Computational Social Science Escape 2025: Engineering our Experimental AI Futures
On Friday, February 28, 2025, the UC Davis Designated Emphasis in Computational Social Science hosted a successful daylong Conference attended by over 65 scholars. The conference showcased 18 presentations from 14 different UC Davis programs.
We are proud to report that 14 out of the 16 submitted works (88%) were led and presented by female computational researchers, which is a sign of important changes in the field of technology and AI research that should not go unnoticed. PhD Candidate Allyson Snyder, who presented co-authored work with three female undergraduate researchers, concluded: "As young women thinking about their future careers, my students have been curious about academia but unsure of what this career looks like for women specifically. In reflecting on the conference, my students shared that they were motivated to attend future academic conferences, and they were excited to meet other women researching similar topics."
The theme was "Engineering our Experimental AI Futures" and presentations included work from PhD students from Communication, Sociology, and Computer Science, Professors of Law and Cinema and Digital Media, and undergraduate researchers from Data Science and Cognitive Science. UC Davis DE CSS Chair Martin Hilbert said that "this event shows the extraordinary diversity and high quality of computational work across the UC Davis campus, and highlights the leadership UC Davis scholars are providing in cutting-edge AI research". The DE CSS Executive Committee, including Prof. Seth Frey (Chair Membership), Prof. Shelley Blozis (Chair Education), and Jennifer Krebsbach (Student Rep) hosted this fully catered event, including breakfast, lunch, happy hour reception, and dinner free for all participants.
The event was co-sponsored by the newly founded UC Davis Center for AI and Experimental Futures (CAIEF) and the UC Davis AI Center in Engineering, which offered $1,000 in prize awards for the best AI research. The quality of the AI research presented at the conference was so high that 6 projects were recognized, three for Best Research and another three for Innovative Research ideas with high potential impact (following the tradition of discussing "half-baked" research ideas). A pattern emerged with awards honoring work that studies Large Language Models (LLMs) as subjects of study, and those that embrace AI for Health, Education, and Wellness impacts.
Award winner Rachael Kee reflected that the conference "fostered a unique opportunity for networking and collaboration for graduate students which is otherwise difficult to find. I've attended this escape for two years now, and I highly encourage any interested scholars to take up this invaluable, local opportunity to catapult their work quality and name in the field."
PhD DE CSS candidate Emily McKinley sums up the event by saying: "The CSS Escape has evolved over the years to be the most valuable yet.... At a time when generative AI is rapidly reshaping communication research, I left inspired by the diverse network of researchers and grateful for the insightful feedback that will help refine my own work."
Best Research Awards:
Emily McKinley (PhD student, UCD CMN), Abdulaziz Alhumaidy, Jingwen Zhang: Using LLMs to Synthesize Human Responses in Persuasive Context
Jennifer M. Krebsbach (PhD student, UCD Sociology): Analyzing Gendered Job Description Narrative Outputs by LLMs
Arezoo Ghasemzadeh, Arnav Akula, Sruthy Sabesan, Pearl Vishen (all UCD Undergraduate AI Student Collective), Martin Hilbert: Is Intimacy the New Attention? Audit of LLMs Intimacy
Best Innovation Awards:
Allyson L. Snyder (PhD student, UCD CMN), Millie Fong, Ana Cervantes, Katherine Ong: Too Scared to Talk to Peers, Too Efficient to Meaningfully Engage with a Chatbot: AI for Math Tutoring
Emily Thatcher (PhD student, UCD Nursing Science & Healthcare Leadership): Drone vs. EMS Response Times for Naloxone Delivery in Rural Settings
Rachael Kee (PhD student, UCD CMN): A New Tool for Sleep Science
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1st Computational Social Science Synergy Retreat (2022)
Friday & Saturday, April 22-23, 2022 UC Quail Ridge Natural Reserve, Lake Berryessa
| agenda_1st_css_synergy_retreat_2022.pdf |