Embracing the Rise of Human-AI Interactions: Social Impacts of Communication in the Era of Digital Technology

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN GUITTON AND ZHONG

Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 11:00am (HKT) at CVA 1022 and on Zoom (and mixed mode)

MATTHIEU J. GUITTON
Full Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of International Studies, Université Laval, Canada,
Bualuang ASEAN Professor Chair, Thammasat University, Thailand,
Editor-in-Chief of Computers in Human Behaviour and CHB: Artificial Humans

BU ZHONG
Professor and Head of Department of Interactive Media, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University

The dialogue between Matthieu Guitton and Bu Zhong will focus on the following four topics: Public response to AI developments, AI and metaverse, Socially responsible AI, and the role of Computers in Human Behaviour: Artificial Humans (CHB: AH). The dialogue will be moderated by Celine Song, Professor, Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University.

MATTHIEU J. GUITTON is Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Full Professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Université Laval (Quebec City, QC, Canada), Bualuang ASEAN Chair Professor at Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailand), Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and Senior Researcher/Group Leader at the CERVO Brain Research Center (Quebec City, QC, Canada). He has been Director of Research of the Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery division of Université Laval and its associated hospitals from 2012 to 2016, as well as Secretary (Vice-Dean) of the Faculty of Medicine from 2016 to 2022. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Computers in Human Behavior family of journals, which includes Computers in Human Behavior (the world leading journal in the field of cyberpsychology), Computers in Human Behavior Reports, and Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, and serves on several other editorial boards, such as Acta Psychologica (where he acts as the Psychology and Technology Section Editor) and Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences. A graduate from the University of Rouen and Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Paris VI, he obtained his PhD from the University of Montpellier (France) and was a Koshland Scholar/Postdoctoral Fellow of Excellence at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel). He is the Sea Literature, History & Culture Area Chair of the Popular Culture Association (PCA). His main research interests are centered on the interactions between Human beings and technology, particularly on the study of cyber-behavior (human behavior in virtual spaces), covering both fundamental aspects (cyberpsychology, virtual communities and social dynamics in virtual spaces, …) and practical applications (telemedicine, eHealth, problematic Internet use, impact of the Internet on health care systems, …), using a variety of research models (ranging from role-play communities and virtual worlds to Wikipedia) and tools (experimental psychology, virtual anthropology, content analysis, …). He has published over 120 research papers, book chapters, or editorials on subjects including neuropharmacology, health sciences, cyberpsychology and cyberbehavior, cultural studies, and international relations. In addition to his research interests, he has major interests and expertise in junior faculty professional development. He has been invited speaker or guest lecturer by numerous universities across the world, such as the University of Oxford (UK), the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (USA), the Russian Academy of Science, the Bulgarian Academy of Science, and Renmin University of China.

BU ZHONG is Professor and founding Head of the Department of Interactive Media, School of Communication in the Hong Kong Baptist University. He was the president of Chinese Communication Association and head of Mass Communication and Society Division, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Currently, he is Senior Editor of Computers in Human Behavior, a SSCI journal devoted to digital technology and cyberpsychology with an impact factor of 8.957. His research applies decision-making theories to the analysis of information processing and its effects on behavior, cognition, mental health, and social well-being. He explores human-technology interactions as a complex adaptive system, in which the complexity of social systems, digital technology use, and health disparities has been extensively scrutinized. His recent work focuses on studying long Covid and opioid use disorder as a social and health crisis, which identifies key socioeconomic determinants and other underlying social factors that contribute to healthcare outcomes, especially symptom management and mitigation.

For enquiries: mkcheung@hkbu.edu.hk

Organised by Centre for Media and Communication Research, Department of Journalism, and Department of Interactive Media, School of Communication