NPR affiliate, nine local radio journalists were interviewed about how they use AI technology at their local station and their opinions about the role of artificial intelligence as a communicator. My results showed that local radio journalists were primarily using AI for transcription, but that the station was experimenting with other AI tools for the purpose …

An Artificial Therapist (Manage Your Life Online) To Support The Mental Health Of Youth: Co-Design And Case Series, Aimee-Rose Wrightson-Hester, Georgia Anderson, Joel Dunstan, Peter M. Mcevoy, Christopher J. Sutton, Bronwyn Myers, Sarah Egan, Sara Tai, Melanie Johnston-Hollitt, Wai Chen, Tom Gedeon, Warren Mansell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: The prevalence of child and adolescent mental health issues is increasing faster than the number of services available, leading to a shortfall. Mental health chatbots are a highly scalable method to address this gap. Manage Your Life Online (MYLO) is an artificially intelligent chatbot that emulates the method of levels therapy. Method of levels is a therapy that uses curious questioning to support the sustained awareness and exploration of current problems. Objective: This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a co-designed interface for MYLO in young people aged 16 to 24 years with mental health problems. …

Bounded Confidence: How Ai Could Exacerbate Social Media’S Homophily Problem, Dylan Weber, Scott Atran, Rich Davis

New England Journal of Public Policy

The advent of the Internet was heralded as a revolutionary development in the democratization of information. It has emerged, however, that online discourse on social media tends to narrow the information landscape of its users. This dynamic is driven by the propensity of the network structure of social media to tend toward homophily; users strongly prefer to interact with content and other users that are similar to them. We review the considerable evidence for the ubiquity of homophily in social media, discuss some possible mechanisms for this phenomenon, and present some observed and hypothesized effects. We also discuss how the …

The Symptom Of Ethics: Rethinking Ethics In The Face Of The Machine, David J. Gunkel

Human-Machine Communication

This essay argues that it is the machine that constitutes the symptom of ethics— “symptom” understood as that excluded “part that has no part” in the system of moral consideration. Ethics, which has been historically organized around a human or at least biological subject, needs the machine to define the proper limits of the moral community even if it simultaneously excludes such mechanisms from any serious claim on moral consideration. The argument will proceed in five steps or movements. The first part will define and characterize “the symptom” as it has been operationalized in the work of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj …

Moving From Harm Mitigation To Affirmative Discrimination Mitigation: The Untapped Potential Of Artificial Intelligence To Fight School Segregation And Other Forms Of Racial Discrimination, Andrew Gall

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Deepfakes And Synthetic Media On Communication Professionals, Axel Ebermann

Student Theses and Dissertations

The spread of misinformation and disinformation is regarded as one of the most salient challenges for communication professionals around the world.

Now, a new technology called "DeepFakes" or “Synthetic Media” has the potential to further uproot the infosphere. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable the mass creation of synthetic audio-visual content that resembles real videos, in which people will appear to say or do things they never actually said or did.

The existing literature predominantly focuses on three aspects of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media: the technical background, coverage of preexisting DeepFakes and possible solutions to combat the malicious use of the …

Regulating New Tech: Problems, Pathways, And People, Cary Coglianese

All Faculty Scholarship

New technologies bring with them many promises, but also a series of new problems. Even though these problems are new, they are not unlike the types of problems that regulators have long addressed in other contexts. The lessons from regulation in the past can thus guide regulatory efforts today. Regulators must focus on understanding the problems they seek to address and the causal pathways that lead to these problems. Then they must undertake efforts to shape the behavior of those in industry so that private sector managers focus on their technologies’ problems and take actions to interrupt the causal pathways. …

Designing Human-Computer Conversational Systems Using Needs Hierarchy, Souvick Ghosh

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Negotiating Agency And Control: Theorizing Human-Machine Communication From A Structurational Perspective, Jennifer L. Gibbs, Gavin L. Kirkwood, Chengyu Fang, J. Nan Wilkenfeld

Human-Machine Communication

Intelligent technologies have the potential to transform organizations and organizing processes. In particular, they are unique from prior organizational technologies in that they reposition technology as agent rather than a tool or object of use. Scholars studying human-machine communication (HMC) have begun to theorize the dual role played by human and machine agency, but they have focused primarily on the individual level. Drawing on Structuration Theory (Giddens, 1984), we propose a theoretical framework to explain agency in HMC as a process involving the negotiation of control between human and machine agents. This article contributes to HMC scholarship by offering a …

Operationalizing Critical Race Theory In The Marketplace, Sonja Martin Poole, Sonya A. Grier, Kevin D. Thomas, Francesca Sobande, Akon E. Ekpo, Lez Trujillo Torres, Lynn A. Addington, Melinda Weekes-Laidlow, Geraldine Rosa Henderson

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Race is integral to the functioning and ideological underpinnings of marketplace actions yet remains undertheorized in marketing. To understand and transform the insidious ways in which race operates, the authors examine its impact in marketplaces and how these effects are shaped by intersecting forms of systemic oppression. They introduce critical race theory (CRT) to the marketing community as a useful framework for understanding consumers, consumption, and contemporary marketplaces. They outline critical theory traditions as utilized in marketing and specify the particular role of CRT as a lens through which scholars can understand marketplace dynamics. The authors delineate key CRT tenets …

The Uncanny Swipe Drive: The Return Of A Racist Mode Of Algorithmic Thought On Dating Apps, Gregory Narr

Publications and Research

As algorithmic media amplify longstanding social oppression, they also seek to colonize every last bit of sociality where that oppression could be resisted. Swipe apps constitute prototypical examples of this dynamic. By employing protocols that foster absent-minded engagement, they allow unconscious racial preferences to be expressed without troubling users’ perceptions of themselves as non-racist. These preferences are then measured by recommender systems that treat “attractiveness” as a zero-sum game, allocate affective flows according to the winners and losers of those games, and ultimately amplify the salience of race as a factor of success for finding intimacy. In thus priming users …

Law Enforcement’S Use Of Facial Recognition Software In United States Cities, Samantha Jean Wunschel

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Facial recognition software is something we use every day, whether it’s a suggested tag on our Facebook post or a faster way to unlock our phones. As technology becomes increasingly pervasive in our lives, law enforcement has adapted to utilize the new tools available in accessory to their investigations and the legal process.

