New paper out. I answer the question: What are everyday people's ideas about what it means for LLMs to be "bad?" www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

*high-fives* to @amperjay.bsky.social for the latest in our line of scholarship on sense of place. Full paper: doi.org/10.1177/1461... (another Newhouse School at Syracuse University x Syracuse University School of Information Studies joint)

Seeking folks with AI companions (like #replika, #kindroid, #nomiai) to participate in academic research exploring dimensions of this form of companionship. More information here (or message me with questions) syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Seeking folks with AI companions (like #replika, #kindroid, #nomiai) to participate in academic research exploring dimensions of this form of companionship. More information here (or message me with questions) syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Full. 🍊

I'm conducting an academic study of how people think/feel about different AI behaviors. If you are interested in participating, please complete the initial survey at the link below; some will be selected for zoom interviews (with pay!). More info: syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work. snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...

A little bit of pot-stirring, now out ...

If you engage in knowledge/information work through school/job, please help my doctoral advisee complete her thesis research. A 30-minute online survey (desktop/laptop only - no mobile!) gets you that feel-good scientific contribution and entry for a gift card drawing. #commsky

A new paper out with Qingyu Liang - development and initial validation of a self-report scale for measuring humans' perceptions of sharing understanding with an LLM. tmb.apaopen.org/pub/tzjxqjxh...

Excited for this funded work on AI companionship, its processes, and its outcomes ... With colleague Caleb Carr and brilliant PhD student Zhixin Li. 💻🧡🧠

Yours truly ...

Being a person with deadly, incurable cancer who is nonetheless still alive for an indefinite timeframe gives me an interesting metaphor that helps me deal with things like large-scale corruption in government or commerce. Bear with me for a second while I try to explain.

Thrilled to announce keynote speakers for #moralmedia25 - Drs. Helena Bilandzic (U Augsburg), @mdehghani.bsky.social (U Southern California), @aeden.bsky.social (Michigan State U), & @fhopp.bsky.social (Leibniz Institute for Psychology). Submissions are due Feb 2!

I'll present three fun papers at HICSS next week, out now in Proceedings: *AI art debates over time: hdl.handle.net/10125/108904 *How we see (different) robots as worthy of moral consideration: hdl.handle.net/10125/108906 *When an LLM reminds you it's a machine: hdl.handle.net/10125/109120

🤖 Just in time for your holiday shopping. 🤭 Our new book collects the work of 38 scholars from 12 countries to break down social robots into their constitutive bits and consider how they help social robots be, well, social. www.amazon.com/Android-Asse...

Moral psychology postdoc opportunity at the University of Toronto! Please repost, and pass on to anyone you think might be interested.

Most excellent cover art (Insta: ninjajo_art) for my upcoming edited volume in the Digital Formations Series (Peter Lang). It brings together the work of 38 scholars from 12 countries--empiricists, engineers, ethicists, philosophers, rhetoricians, critical scholars--to unpack robot sociality.

New paper out! And this one is special, because it is first-authored by one of our Syracuse iSchool UNDERGRAD honors students. This paper grew out of her honors thesis, and I'm extremely proud of Sung and her work. doi.org/10.1080/2326...

Jessica Szczuka, Neil McArthur, and I want to drop some knowledge on #sxsw with our panel on the science of AI companions ... and we've recruited master-synthesizer Nick Bowman to moderate the session. Please pop into #panelpicker and offer your vote for our session: panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/150365

A new paper out - a deep dive into the experiences of people who have cultivated relationships with AI companions and then lost them when the companion platform shut down. In short, there are a range of experiences (from indifference to deep grief) that align with 'templates' of aliveness/deadness.

New out with @bowmanspartan - unpacking the dimensions of Sense of Place across digital/physical and positively/negatively valenced spaces. authors.elsevier.com/a/1jOyQ_,iJ9...

Glad to be continuing my research over the next three years as SU iSchool's Katchmar-Wilhelm Endowed Professor ... ischool.syr.edu/jaime-banks-...

Today is SU Giving Day - the iSchool is raising funds to provide more equitable access to professional development opportunities for students. With 200 unique donors, an alum will give a $10k gift ... so even $1 can make a big impact on our ability to support our students success. Please consider.

