AI & The Future of Social Conversation | New_Public

Project Overview

Title: AI & The Future of Social Conversation
Role: Co-Investigator, Research Advisory Cohort
Status: November 2025 – January 2026

Hosted by New_Public, this short-term research initiative explores how emerging AI technologies will shape the future of online dialogue, moderation, and digital public spaces. As part of a select cohort of interdisciplinary advisors, I contribute to a collaborative inquiry into how AI can support healthier, more pluralistic forms of digital connection.

• Context & Background

  New_Public—a nonprofit R&D lab founded by Eli Pariser—is reimagining social media through the lens of community health, pluralism, and civic infrastructure. Amid rising concerns about polarization and misinformation, this project examines how artificial intelligence might transform the architecture of digital conversation—from platform design to participatory governance.

• Collaborators & Partners

  • New_Public — Project host and lead research lab

  • Eli Pariser, Co-Director, New_Public — Project lead and co-author

  • AI Research Advisory Cohort, an interdisciplinary group of researchers, designers, and technologists shaping the research direction

• My Role & Contribution

  As a Co-Investigator, I serve as a research thought partner, contributing to the project’s inquiry design and synthesis.
  Key contributions include:

  • Conducting deep-dive analyses on under-the-radar trends in digital conversation and AI-mediated connection

  • Participating in workshops focused on ideation, foresight, and sense-making

  • Offering insights on cultural, ethical, and generational dimensions of online community health

• What We Do

  • Convened interdisciplinary workshops to explore AI’s role in shaping the future of public discourse

  • Conducted landscape scans of emerging tools, moderation systems, and algorithmic practices

  • Synthesized key themes and provocations to inform New_Public’s strategic direction for future prototypes and partnerships

• Outputs

  • Foresight report on AI and the future of digital conversation

  • Curated synthesis of expert perspectives across technology, design, and civic sectors

  • Recommendations for healthy digital space design and ethical AI integration

• Tools Used

  • Mixed-method research (qualitative synthesis, trend mapping)

  • Slack-based collaborative workspace

  • Participatory foresight and ideation frameworks

  • Writing and editorial collaboration with New_Public leadership

Impact & Learnings

• Helped articulate an early framework for how AI can serve—not replace—human facilitation in digital spaces

• Expanded the conversation on civic technology and social connection through applied foresight and narrative framing

• Reinforced New_Public’s broader mission to build digital public spaces rooted in empathy, pluralism, and community flourishing