September 29, 2026: When the Tools Talk Back: Toward a Human–AI Collaborative Approach for Communication Research

NetSCI Lab Presents: Aimei Yang, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism Abstract: AI hasn't just entered communication research — it has started doing the research. This talk argues that large language models are best understood as synthetic collaborators embedded in a human-led research loop: neither black-box tools nor substitutes for scholarly judgment. Drawing on a four-function framework — LLMs as analyst, proxy, generator, and agent — I show what disciplined human-AI collaboration looks like in practice, through a study in which I built pipelines to work with LLMs and classified social media users into distinct actor types and their posts into issue niche areas. The study found that as governments, companies, journalists, and everyday users converged on similar issue niches, none lost the spotlight — together, they commanded more public attention than any voice could earn alone. I close by asking what this collaborative turn requires of communication scholars: new competencies, new rigor, and a redefined role — from observer to architect of the research process Bio: Aimei Yang is an associate professor at USC Annenberg. Her research is positioned at the…