April 7, 2025, 13:30-15:00
Location: Old observatory, Uppsala University
Registration: Link (please register by April 3)
Speakers: Luca Maria Aiello and Arianna Pera, IT University Copenhagen
Title: The Language of Collective Action: Building Solutions in the Digital Era
Abstract: Global challenges like climate change, mass migration, and pandemics demand more than top-down institutional responses. Grassroots, behavior-driven solutions are essential, and the online world offers a unique space to foster them. Language plays a pivotal role in shaping social interactions, and digital platforms enable large-scale, rapid mobilization for collective action. To harness this potential, we must first identify the linguistic markers that signal agreement, cooperation, and collective intent. By analyzing textual traces, we can measure engagement in collective action and understand the mechanisms driving it. Building on these insights, we can then design interventions that enhance participation. Strategic discourse framing has been shown to influence user alignment and encourage collective behavior. Additionally, AI-driven persuasive messaging can further amplify mobilization efforts. This talk explores how computational methods can be used to detect and shape the language of collective action, bridging insights from linguistics, social science, and AI. By understanding and leveraging the dynamics of online discourse, we can develop more effective strategies for addressing pressing societal dilemmas.
Bios: Luca Maria Aiello is Professor of Data Science at the IT University of Copenhagen, where he is member of the NEtwoRks, Data and Society group (NERDS). Previously, he worked for 10 years as a Research Scientist at Yahoo Labs and Nokia Bell Labs. He conducts research in Computational Social Science with a special focus on understanding cooperation processes through the study of conversational language with the use of advanced Natural Language Processing tools. He has been awarded a 3-year grant from the Carlsberg foundation to investigate emergent processes of climate action in online social media. His work has been covered by hundreds of articles published by news outlets worldwide including Wired, WSJ, and BBC. He was once interviewed by Captain James T. Kirk.
Arianna Pera is a PhD student at the IT University of Copenhagen, affiliated with the NEtwoRks, Data, and Society (NERDS) research group. Her research focuses on understanding how collective action emerges in online spaces, particularly in the context of climate change mitigation, using modern natural language processing (NLP) methods. She is part of the COllective COordination through Online Social Media (COCOONS) project, supervised by Luca Maria Aiello. Before joining ITU, she earned a B.Sc. in Statistics and Information Management and an M.Sc. in Data Science from the University of Milano-Bicocca.