[AISWorld] AOM 2024 PDW - Next Decade Bot Research (998/20990)

[Anna Priante]

We invite you to our PDW ‘Next Decade Bot Research’ on Sunday, Aug 11, 2024, from 4:30PM - 6:00PM (UTC/GMT -5 hours) at the 2024 AOM Conference in Chicago!
Bots, automated entities in online social networks, have a substantial presence on digital platforms. They engage in two algorithmic social processes to post messages quickly and extensively (Salge et al. 2022), thereby potentially influencing communication dynamics and the spread of information. However, their behavior can range from ethical to unethical (Salge and Berente 2017), leading to either beneficial or detrimental effects in society. On the positive side, studies have demonstrated that bots can be valuable in organizational contexts, such as in coordinating tasks (Hukal et al. 2019) and influencing human-to-human interactions (Seering et al. 2018), particularly in communication processes (Safadi et al. Forthcoming at MISQ). Conversely, there is evidence that bots can sway public opinion (Forelle et al. 2015), diffuse information rapidly (Mønsted et al. 2017), affect political elections (Bessi and Ferrara 2016; Martini et al. 2021), and propagate false news (Shao et al. 2018). Additionally, bots pose challenges to the validity of online social network research due to the potential confounding effects they introduce, which scholars must carefully control and account for (Salge and Karahanna 2018).
After three successful Professional Development Workshops (PDWs) on “Researching Bots in Online Social Networks” at the AOM 2022 Annual Meeting in Seattle, “Bot Theory, Methods, and Ethics” at the AOM 2023 Annual Meeting in Boston, and on “Analyzing Bots in Social Networks: Theories, Literature, Methods, and Ethics” at the ECIS 2024 Annual Meeting in Paphos, Cyprus, we have gained substantial insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with bot research. In this year’s PDW, we seek to (1) Provide a research agenda that expands work on bots into new uncharted territories; (2) Discuss how bots can be leveraged for experimental research, and (3) Converse about the implications of generative AI for research on bots. This PDW also aims to sustain and further develop the interdisciplinary community of scholars dedicated to bot research, a collective that we began nurturing two years ago in Seattle.
The PDW consists of two parts. First, leading experts will share their thoughts and experiences on the three objectives outlined above. The second part will feature a panel discussion with the presenters, panelists and participants.

SESSION DETAILS
PRESENTERS & PANELISTS

  *   Jason Thatcher (Temple University)
  *   Carolina Salge (University of Georgia)
  *   Aaron Schecter (University of Georgia)
  *   Anna Priante (Rotterdam School of Management)
  *   Lior Zalmanson (Tel Aviv University)
WHEN: Sunday, Aug 11, 2024, from 4:30PM - 6:00PM (UTC/GMT -5 hours)
WHERE: Sheraton: Columbus A
ORGANIZERS:

  *   Carolina Salge (University of Georgia)
  *   Anna Priante (Rotterdam School of Management)
  *   Aaron Schecter (University of Georgia)
This PDW DOES NOT require special registration and is open to all Academy members. For additional details, please contact Carolina Salge (calsalge at uga.edu<mailto:calsalge at uga.edu>) or Anna Priante (priante at rsm.nl<mailto:priante at rsm.nl>).