A Web-Based Ai Assistant Application Using Python And Javascript, Viet Le, Tej Bahadur, Jainee Shah, Roushan Ara

School of Professional Studies

Our research is mainly based on a chatbot which is powered by Artificial Intelligence. Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Google’s Now and Amazon’s Alexa are currently fast-growing and widely integrated with many smart devices. These assistants are built with the primary purpose of being personal assistants for every individual user in certain contexts. In this research, we would highlight the development process of the chatbots, features, problems, case studies and limitations.

This research delivers the information, helps developers to build answer bots and integrate chatbots with business accounts. The aim is to assist users and allow transactions …

The Law Of Black Mirror - Syllabus, Yafit Lev-Aretz, Nizan Packin

Open Educational Resources

Using episodes from the show Black Mirror as a study tool - a show that features tales that explore techno-paranoia - the course analyzes legal and policy considerations of futuristic or hypothetical case studies. The case studies tap into the collective unease about the modern world and bring up a variety of fascinating key philosophical, legal, and economic-based questions.

Critical Media, Information, And Digital Literacy: Increasing Understanding Of Machine Learning Through An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Course, Barbara R. Burke, Elena Machkasova

Irish Communication Review

Widespread use of Artificial Intelligence in all areas of today’s society creates a unique problem: algorithms used in decision-making are generally not understandable to those without a background in data science. Thus, those who use out-of-the-box Machine Learning (ML) approaches in their work and those affected by these approaches are often not in a position to analyze their outcomes and applicability.

Our paper describes and evaluates our undergraduate course at the University of Minnesota Morris, which fosters understanding of the main ideas behind ML. With Communication, Media & Rhetoric and Computer Science faculty expertise, students from a variety of majors, …

Trends In Advertising: How The Rise In Artificial Intelligence May Influence The Field Of Content Strategy, Joel Eaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Whereas prior research on artificial intelligence has dealt with automation in fields like medicine, engineering, and computer science, this research study seeks to answer the question, “To what extent can AI be creative in the context of content strategy?” To answer this, this study employs content analysis using 16 online news and blog articles from primarily marketing organizations to identify and explain key variables surrounding the relationship between the computer and the creative professional. This study has found that the core belief that AI will play the future role of creative assistant in the context of content strategy is shared …

Blockchain As A Technological Imaginary: Media Framing And The Views Of Blockchain Professionals In The Arab World, Ibrahim Subeh

Philosophy Dissertations

Blockchain is a new way to organize, process and share data; it is a distributed ledger that facilitates the secure and private exchange of digital assets and content types without the need for intermediaries, thus revolutionizing all sectors involving the use of databases. This first systematic study of blockchain as a technological imaginary empirically assesses the media framing of this emerging technology in the Arab world and juxtaposes it to the perceptions of blockchain professionals in the region. The researcher uses a mixed methods approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative techniques; a quantitative content analysis of the online versions of …

Expectations Of Artificial Intelligence And The Performativity Of Ethics: Implications For Communication Governance, Aphra Kerr, Marguerite Barry, John D. Kelleher

Articles

This article draws on the sociology of expectations to examine the construction of expectations of ‘ethical AI’ and considers the implications of these expectations for communication governance. We first analyse a range of public documents to identify the key actors, mechanisms and issues which structure societal expectations around artificial intelligence (AI) and an emerging discourse on ethics. We then explore expectations of AI and ethics through a survey of members of the public. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the role of AI in communication gover- nance. We find that, despite societal expectations that we can design …

Using An Artificial Real-Time Response Audience In Online Sales Education To Improve Self-Efficacy In Sales Presentations: An Online Classroom Innovation, Nicole A. Flink, Desiree Cooper-Larsen

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Sales education research recently has turned its attention to using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, but much remains in our understanding of its use in the online and virtual sales education environment. AI can be useful to helping online students improve their sales presentations and vocal delivery skills. Examined through the lens of control value theory, this study is a pilot investigation into the effectiveness of using AI technology in the online classroom to help sales education students improve their vocal delivery skills in sales presentations. Based on a paired samples t-test, our results indicated that student use of AI technology …

Exploring Artificial Intelligence-Mediated Communication (Aimc) As A Sub-Field Of Communication Studies. A Textual Examination, Md Nurul Karim Bhuiyan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

From the book "Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication," written by John Durham Peters, we understand a notion about developing one’s destiny; people have the freedom to choose multiple paths to follow (Peters, 2012). If we reject this idea, it is also easy for people to come up with distinct explanations. Even though the meaning of the same issues might vary subject to who is interpreting them, the primary concepts can be interpreted as more or less the same. If we study these two--"artificial intelligence" and "communication"- simultaneously, we can assume some characteristics. Thus, this …