AI at CJC

Using AI to Improve Communication with Social Robots
The primary function of “social robots” is to facilitate communication with humans, and is being applied in a variety of industries. Dr. Kun Xu is studying how to enhance that communication through voice, gestures and other social cues.

AI-Enabled Virtual Assistants as Social Actors
Doctoral student Fanjue Liu is exploring how AI-enabled virtual assistants, like Alexa or Siri, can mitigate feelings of loneliness and isolation, particularly during the pandemic.

AI-Enabled Virtual Influencers on Social Media
Doctoral student Yoo Jin Chung discusses her research on AI-enabled virtual influencers on social media, and how social media users react to virtual vs. human influencers.

Fairness in Information Access Through Culturally Competent AI Systems
Professor Sylvia Chan-Olmsted discusses research designed to facilitate certain social groups’ information access in specific contexts, resulting in better information receptivity because of cultural resonance.

The Evolution of Human-Machine Interactions
In this video, Dr. Kun Xu discusses social cues in human-machine interactions and convergence with other emerging technologies.

AI: Are We Asking the Right Questions Before Deploying the Technology?
Society needs to be very careful about the deployment of artificial intelligence systems and needs to answer who is the solution best for, who is affected and what are the potential impacts.

AI-Enabled Chatbots Can be Effective for Stakeholder Engagement
Rita Men found that when chatbots sound more human, including making conversations more positive by using humor and addressing questions, they help build relationships with the user.

Voice-Assisted AI is Becoming Smarter, But Consumers Have Higher Expectations
When Huan Chen started researching how consumers think about and perceive artificial intelligence in marketing communications, she was surprised at a major finding: They understand marketing and think it’s unavoidable today.

New Research Will Explore How Marginalized Communities are Addressing AI
Jasmine McNealy is in the preliminary stages of a new research project to study how marginalized and vulnerable communities are being proactive and educating themselves about the opportunities and threats of AI.

Personalization vs. Personification in Corporate Communications
Tom Kelleher’s research on how people perceive artificial intelligence is leading him to pursue another angle: How that will help organizations determine how conversational their AI is.

Automated Journalism More Trusted When Paired With Human Touch
Frank Waddell has found that a story written by a journalist with assistance from artificial intelligence — the man/machine model – is perceived as the least biased and most credible news story.

How Trust and Privacy Affect Human/AI Applications and Interactions
Sylvia Chan-Olmsted is examining consumer intention to use AI-enhanced applications or devices and the interaction process through the lens of trust.

A Digital Intervention Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening for Black Women
In the interest of increasing early detection of CRC for Black women, scholars studied participant responses to a virtual health assistant-delivered intervention promoting at-home CRC screening.