Graduate Students (Sociology)

Jacy Reese Anthis is a computational social scientist researching human-AI interaction and machine learning. His research focuses on “digital minds,” humanlike AI systems that can work side-by-side with humans and appear to have reasoning, emotion, agency, and other mental faculties. His research has been published in top academic venues, such as CHI, CSCW, and NeurIPS, and featured in global media outlets, such as Vox, Forbes, and The Guardian. Anthis has presented his work at conferences and seminars in 28 countries. He is a visiting scholar at the Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) at Stanford University, a co-founder of the nonprofit research organization Sentience Institute, and a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago.

Dissertation Title: Digital Minds: Human-Computer Interaction in the Era of Transformative Artificial Intelligence

Committee: James Evans, Bryon Aragam, Bernard Koch, Nicholas Polson

Dissertation Abstract: The artificial intelligence (AI) systems now permeating society appear to have a wide variety of human-like mental faculties beyond mere “intelligence.” My research integrates sociology and machine learning to model these next-generation systems as “digital minds,” whether as a coworker who thinks and reasons, a chatbot companion with emotion and empathy, or online agents that autonomously perform complex tasks. Through interviews, surveys, and natural language processing, I collect and analyze some of the first data on social perceptions of digital minds. Then, I draw on these and other social science insights to build human-centered tools for evaluating social impact. My work foregrounds the profound implications of this Cambrian explosion of AI systems, ultimately helping humanity design safe and aligned AI and build policy frameworks to navigate this sociotechnical transformation.