Center for Cyber-Social Dynamics

The Center for Cyber Social Dynamics at The University of Kansas is home for the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural study of the relationship between internet and data-driven technologies and society, politics, and culture. We aim to understand and evaluate the ways in which our lives are shaped by the ubiquitous and pervasive influence of computing technologies. This understanding will allow our communities to mindfully and ethically shape technologies so as to promote human flourishing.

We aim to facilitate conversation and collaboration between the builders of technology and researchers from anthropology, the arts, economics, history, political science, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and other fields in the social sciences and humanities. We welcome collaborations from around the world and are currently engaged in five major research themes

Center Fellows

CCSD Research Assistants

Recently Released:

Loneliness and Artificial Intelligence

What does it mean for human beings to have close personal relationships with AI? How do we evaluate the psychological, ethical, and political consequences of these relationships?

Politics, Knowledge, and Data

When does explainability matter in machine learning technologies? How should liberal democracies engage in important public policy decisions in an age of big data and machine learning? How should we rethink scientific expertise and authority in light of the pervasive use of computing technologies in science.

Rethinking Privacy and Bias

How should moral and political deliberation about complex social questions like privacy and bias shape the development of new technologies and the regulation of existing technologies and platforms?

Education and Machine Learning

How will large language models and machine learning change our schools and universities? What principles should guide these changes?

AI and the Future of Writing: A Roundtable

Norms, Resilient Institutions, and the Social Attack Surface

What are some of the ways that technologies and platforms can influence the social and cultural stability of communities and nations? What are the design choices in social media platforms that contribute to destabilizing and undermining community resilience? What defensive measures are feasible in response to adversaries who exploit vulnerabilities in open liberal societies to cause disruption and harm?