Artificial Intelligence and the Democratic Discourse with Lisa Argyle
event
event
Artificial Intelligence and the Democratic Discourse with Lisa Argyle
A Weekly Lecture on how Chat Interventions can improve political conversations online.
Abstract
Political discourse is essential to democracy, but it can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts if not conducted objectively. The shift to online discourse has worsened these issues and hindered the ability of diverse societies to collaborate in solving social problems. Scholars and civil society groups advocate for interventions that promote less divisive and more productive conversations, but implementing these strategies in online discourse presents challenges. This presentation will discuss the outcomes of a field-experiment showcasing the use of artificial intelligence tools to enhance online discussions on controversial topics. The study utilized a large language model (LLM) to provide real-time, evidence-based suggestions aimed at improving participants' sense of being understood. These interventions improved the reported quality of conversation, promoted democratic reciprocity, and improved the tone, without systematically changing the content of the conversation or moving people's policy attitudes.
We are pleased to welcome Lisa Argyle as a guest of the Depolarizing Public Debates program.
Speaker
Lisa Argyle is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University. She is also a faculty scholar with the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. Currently, she is spending the 2022-23 academic year as a junior fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. Lisa earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. Lisa is a computational social scientist who collaborates with interdisciplinary research teams to apply new computational tools and methods to substantive questions in American politics. Her research also draws on her background in public opinion and political psychology to investigate how and why people discuss politics in their daily lives, both online and offline.