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DDI Summer Speaker Series – Dr. Eric Borra
August 8 @ 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Presentation by Eric Borra, 8th August from 12:30- 1:30pm PST
Dr. Erik Borra is Assistant Professor at the University of Amsterdam, where he specializes in the intersecting fields of Artificial Intelligence, Platform Studies, and Journalism. He previously served as the Technical Director at the Digital Methods Initiative (DMI), one of Europe’s leading schools for internet studies, where he was also a founding member. At the institute, he helped design and implement tools to gather, analyze and visualize web data, such as the Twitter Capture and Analysis Toolset (DMI-TCAT), Contropedia, Political Search Trends, and the Lippmannian Device.
The lecture explores the potential uses, ramifications, and ethical concerns surrounding the use of large language models (LLMs) in digital research via the lens of media studies. It periodizes the understanding of LLMs into foundation models, instruction-tuned models, and agents, and discusses the research outlooks for each. The lecture emphasizes the importance of understanding LLMs as media and discusses how their capabilities and affordances have a direct impact on research methodologies and outcomes, as well as the gradual shift in agency from human researchers to models. To mitigate the challenges associated with using LLMs in research, such as accessibility, platform volatility, replicability, and explainability, the lecture proposes strategies for leveraging LLMs while preserving research integrity and agency. These tactics include making LLMs locally accessible, leveraging research interfaces like Prompt Compass, integrating LLMs into current methodologies and toolsets, and recognizing the materiality of LLMs when employing them in digital research. The lecture thus provides insights into the evolving landscape of LLMs and their impact on digital research, offering a critical perspective on the opportunities and challenges associated with using these powerful tools.