Online Engagement
Featured What’s in a Name?: Problematising the Term ‘Deepfake Pornography’ in Media Discourse View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lorraine Hayman
In this research, I explore the usage of the term ‘deepfake pornography’ in media discourse, which describes the creation and/or distribution of sexualised, non-consensual images using artificial intelligence (AI). Through a feminist lens and drawing on a literature synthesis, I discuss how ‘deepfake pornography’ is employed in media discourse, problematising its widespread utilisation as it does not capture the extent of the harm caused. The problems I explore include that ‘deepfake pornography’ terminology fails to distinguish between pornographic content featuring fictional characters and sexualised deepfake content featuring images/videos of people without their consent. The latter is an example of Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA), the creation and/or distribution of private sexual images non-consensually, including AI-created images. The second problem with IBSA ‘deepfake pornography’ is that the term minimises the issue of consent or lack thereof. Referring to the images/videos as ‘pornography’ categorises them within various content created consensually for wide distribution with sexual gratification in mind. Linking to this problem, the term ‘deepfake pornography’ also minimises the harm experienced by victim-survivors. It disallows victim-survivors the opportunity to name their experiences without referring to them as ‘pornography’. Also, the role of AI and ‘fakeness’ suggested in ‘deepfake’ implies a separation between the victim-survivor and the ‘fake’ content created. Hence, the final problem reflects semantics. Like the term ‘revenge pornography’ to refer to IBSA, ‘deepfake pornography’ is widely used in media discourse without being adequately defined. This research note contributes an original discussion to conversations on emerging technology and digital meanings.
Enhancing Explorative Learning through Artificial Intelligence Integration in Higher Education View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Thomas Seemann, Melanie Seemann
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational settings, particularly in university courses, presents a novel approach to augmenting traditional teaching methodologies. This study explores the impact of AI integration in university courses designed with an explorative learning framework, focusing on the enhancement of student engagement and knowledge acquisition. A mixed-methods research design was employed, involving quantitative and qualitative analyses. The study includes a sample of university courses in business administration that integrated AI tools for explorative learning. Data were collected through student performance assessment, surveys, interviews, and classroom observations. The integration of AI in explorative learning environments in university courses shows promising results in enhancing student learning experiences and improved problem-solving skills. It also highlights that a new skill set is required from students and educators. A key challenge is to stress the importance of continuous verification and critical thinking throughout the learning journey. This study demonstrates the potential of AI to enhance educational practices in higher education through explorative learning using artificial intelligence. Future research should focus on long-term impacts of AI integration (e.g. across an entire curriculum) and its scalability across diverse educational settings.
Scientists as Engaged and Engaging: Investigating the Scientific Discourse about Climate Change in the Website Latest Thinking View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mª Ángeles Velilla Sánchez, Antoinette Fage Butler
As global publics broadly know about (Pew Research Centre, 2022) and increasingly trust in climate change science (World Economic Forum, 2021), science communication to publics that just presents the epistemological foundations for ubiquitous learning about climate action may not be enough. Values and frames are increasingly considered relevant to include in climate science communication (Dietz, 2013), with climate science communicators encouraged to “make the information relatable, local, and personal” (Donlon, 2023). Reflecting this tendency, online videos concerning climate change are often used as popularization genres (Calsamiglia et al., 2004) with the purpose of “[getting] the audience to care, and [making] shared global challenges seem less daunting” (Donlon, 2023). This paper thus explores how researchers from various disciplines working with climate change engage publics on the website Latest Thinking by framing climate change as a global challenge that is worth caring about. The website is designed to broaden the accessibility of academic journal content, ensuring that a wider audience can benefit from and engage with scholarly findings (Velilla, forthcoming). A corpus consisting of 18 videos from the 'Climate' section of the website is analysed using a bespoke combination of framing analysis, thematic analysis and discourse-pragmatic analysis. Preliminary findings suggest that climate change is framed “not just” as a scientific problem. Engagement is promoted since researchers explain why they care and why publics should care, and moral argumentation for addressing climate change is provided.
