Fake News, Echo Chambers, and Algorithms: A Data Science Perspective

On Wednesday, April 23rd, Duncan Watts will discuss the “infodemic” of fake news in America. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Watts argues that fake news is relatively rare, and echo chambers on television are much larger and stickier than their online equivalents.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Marketing

Ubiquity of Data

The Potential of Private AI Governance

In the latest episode of his podcast, The Road to Accountable AI, Kevin Werbach interviews Lauren Wagner, a builder and advocate for market-driven approaches to AI governance. Wagner shares insights from her experiences at Google and Meta, emphasizing the critical intersection of technology, policy, and trust-building.

Operations Information and Decisions

Ubiquity of Data

Exploring the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

In panels at the Penn AI Governance Workshop, faculty discussed their research in relation to key AI topics, such as AI oversight, AI policy, and the social impacts of AI. "Penn’s AI research is already impacting the world, and Penn can be a leader in engaging with the risks and challenges that AI poses,” said Kevin Werbach.

Marketing
Operations Information and Decisions

Ubiquity of Data

What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change

A new book by Emily Falk reveals how we can transform our relationship with the daily decisions that define our lives—opening pathways to make more purposeful, fulfilling choices; more successfully change our behavior; and influence others to see differently—by thinking like neuroscientists.

Communication
Marketing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Can Social Media Be Less Toxic?

In an era where online interactions can be both motivational and toxic, researchers from Duncan Watts' Computational Social Science Lab (CSSLab) are interested in what encourages prosocial behavior — acts of kindness, support, and cooperation — on social media.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Operations Information and Decisions

Consensus and Contagion in Society

‘I Will Vote’: Using Future-Oriented Frames to Motivate Voters

“I Voted” stickers are a ubiquitous sight on American election days, but a new paper from Dolores Albarracín examines these stickers’ influence on people’s voting intentions, and asks whether different language choices in this approach to voter outreach might make a bigger impact on civic engagement.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

AI Across Disciplines Event Highlights the Power of ‘Breadth and Connectivity’ at Universities

At Amy Gutmann Hall, the Penn community gathered to formally launch the Penn AI Initiative with a panel discussion about AI research at Penn and how it has bridged divides. “It’s been amazing how the tools of AI and the language of AI are shared by so many disciplines," said Bhuvnesh Jain.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Electrical and Systems Engineering
Operations Information and Decisions
Physics and Astronomy

Ubiquity of Data

Mystery Force Behind the Universe’s Accelerating Expansion May Not Be So Constant After All

Dark energy may not have always provided a steady push as cosmologists have assumed for decades. Instead, recent data adds more evidence that the universe’s expansion accelerated faster in the past than it is doing now. “I think the implications for cosmology are going to be profound,” said Bhuvnesh Jain.

Physics and Astronomy

Ubiquity of Data

How Small Talk Opens Up Deeper Connections

In an essay for The Wall Street Journal, Emily Falk explains how small talk establishes a brain “synchrony” that allows for more meaningful conversations.

Communication
Marketing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Cary Coglianese on The Use of AI in Public Enforcement

In the most recent episode of the Computational Antitrust Podcast, Thibault Schrepel and Teodora Groza spoke with Cary Coglianese about the use of AI by public administrations and how the field of computational antitrust can benefit from administrative law insights.

Law

Ubiquity of Data