Social media platforms and content creators benefit each other: social media platforms depend on the content made by creators, while creators rely on these platforms to share their content, expand their audience, and… make money. However, some content creators argue that mainstream, centralised social media (CSM) platforms like Facebook or Twitter have too much power … Continue reading New paper: Content Creators at a Crossroads with Decentralised Social Media
April 2024 round-up
A busy month, which included a lot of fun moments. I had a lovely time at the talk with Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry. The tickets for the talk were a lovely Mother’s Day present from the-child-formerly-known-as-the-teen. I also accompanied the kiddo to golf, and had a walk around backstage at a theatre, … Continue reading April 2024 round-up
LLMs need to be more kale
A couple of weeks ago, Gary Marcus’s newsletter flagged a company (Inqwire) that had a statement on their frontpage, stating that they do not use LLMs*, and adding that they do not pretend to be using humans when they use chatbots. Inqwire’s positioning is the complete opposite of pseudo-AI, in which companies sell certain services (e.g., … Continue reading LLMs need to be more kale
Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions
Last month, I had the honour of delivering a keynote talk, at the Digital Marketing Colloquium, on the topic of “Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions”. I explored the challenges and opportunities of doing research in this field, driven by a question that a colleague asked me back in 2018, and which has informed … Continue reading Researching and shaping the future of AI-Powered Service Interactions
The AI Dancefloor revisited: adoption of Generative AI
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (AZ) shared insights from interviews and surveys that they conducted with Fortune 500 companies about adoption of Generative AI. While we need to treat the AZ findings with care, because the company did not disclose details of the methodology and has vested interests in the information shared, the article still provides … Continue reading The AI Dancefloor revisited: adoption of Generative AI
March 2024 round-up
March had its fair share of highs and lows, as you can see below. In particular, I was reminded that, even after all of these years, I still manage to grossly underestimate how long it takes me to develop a paper and to prepare a talk. Alas, at least there were no illnesses or major … Continue reading March 2024 round-up
[Miscellany] IWD 2024: Women spies, Barbie v Oscars, and online gender harassment
In honour of International Women’s Day 2024, I thought I would share with you the links to three really interesting stories about women. 1 The secret lives of MI6’s women spies A FT Weekend podcast episode about what it’s like for women to work in espionage. It discusses how difficult it is to be taken … Continue reading [Miscellany] IWD 2024: Women spies, Barbie v Oscars, and online gender harassment
February 2024 round-up
February is one of my favourite months of the year: the days are visibly getting lighter, the flowers are coming through, and… it’s my birthday. What’s not to like? This month’s productivity was a bit disrupted due to health issues in the family, and technical problems. Still, I managed to tick off various items from … Continue reading February 2024 round-up
Current research projects
I thought I would share an overview of the projects that I am working on. In some, I play a minor role; in others, a leading one. But, for all of them, I would be delighted to hear from others interested in the field, particularly regarding funding opportunities and access to data. All the projects … Continue reading Current research projects
Accountability for chatbot errors: Air Canada’s legal battle
When Air Canada’s chatbot gave wrong information to a customer, and the customer complained, the airline argued that it was not responsible for the chatbot’s mistakes. They tried to get away from honouring the wrong information provided by the chatbot, saying that the customer should have consulted the company’s website instead. Canadian courts disagreed, and … Continue reading Accountability for chatbot errors: Air Canada’s legal battle
Ana Canhoto 