Feb. 6: One-U RAI Fellow Isabelle Freiling to Present on AI, Social Media, and Misinformation
Part of the Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute Speaker Series
AI and Social Media: Challenges in Academic Research and the Dynamics of Misinformation
When: Thursday, February 6, 2025, 4–5:30pm
Where: Edna Anderson-Taylor Communication Institute, LNCO 2910
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) manifests in various forms—from social media algorithms to generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini—shaping the content we encounter online. What does that mean for the effect and spread of misinformation on people’s perceptions of scientific and other societally relevant topics?
This talk will address this question by exploring the roles of both algorithms and generative AI. Specifically, it will cover the challenges faced by academic researchers, who often lack access to the necessary data to produce reliable insights due to information asymmetries between social media platforms and researchers. This lack of access hinders theory building. Nonetheless, conducting research in this area is crucial given AI's pervasive role in current information environments. Additionally, the talk will examine public perceptions of content that contains accurate information as well as misinformation produced by a scientist, generative AI, and a scientist using generative AI.
About Dr. Freiling
Isabelle Freiling (PhD, University of Münster) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and the Global Change and Sustainability Center at the University of Utah as well as a One-U Responsible AI (RAI) fellow. Her research examines the use and effect of media, in both science and political communication. In particular, her work focuses on social media and misinformation, public perceptions of issues at the intersection of science and politics, public engagement with science, as well as open science.