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The annual joint symposium co-organized by National Chengchi University (NCCU), Seoul National University (SNU) and The University of Tokyo (UTokyo) was successfully held on 17th October 2024, focusing the timely theme of AI-Human Communication. Nearly 30 faculty members and students from the three universities gathered in NCCU to showcase their latest studies and engage in discussion exploring the intricate dynamics between artificial intelligence (AI) and human interaction.
The symposium was commenced with warm welcomes by the NCCU President Tsai-Yen Li, Ph.D and Director of IMICS Dr. Jih-Hsuan Tammy Lin, followed by the opening remarks from Dr. Eun-mee Kim (SNU) and Dr. Ai Hisano (UTokyo). The day’s proceedings were divided into nine distinct sessions, each tackling various facets of AI-human interaction.
AI’s transformative role in Architecture, Entertainment and Gaming
In one insightful session, student presenters explored the influence of generative AI across diverse sectors and highlighted both potential benefits and existing limitations, providing a picture of the multifaceted implications of AI in various professional settings. The discussion ranged from architectural design thinking to the entertainment idol industry and the gaming experience.
Priya Murugeswaran (UTokyo) shared her research on the integration of generative AI into architectural design. Her work delved into how architects communicate with AI and highlighted the differences between traditional architectural design process and AI-assisted conceptual-stage processing. While AI offered avenues for exploration and idea generated, she stressed “AI generated ideas based on the data it has been trained on and doesn’t create in the same way human dos”, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining a balance for AI assistance and traditional design skills to ensure creativity and critical thinking among the creators (architects).
In another captivating presentation, Risako Fukunishi (UTokyo) explored the implication of AI within the entertainment industry, examining about how fandoms perceived Vtubers (AI-generated idol) compared to human idols in Japan and the possible superiority of one type of idols over the other. She discovered both human idols and Vtubers shared the fragility, human idols face career limitation and Vtubers’ potential erasure, created unique dynamics that influenced fan support and engagement. Her findings also shed light on fans’ emotional connection with AI characters and the potential for long-term sustainability of the AI idol market for future studies.
Shifting to the realm of video game, Ondřej Zeman (NCCU) investigated players’ perception of non-player characters (NPC) dialogue from generative AI than those pre-scripted by game writers. His research uncovered that despite of the advancements of AI technologies, player’s immersion was not enhanced due to the existing shortcomings of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as inconsistencies in the story narratives, fluency issues and errors that could not fulfill player’s expectation on NPC’s authenticity. He concluded “LLMs will need to use human feedback for improving, at this stage AI generated scripts are not possible”.
Impacts of AI on attitudes, and gender perspectives
In a parallel session, presenters explored a broader societal impact of AI, focusing its influence on attitudes and gender representation. A series of compelling presentations examined how AI impacts attitudes of online privacy, writing guidance, and gender representation in advertising.
The session commenced with Jingyu Zhang and Risa Hiramatsu (UTokyo)’s sharing. Their research examined the perceived non-transparency of AI in locations-sharing apps among young people in Japan and UK, reflecting their attitudes towards online privacy. The study contributed to the ongoing research on the ethical implications of AI in daily life by discovering that Japanese adolescents tended to utilize location sharing apps to develop friendships, while British youth were commonly exchanged with families for safety reasons.
In addition to the influence of AI on attitudes, Kynung Won Cho (SNU) drew everyone’s attention with her study about the impact of AI on shaping attitude towards writing guidance. She highlighted “User proficiency in AI is key to the effectiveness of AI-driven communication tools”, which implying the influence on shaping attitudes can be enhanced for higher AI-proficiency users and higher issue-involvement individuals. This observation raised concerns about the potential of AI chatbots subtly shape public opinion in future.
Addressing to the issue of gender stereotyping, the two presenters from The University of Tokyo, Yiqi Chris Zhang and Jimmine Yoo, both examined whether AI model in advertising industry reproduce gender representation in their studies. Zhang’s research indicated AI model enhanced business’s brand image and influenced consumer purchase behavior, however, its effect on societal norms’ change, female body hair removal in his study, remained limited. Likewise, Yoo’s research resulted that those advertisements with AI model replicated and even perpetuated existing gender stereotypes by emphasizing on physical appearance and the passive portrayals of female on media.
The sessions concluded with engaging discussion among the presenters and audience on the research approaches and ultimate purposes, dropping a remark for further studies on both AI’s capabilities in various sectors and the ethical implication of AI technology.
In the closing ceremony, Dr. Jih-Hsuan Tammy Lin expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all the presenters by bringing thought-provoking research contributions to the field of AI-Human communication. Dr. Joonhwan Lee (SNU) and Dr. Osamu Sakura (UTokyo) also extended their appreciation to NCCU’s role as a gracious host. The event marked to an end with the announcement of next symposium will be hosted by Seoul National University in 2025.
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