Some fun research presentations coming up at #HICSS24 tomorrow and Friday, with @bowmanspartan.bsky.social and Qingyu Liang ... 🧠🎮🤖💻

... and finally, one more -- nominated for #HICSS57 Best Overall Paper in the robotics mini-track: Bowman, N. D., & @amperjay.bsky.social (2024). The [Object, Me, Symbiote, Other] in the Machine: Insights from video game psychology for teleoperator-robot relations. hdl.handle.net/10125/106449

Then, a bit later - and nominated for best overall paper at #HICSS57 from the games mini-track! @amperjay.bsky.social & Bowman, N. D. (2024). Murmuring crowds and flickering lights: Exploring sense of place across spatial materialities and valences. hdl.handle.net/10125/106705

I'm conducting a study to better understand the motivations for and benefits from consuming cyberpunk-genre media. Online survey, 20-30 minutes. US$50 Amazon gift card drawing. Please consider sharing your thoughts with me. =) commsky CHIsky HCIsky syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

New pub out, led by K Koban: Secondary analysis of multiple studies, examining correspondence b/w seeing mental capacities in a robot and more overtly ascribing a mindful status. Only perceived affective mental capacity (ability to feel emotion) is linked to ascribed mindfulness.

SU's iSchool is seeking someone for a new role to support research grant processes and associated financial reporting. Think: storytelling meets accounting. Please share if you know someone that might be a fit, and happy to chat. www.sujobopps.com/postings/102...

PhD Opportunity: Interactions with AI/Social Robots Seeking a curious brain to join the PhD program at Syracuse's iSchool. Bonus if curious about HMC intersections with companionship, social cog, entertainment. Program info: ischool.syr.edu/academics/ph... Plz reach out with Qs. Apps due Dec 15.

PhD Opportunity: Interactions with AI/Social Robots Seeking a curious brain to join the PhD program at Syracuse's iSchool. Bonus if curious about HMC intersections with companionship, social cog, entertainment. Program info: ischool.syr.edu/academics/ph... Plz reach out with Qs. Apps due Dec 15.

Academic types: The APA journal /Technology, Mind, and Behavior/ has put out the call for a new editor. You can self-nominate using the info below, or nominations can be made for others to be considered.

Last call! Abstracts (250 words) due Nov 1.

Folks working on papers for ICA24 ... I see you! If you're working on topics around generative AI please consider submitting to this special issue of TMB: tmb.apaopen.org/pub/kavv21gg...

Syracuse iSchool is hiring teaching/practice prof for data science/AI and/or IT project management. Come work with us. =) www.sujobopps.com/postings/101...

Know a stellar undergrad that would like to get /paid/ social sci research experience in a summer residential program? Please share the Syracuse U iSchool's program funded by the NSF + led by amazing iSchool profs. The initial query is due by 11/3. More info here: ischool.syr.edu/paid-researc...

I'm seeking Soulmate AI users to participate in a survey about their experiences with the imminent shutdown of the platform. Please consider participating/sharing, and DM with any questions or concerns. syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

I'm seeking Soulmate AI users to participate in a survey about their experiences with the imminent shutdown of the platform. Please consider participating/sharing, and DM with any questions or concerns. syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

the tragedy of mutual incomprehensibility

Comm researchers, apparently there is a #commsky feed that @joshuafoust.com set up, you can read about it here: joshuafoust.com/posts/2023-b...

A special collection in the APA journal Technology, Mind, & Behavior on Humans and Generative AI, that I'll be co-editing. If you're working in this space, please consider submitting: https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/kavv21gg/release/1 #genai #haii #comm #hmc #ai

My undergrad honors advisee, Sungyun Kim, has launched her #thesis data collection, looking into attitudes about /synthetic pornography/. Please consider participating in this #research! About ~10 minutes to complete the #survey and you may opt in for a $50 Amazon gift card drawing. bit.ly/synthporn

Heading out this afternoon to #MediaPsych23 at @uni_lu. Presenting just-in-time inductive analysis - with @bowmanspartan.bsky.social - of Sense of Place dimensions across positive/negative & digital/physical spaces. We'd love to know if there's a digital 'place' you strongly feel you 'know.'

A special collection in the APA journal Technology, Mind, & Behavior on Humans and Generative AI, that I'll be co-editing. If you're working in this space, please consider submitting: https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/kavv21gg/release/1 #genai #haii #comm #hmc #ai

A new paper out w/ JP Stein: Many elements of participants’ beliefs and attitudes persist through media exposures, valenced parasocial contact resulted in small but meaningful changes to mental models and desired social distance for humanoid robots. #hmc #hri