Social Media and Human Behaviour: Challenges and Opportunities for an Evolving Digital World
This speech was delivered at Queensland Future Conversations, Wednesday 20th March 2024, Speakers’ Hall, Queensland Parliament House, Brisbane.
Artificial Intelligence & Society
Artificial Intelligence (AI), has emerged as a transformative force shaping our society. Current advances follow a long line of development in the field that spans several decades. Artificial Intelligence has many definitions, but a fairly accepted public understanding is ‘computers that do magic’.
For the last decade we have seen the sophistication of this computerised magic increase, from systems that can reliably recognise basic objects in images, through to natural language interfaces that can engage in a mostly coherent conversation, and advanced control systems that can remotely pilot a flying drone.
What makes the current moment so special is that we have now moved from narrow models that were trained to perform very specific tasks, to general purpose models that have far greater baseline capabilities, and that can be adapted with ease to other more specialised tasks. Additionally, through advances in generative approaches, these systems are not only capable of classifying a wider variety of data inputs, but also synthesising outputs.
To be clear these are still not anywhere close to what would be considered as General Artificial Intelligence, or given the absence of an underlying cognitive model, what we would consider as a ‘thinking machine’. However, these technologies are still poised to transform our society given that anyone with a smartphone can now interact with them with relative ease, and we are seeing these models rapidly embedded into many existing technologies.
A key to making sense of this moment is to consider the release of the iPhone in 2007, few knew then how profound this single piece of consumer technology would become, yet it and associated developments in communication technologies and social platforms have transformed our global society. We find ourselves at a similar moment in history today.
However, making sense of AI is difficult as our media environment vacillates between hype and doom. A more nuanced take was provided by colleagues in our ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society (ADM+S). In their recent book Everyday Data Cultures, McCosker, Burgess, Albury & Wilken offer a third path which situates between these extremes.
The authors talk of the manner in which technology companies and other vested interests shop their wares as all-knowing, omnipotent and capable of solving every problem imaginable. Sound familiar? On the other hand, the airport book stands are full of increasingly polemic hot takes on how the rise of these systems threaten the very foundations of society and humanity.
The danger then comes in how these critiques of technology tend to overstate the sophistication of the technologies and underestimate human agency. Lending too much credence to claims made by the tech hype lords allows the critique to bolster the so-called ‘intelligence’ of the system they are intending to tear down, thereby centering these large technology companies and leaving ordinary people out of the picture.
It’s not that there aren’t challenges, but the key to understanding these transformations is better found in focusing on the everyday experiences of individuals, communities and organisations, and how they can and are adopting these technologies in their everyday life. As Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess puts it:
“In the interaction between everyday life’s mundane and meaning-making practices and the data operations of various kinds of AI, there are, as Raymond Williams might have put it, ‘resources of hope’ for more inclusive, creative, and ethical AI futures”
Put another way, government and indeed wider adoption of AI would do well to consider the everyday human experience, however mundane, in attempting to harness the full potential these systems have to offer.
While it’s important to allow room for speculation on what futures we imagine and what role such technology can and should play, there are immediate and well-documented challenges that governments can address. Access and inequality remain significant concerns, and I will expand on this momentarily.
Equally, we know that AI systems, having been trained on data of varying quality can replicate and perpetuate societal inequalities by replicating hegemonic structures. The entanglement of AI in misinformation also threatens to further destabilise our democratic institutions, and I’ll point out here that I am not referring to AI as some disembodied agent, but rather as tools that can be used by human actors to further fuel these anti-democratic processes, whether used for the production of misinformation content, or to manipulate online systems. Additionally, like many for-profit technological services, there are concerns about sovereign risk as we navigate the integration of various AI technologies into critical infrastructure.
However, amidst these challenges lie tremendous opportunities. Enhanced planning and decision-making tools powered by AI can revolutionize governance and public service delivery. Queensland also has some of the worlds most respected minds and the potential to become a global leader in the development of socially-responsible AI, setting the standard for ethical and equitable AI implementation.
Digital Media
The landscape of digital media presents another set of challenges and opportunities. With the maturation of social media, we have seen authoritarian leaders take advantage of these communication platforms to spread hateful and divisive rhetoric, and fuel societal division. These forms of destructive polarization present at a moment when we are also experiencing a decline in traditional news readership and revenue streams. The collapse of revenue in the news media ecosystem hampers investment in quality diverse journalism, which is a necessary counter-balance to otherwise unchecked power. For Queensland this is incredibly important given the collapse of regional news, and a growing crisis of information integrity that fuels conspiratorialism, and erodes trust in traditional institutions.
On this note, myself and colleagues have had a bit to say about the news media bargaining code of late, and I’m sure you’re all aware of Meta’s recent rhetoric around the dumping of news content from its platform, and indeed the danger it presented to many government agencies the last time they did this. This is not a news vs platform story though, and we feel that the regulation misses the mark entirely.
Much of the current challenges with digital media is also exacerbated by the opaqueness of platform operations, and our inability to understand how and what information is consumed by Australians. It is in this vein that ADM+S has been leading work on significant projects framed around observability of online platforms. The Australian Ad Observatory has developed new methods to open up the black box of platform-based advertising, a topic that we would love to take some questions on shortly. We’d also love to talk about the ways that governments can help force greater transparency to help protect Queenslanders from online harms.
While social media is a favoured punching bag for all of society’s ills, this is far too convenient and again misses the mark that these platforms more often reflect our own societies shortcomings. These platforms are to some extent what we want them to be, and more studies point to the many positive facets of social media in fostering social connection, cohesion, and convenience.
Many here will also know of the important role that these various platforms play in times of crisis and disaster. The move to digital has also seen our various government and cultural institutions able to cater to more diverse audiences, driving civic engagement and participation. These new formats and modes of social connection offer avenues for meaningful engagement and community building.
The Digital Gap
The digital gap still poses a significant challenge, particularly for traditionally marginalized communities. Recent work from DMRC Indigenous DECRA Fellow Dr Jessa Rogers and colleagues highlights how Indigenous Australians in remote communities in the far north face specific barriers to digital inclusion, exacerbating existing inequalities. Similarly, low-income families in Queensland are confronted by significant challenges in accessing digital resources and opportunities. This was made even more apparent during the recent pandemic.
Yet, there are opportunities to bridge this gap and unlock the potential of all Queenslanders. Improvements in children’s educational opportunities through digital technologies can pave the way for a more inclusive and safer society. Moreover, enhanced skills development programs can empower individuals to transition to employment and higher education, unlocking pathways to economic and personal prosperity. Governments have a significant opportunity here, as providing equitable access to digital technology can have profound positive effects for all of us.
In closing, it’s crucial to recognize that technical disruption is inherently social disruption. As we navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and digital media, we must adopt a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates humanities and social sciences perspectives, and avoids technologically deterministic thinking that erase the role of humans within these systems. Each of us also has a role to play in safeguarding and improving the quality of democracy and our shared culture, particularly as leaders in our community. By closing the gaps in our society, we can also ensure that Queensland is prepared to seize the opportunities presented by new technologies and we can see our state thrive in the digital age.
Many thanks to the organisers of the Queensland Future Conversations, and members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for their hospitality and enthusiastic engagement with this discussion. Thanks also to colleagues A/Prof Nic Carah (UQ) and Dr Susan Grantham (Griffith) for their contributions, and our respective Vice Chancellors for their attendance and support.
