Alberto Acerbi
@acerbialberto
Cognitive anthropology / cultural evolution / digital media / cultural analytics. Assistant professor sociology @UniTrento - more info in the pinned tweet.
Website: acerbialberto.com "Cultural evolution in the digital age" (OUP): bit.ly/2McstmR "Individual-based models of cultural evolution. A step-by-step guide using R" (Routledge): bit.ly/3MQBjT4 Substack (free - in italiano): bit.ly/3lDERMq
Very interesting view. Social media, traditional media, blogs, etc give voices to single individuals, while LLMs sample among many.
Is there a strong case for AI helping, rather than harming, the accuracy of people's beliefs about contentious topics? In this @NatureMedicine piece (focusing on vaccination), I argue the answer is YES. And it boils down to how LLMs differ from other sources of information.
Yes, the claim is not “we know that social media is not bad”, but “we don’t know if social media is bad”.
The problem is that popular discourse about social media is almost entirely based on vibes, anecdotes, and subjectively compelling stories. There simply isn't strong evidence for the "moral panic" in this case, as I point out at length in a recent deep dive into this issue. (1/2)
While nobody would take this seriously (at least I hope) there are so many features to make it a textbook example of techno panic! mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/fami…
“The appeal of the “wrecking ball” narrative lies partly in its promise of a simple fix to complex problems.” Excellent summary, as usual, from @danwilliamsphil asteriskmag.com/issues/11/scap…
Just added it in the syllabus for my part in next year's "Current issues in digital media and politics" course.
How harmful is GenAI around elections? Will it trigger a misinformation apocalypse and upend elections? I am happy to finally be able to share @Sacha_Altay’s & my answers to these and other questions on which we have been working for a year and which is out via @knightcolumbia.
NEW on our website @_FelixSimon_ and @Sacha_Altay on why should be worry more about humans than AI systems when it comes to elections in the age of generative AI Click to read reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/generativ…
Have a look at Cultural Evolution in the Digital Age! global.oup.com/academic/produ…
🚨New paper in @TrendsCognSci 🚨 Why do some ideas spread widely, while others fail to catch on? @Jayvanbavel and I review the “psychology of virality,” or the psychological and structural factors that shape information spread online and offline. Thread 🧵(1/n)
At the Rabat museum of modern and contemporary art. Reminded me success in art/literary stuff seems unpredictable from what you do, which is one of the reasons I choose science, where it should be less. Good and interesting museum BTW.
Rabat is a beautiful, safe, and cosmopolitan city. Excellent choice for the next @HumBehEvoSoc and Cultural Evolution Society conferences!
Genius.
Research by @davidmmcevoy et al gauges how much men afflicted with varying baldness are willing to pay to restore some or all of the missing turf (up to $30k in 2019). (The paper is also a contender in the Pun Title rankings): buff.ly/0Z8ApyZ HT @metacognishane
I am sympathetic with this, and the long-term trends require deeper socio-cultural explanations than "it's the smartphone". Of course, smartphones could have worsened the situation by (this is important) providing an alternative.
New newsletter: The death of partying in the USA The latest American Time Use Survey came out last month. I wanted to follow up on @elcush's declaration that Americans need to party more. The new data confirms: America's social crisis is dire. - Between 2003 and 2024, the…
Further update from my sociology conference: it feels like quantitative/experimental sociology is like psych 20 years ago regarding things like pre registration, p-hacking etc with the predictable consequences. There is some work to do in social sciences…
Unfortunately sociologists live up to the expectations. Conference talk where experiments find the opposite results predicted. Discussion is about what to change to make the results *right*…
EHB commentaries on Baumard and André's "The ecological approach to culture" are growing (see "Commentaries" section at the end). Good. sciencedirect.com/journal/evolut…
"People decide whether to share social information–and whether to share it accurately–on the basis of self-interest" sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Thanks God academics fighting misinformation defeated populist/right-wing parties all around the world.
Inizio il mini-tour toscano :) Domani 3 luglio ore 11 - IMT Lucca Dopodomani 4 luglio ore 18 - Details Lab Pisa
