Workshop: Human–Chatbot Interaction in Everyday Social Life

Join the Institute for Public Knowledge for a full-day, invite-only workshop on Human–Chatbot Interaction in Everyday Social Life, organized by Christopher Barrie and Tessa West. This workshop will bring together researchers working on how people are using AI chatbots in everyday social contexts, with a particular focus on two related questions: how we can collect and study high-quality data on real-world human–chatbot interaction, and what these interactions can tell us about the changing role of AI in relationships and everyday social life.

We are interested not only in AI companionship narrowly defined, but in the much broader range of ways people are beginning to turn to chatbots for advice, emotional support, social rehearsal, workplace communication, political information, and quasi-professional consultation. We hope the workshop will provide an opportunity to bring together people working across sociology, psychology, communication, HCI, computational social science, medicine, and related fields who are approaching these questions from different perspectives.

Workshop Schedule:

10:00 AM – 10:10 AM | Welcome & Introduction

Block 1 (Opening Plenary): AI at Scale — From Global Publics to Interpersonal Ecosystems

We open the day with foundational themes on how AI is reshaping multiple levels of society, from populations to intimate relationships.

• 10:10 AM – Kiran Garimella (Assistant Professor, Rutgers): How People Use ChatGPT: Conversation-Level Evidence from India, Nigeria, Brazil and Pakistan
• 10:50 AM – Angel Hwang (Assistant Professor, University of Southern California): Toward Social-Ecosystem-Aware AI for Interpersonal Support

11:10 AM – 11:50 AM | Panel 1: “Artificial Intimacy: Can (and Should) AI Be Our Friend?”

• Natasha Schull (NYU) – Renowned expert on technology design, user experience, and behavioral addiction.
• Courtney Cogburn (Columbia University) – Expert in technology, empathy, and social structures.
• Laura Globig (NYU) – Expertise in AI deployment, behavior, and social impacts.

11:50 AM – 12:00 PM | Short Coffee Break

Block 2: AI in the Wild — Social Media, Work, and Group Dynamics

This block explores how humans integrate AI into their work environments and social ones  

• 12:00 PM – Katelyn Mei (PhD Candidate, University of Washington): Grok in the Wild: Characterizing the Roles and Uses of Large Language Models on Social Media
• 12:20 PM – Spencer Kaplan (PhD Candidate, Yale University / NYU IPK): Reflexive Automation: AI Use among Tech Workers
• 12:40 PM – Charvi Rastogi (Research Scientist, Google DeepMind): Multi-turn Evaluation of Anthropomorphic Behaviours in Large Language Models

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch Break

Block 3: The New Intimacy — AI Companionship, Emotional Support, and Social Robots

We will explore how people turn to AI for emotional support and companionship. These talks will include longitudinal studies of LLM and chatbot use and emotional encounters with social robots.

• 2:00 PM – Briana Vecchione (Researcher, Data & Society): “I Felt Very Seen, But Still Very Alone”: Longitudinal Trajectories of General-Purpose LLM Use for Socioemotional Support
• 2:20 PM – Rose Guingrich (Postdoc, Princeton University): A Longitudinal Randomized Control Study of Companion Chatbot Use
• 2:40 PM – Sui Wang (PhD Candidate, University of Southern California): What Must Be Real?: Staging Emotional Encounters in Social Robotics

3:00 PM – 3:10 PM | Short Break

3:10 PM – 3:50 PM | Panel 2: “Truth, Automation, and Accountability”
      Guest Experts:

• Hilke Schellmann (NYU) – Award-winning journalism & AI accountability expert.
• Wesley Deng (Microsoft Research) – Expert in responsible AI and human-AI systems.

3:50 PM – 4:00 PM | Closing Remarks & Networking