When Influencers Delegate Replies: How Social AI Agents Shape User Engagement
A new paper co-authored by DTD Lab faculty co-lead, Steven Johnson, introduces the concept of "Social AI Agents" — LLM-powered proxies that respond on behalf of an individual, serving as a delegated extension of a real person's social identity.
How AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions
AI algorithms such as facial recognition systems produce probabilities, not facts. In this recent article, DTD Lab postdoc Maria Lungu and faculty co-lead Steve Johnson examine how errors in AI tools can contribute to wrongful arrests.
Podcast highlights Media Rurality
Megan Wiessner, DTD Lab postdoc, joins fellow contributors on a recent episode of the New Books Network podcast to discuss Media Rurality - an investigation of the centrality of rural places and people within the media systems and technologies that shape daily life in and across rural and urban settings.
Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation’s Global Programs of Distinction Grant
Jess Reia, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, has recently received a grant from the UVA Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation’s Global Programs of Distinction to support their Data in the Dark project - a collaboration between researchers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Who Draws the Line Online? The Global Fight Over Misinformation
Countries worldwide are increasingly raising urgent questions about how far state power should extend in shaping social media without undermining the democratic freedoms they are trying to protect. David Nemer, DTD Lab faculty co-lead, explains that in Brazil, misinformation is a symptom of broader democratic fragility.
It’s Been Centuries Since Haiti’s Revolution. It’s Still Paying for It.
In a recent essay, DTD Lab director, Laurent Dubois, reflects broadly on how contemporary media representations that circulate in digital form are anchored in much longer histories.
UVA research finds young adults rely on social media for financial advice
A new report launched recently in a webinar co-hosted by the DTD Lab, finds young people are increasingly turning to social media for financial guidance.
Could the criminalization of misogyny have an impact on the internet?
In a recent interview, Yasmin Curzi, DTD Lab postdoc, discusses the approval of a new bill which includes misogyny among the crimes of prejudice and discrimination, marking a moment in which there is an increase in cases of violence against women in Brazil.
Electoral court condemns one in five deepfake cases and faces difficulties in identifying AI
Yasmin Curzi, DTD Lab postdoc, points out that in Brazil there is a lack of a specific regulatory agency that defines governance models for platforms, which already exists in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, even if not free from criticism.
The AI character that went viral criticizing the Lula government and the Supreme Federal Court
In a recent article, Yasmin Curzi, DTD Lab postdoc, discusses the "gray zone" of political criticism which, in principle, is protected by freedom of expression, but when incorporating the use of AI-generated content without labeling, especially if it involves disinformation, can generate accountability.
