Newsletter
Prof. Nitin Agarwal Featured in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on State’s Safe AI Use Policy Report
Prof. Nitin Agarwal was featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for his role in the Arkansas statewide report outlining how the state can responsibly adopt AI to improve government efficiency and public services. The report, released by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, highlights applications such as fraud detection and workflow optimization while emphasizing safeguards for privacy, security, and ethical governance through a formal Safe AI Use Policy. As a key contributor, Prof. Agarwal underscores the importance of aligning innovation with national standards, reinforcing his leadership in advancing responsible, impactful AI for public policy.
Hot off the Press: Why Symbols Matter More Than Followers on Instagram
A 2025 study published in the Cambridge University Press Journal of Data & Policy examines how social, cultural, and political symbols shape engagement and information spread on Instagram, using Taiwan’s 2024 election as a case study. It finds that symbol-rich content consistently generates higher engagement, trust, and faster diffusion than non-symbolic posts, even when controlling for audience size, showing that cultural meaning can matter more than follower count. Overall, the research highlights symbolic richness as a key driver of online influence and offers practical guidance for creating more effective, culturally resonant messages.
Research Spotlight: New Computational Approaches to Interpreting Digital Content and Online Behavior
COSMOS at UA Little Rock showcases three studies published at the 37th IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI 2025), that advance interpretable AI to better understand how digital platforms shape content exposure, user behavior, and online interactions. The work spans detecting bias in recommendation systems, improving large-scale video summarization through tri-modal analysis, and enabling transparent classification of toxic intent using moral reasoning frameworks. Together, these studies push AI beyond prediction toward explanation, strengthening scientific approaches to interpretable machine learning while promoting more transparent, fair, and accountable digital ecosystems.
New Hire: Bishwa Subedi, Graduate Assistant at COSMOS Research Center
Bishwa Subedi joins the COSMOS Research Center as a graduate research assistant, contributing to projects on narrative analysis and content traps while pursuing Masters in Information Science at UA Little Rock. With a background in electronics engineering and teaching experience in programming and data technologies, he is drawn to Prof. Nitin Agarwal’s research for his interdisciplinary, socially impactful work in AI, network science, and computational social systems. Bishwa aims to become an independent researcher by strengthening his technical and analytical skills, while emphasizing initiative, collaboration, and continuous learning as keys to success in the COSMOS Research Center.