We are thrilled to welcome Luca Maria Aiello, Associate Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen, to the MediaFutures seminar series.

As global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and mass migration become increasingly urgent, the need for mass coordination has never been greater. In his presentation, “The Language of Coordination: From Humans to AI Agents,” Professor Aiello will delve into the fascinating intersection of social science, language, and technology, exploring how natural language can drive large-scale coordination in the public sphere. Drawing on his cutting-edge research, he will demonstrate how insights from psychology and linguistics can be harnessed to understand and predict collective behavior, and how these insights can be applied to artificial intelligence to create persuasive social agents capable of influencing public discourse on social media platforms.

Abstract:
A defining task for humankind is to achieve mass coordination to tackle global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and mass migrations. Social science research has identified psycho-linguistic aspects of social interactions that can trigger spontaneous coordination when used strategically in the public debate. We created Natural Language Processing tools that can capture these social dimensions from conversations, and found that they can explain and predict outcome of consensus and coordination. Furthermore, we show that these dimensions can be used to prompt AI agents powered by Large Language Models to make them behave as persuasive social agents that could be seamlessly integrated in the public discourse of social media platforms.

Professor Aiello’s work is at the forefront of an emerging field that combines computational social science, network science, and artificial intelligence. By analyzing vast amounts of digital data, he seeks to quantify human well-being and build systems that can improve it—whether in the context of health, urban living, or digital interactions. In his talk, he will explore the psycho-linguistic aspects of human interaction and how they can be translated into actionable insights for both human and AI-driven coordination.

Professor Aiello will be visiting Bergen and the MediaFutures research center from March 19th to 22nd, with his presentation scheduled for Friday, March 21st. We encourage you to join us for this insightful seminar, either in person or via the Zoom livestream.

About Luca Maria Aiello

Luca Maria Aiello is an Associate Professor at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of computational social science, digital health, network science, and urban informatics. His work leverages large-scale digital data to explore and quantify key aspects of human life, with a particular focus on how language and communication shape our collective behaviors and well-being.

His research interests span multiple fields, including the role of language in coordinating social actions, the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to study social dynamics, and the development of AI systems that can influence and improve social interactions. Through his research, Professor Aiello aims to better understand how people interact, how these interactions can be optimized to address pressing global issues, and how AI can be used to augment, rather than replace, human communication.

A recognized leader in his field, Professor Aiello has contributed to numerous influential studies on the role of language in social media and digital interactions. One of his notable contributions includes a study published in Nature on the language of persuasion in social media, which explores how certain linguistic features can be used to influence public opinion and behavior.

Currently, his research focuses on using NLP techniques to quantify social and psychological experiences, with applications ranging from improving public health to enhancing urban living environments. Through his work, Professor Aiello continues to push the boundaries of what is possible at the intersection of social science and technology.