Columbia Science Review
  • Home
  • About
    • Executive Board
    • Editorial Board
  • Blog
  • Events
    • 2022-2023
    • 2021-2022
    • 2020-2021
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
  • Publications
  • COVID-19 Public Hub
    • Interviews >
      • Biology of COVID-19
      • Public Health
      • Technology & Data
    • Frontline Stories >
      • Healthcare Workers
      • Global Health
      • Volunteer Efforts
    • Resources & Links >
      • FAQ's
      • Resource Hubs
      • Student Opportunities
      • Podcasts & Graphics
      • Mental Health Resources
      • Twitter Feeds
      • BLM Resources
    • Columbia Events >
      • Campus Events
      • CUMC COVID-19 Symposium
      • CSR Events
    • Our Team
  • Contact

Artificial Intelligence in Our Social Media

11/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Illustrations by Nina Kornfeld
By Ramya Subramanian

Artificial intelligence permeates most aspects of our lives. The device you're reading this article on probably uses some level of artificial intelligence. Whether using google maps to navigate, scrolling through TikTok, accessing gmail, or watching the “recommended section” on Netflix, these programs require AI to create an optimal experience for the user.  But, what exactly is AI and how does it improve experiences for us?


AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is essentially the simulation of intelligent human processes through machines. A big component of AI is machine learning, which allows machines to make predictions based on large sets of data. For example, the “recommended shows” section on Netflix analyzes past user data to infer what the user would like to watch next.

AI is used heavily in many social media applications. For example, Facebook uses a concept called Deep Text to monitor conversations on the platform. Deep Text tracks the way users speak (slang, abbreviations, and punctuation) to understand the context in each conversation. Twitter follows a similar technique to monitor tweets. This emerging field of AI interpretation and generation of human language is called natural language processing (NLP). NLP is considered to be the intersection of linguistics and computer science. It uses linguistics to help the machine learn and process the human language in order to perform repetitive tasks. Normal human language goes beyond understanding words and their meaning, it also is realizing how those words are connected and linked. Despite language being such an easy tool for communication, computers take a lot more to process and adapt in order for tools like google translate to be successful.

AI does not just enhance applications. Now, you can find AI social media influencers. A popular example is Lil Miquela, who is described to be a “19 year old robot living in LA.” Lil Miquela debuted on Instagram in April 2016, seemingly as a marketing stunt by Brud, an LA based startup. 

Lil Miquela was not the first example of a company publicizing an AI influencer. In 2016, Microsoft launched a bot on Twitter namedTay. The first version of Tay was launched in China with the name XiaoIce chatbot. It was used by over 40 million people with almost no issues. However, when Microsoft launched a similar version in a radically different cultural environment, the United States, problems arose. Within 24 hours of Tay being released, Tay began retweeting offensive and reprehensible words and images. What was intended to be a social experiment in the field of NLP, machine learning, and social networks, turned into a horrendous revelation of online trolling. Tay was originally intended to facilitate and engage in conversations on Twitter by emulating a teenage girl. However, within 24 hours, many Twitter bots had exposed a vulnerability in Tay’s program—a “repeat after me” function. Through a coordinated attack on Tay, Twitter users were able to shape the bot into sharing inflammatory tweets and messages. Microsoft suspended the account within only 16 hours after its release.

Despite the numerous benefits of AI, it also has a frightening potential for invading and altering social media and our daily lives. Technologists must make sure that their creations are ethical in terms of the users. As for us, regular users of technology, we need to be hyper aware that what we feed into the computer can alter its output. If all is successful, however, AI can revolutionize the future, increasing accessibility and streamlining operations, creating a better future for us all.







​​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Artificial Intelligence
    Halloween 2022
    Winter 2022-2023

    Archives

    February 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    July 2009
    May 2009

Columbia Science Review
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Photos used under Creative Commons from driver Photographer, BrevisPhotography, digitalbob8, Rennett Stowe, Kristine Paulus
  • Home
  • About
    • Executive Board
    • Editorial Board
  • Blog
  • Events
    • 2022-2023
    • 2021-2022
    • 2020-2021
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
  • Publications
  • COVID-19 Public Hub
    • Interviews >
      • Biology of COVID-19
      • Public Health
      • Technology & Data
    • Frontline Stories >
      • Healthcare Workers
      • Global Health
      • Volunteer Efforts
    • Resources & Links >
      • FAQ's
      • Resource Hubs
      • Student Opportunities
      • Podcasts & Graphics
      • Mental Health Resources
      • Twitter Feeds
      • BLM Resources
    • Columbia Events >
      • Campus Events
      • CUMC COVID-19 Symposium
      • CSR Events
    • Our Team
  • Contact