Related papers: A Pluralist Approach to Democratizing Online Disco…
While the Internet is often touted as a revolutionary technology, it might be noted that democratic institutions have witnessed no digital revolution through the Internet. This observation leads this chapter to argue that the field of…
Online communities provide ample opportunities for user self-expression but generally lack the means for average users to exercise direct control over community policies. This paper sets out to identify a set of strategies and techniques…
Public discourse emerges from the interplay between individuals' willingness to voice their opinions and the structural features of the social networks in which they are embedded. In this work we investigate how choice homophily and triadic…
The widespread emergence of opinion polarization is often attributed to the rise of social media and the internet, which can promote selective exposure and the formation of echo chambers. However, experimental evidence shows that exposure…
We consider \emph{plurality consensus} in a network of $n$ nodes. Initially, each node has one of $k$ opinions. The nodes execute a (randomized) distributed protocol to agree on the plurality opinion (the opinion initially supported by the…
As public discourse continues to move and grow online, conversations about divisive topics on social media platforms have also increased. These divisive topics prompt both contentious and non-contentious conversations. Although what…
Social media have great potential to support diverse information sharing, but there is widespread concern that platforms like Twitter do not result in communication between those who hold contradictory viewpoints. Because users can choose…
Decentralized social media protocols enable users in independent, user-hosted servers (i.e., instances) to interact with each other while they self-govern. This community-based model of social media governance opens up new opportunities for…
There are several web platforms that people use to interact and exchange ideas, such as social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+; Q&A sites like Quora and Yahoo! Answers; and myriad independent fora. However, there is a scarcity…
Dialogue summarization aims to condense the original dialogue into a shorter version covering salient information, which is a crucial way to reduce dialogue data overload. Recently, the promising achievements in both dialogue systems and…
Online community moderators are on the front lines of combating problems like hate speech and harassment, but new modes of interaction can introduce unexpected challenges. In this paper, we consider moderation practices and challenges in…
Online discourse is often perceived as polarized and unproductive. While some conversational discourse parsing frameworks are available, they do not naturally lend themselves to the analysis of contentious and polarizing discussions.…
Early optimism saw possibilities for social media to renew democratic discourse, marked by hopes for individuals from diverse backgrounds to find opportunities to learn from and interact with others different from themselves. This optimism…
This paper introduces a conversational interface system that enables participatory design of differentially private AI systems in public sector applications. Addressing the challenge of balancing mathematical privacy guarantees with…
When discussing difficult topics online, is it common to meaningfully engage with people from diverse perspectives? Why or why not? Could features of the online environment be redesigned to encourage civil conversation across difference? In…
Social media platforms connect billions, but their business models often amplify societal harm through misinformation, which is linked to polarization, violence, and declining mental health. Current governance frameworks, such as the U.S.…
The rapid growth of the digital platform economy is transforming labor markets, offering new employment opportunities with promises of flexibility and accessibility. However, these benefits often come at the expense of increased economic…
The emergence of social media has largely eased the way people receive information and participate in public discussions. However, in countries with strict regulations on discussions in the public space, social media is no exception. To…
Decentralizing the governance of social computing systems to communities promises to empower them to make independent decisions, with nuance and in accordance with their values. Yet, communities do not govern in isolation. Many problems…
Designing technical systems to be resistant to bias and discrimination represents vital new terrain for researchers, policymakers, and the anti-discrimination project more broadly. We consider bias and discrimination in the context of…