Prof. Nitin Agarwal Featured in Arkansas Business Magazine Executive Q&A
Prof. Nitin Agarwal, Founding Director of COSMOS and Donaghey Distinguished Professor at UA Little Rock, was featured in Arkansas Business Magazine’s Executive Q&A. He discussed COSMOS’s mission to advance AI-driven, socially informed research that detects coordinated influence operations and emerging socio-cognitive threats. Prof. Agarwal emphasized integrating data science with social science to analyze narrative amplification and online behavior. He highlighted COSMOS’s role in shaping policy, strengthening workforce development, and positioning Arkansas as a national leader in socio-cognitive security through sustained collaboration and investment.
Prof. Nitin Agarwal Featured Speaker at DCSTEM Leadership Council
Prof. Nitin Agarwal delivered a featured talk, “Fighting Fire with Fire,” at the UA Little Rock DCSTEM Leadership Council on July 24, 2025. He addressed the rising threat of AI-enabled influence operations that distort narratives and undermine trust. Highlighting COSMOS’s research, he emphasized developing AI-powered defense frameworks that integrate machine learning, social network analytics, and behavioral modeling to strengthen cognitive security. He underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and responsible innovation to safeguard digital ecosystems and ensure AI advances societal good.
Research Spotlight: Modeling and Analyzing Cross-Platform Narrative and Information Spread
At ASONAM 2025 in Niagara Falls, the COSMOS team presented three key studies advancing cross-platform information diffusion research. The first integrated empirical data with contagion-based modeling to reveal how false narratives spread and identify intervention points. The second introduced a multiplex framework to trace narrative migration across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram. The third examined contextual focal structures that accelerate dissemination. Together, these works deepen understanding of cross-platform narrative propagation and offer strategies to mitigate harmful information campaigns.
Hot off the Press: Symbolic Signals: How Visuals Shape Engagement, Emotion, Trust, and Diffusion on Instagram?
A 2025 study published in the Journal of Social Network Analysis and Mining examines how symbolic imagery influences engagement on Instagram. Analyzing 3,000 posts from an information maneuvering campaign in Taiwan, the COSMOS team used advanced AI models to identify social, cultural, and political symbols. Posts with symbols showed higher engagement, emotional resonance, trust, and faster diffusion. Cultural symbols were most impactful, while political symbols evoked mixed emotions. The study underscores the importance of symbolic visuals in shaping online behavior and advancing cognitive security research.
COSMOS Presented Three Studies at the 37th IEEE ICTAI 2025 Conference
At ICTAI 2025 in Athens, one of the leading global conferences on AI tools and applications, COSMOS presented three peer-reviewed papers showcasing advances in algorithmic transparency, interpretable AI, intelligent content analysis, and cognitive security. The event brought together researchers and industry leaders to explore innovations across neural networks, probabilistic reasoning, recommender systems, and AI for societal good. Prof. Agarwal emphasized COSMOS’s commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration and developing impactful, responsible AI solutions that bridge technical innovation with societal relevance worldwide.
New Hire: Hassam Khan, Data Engineer
COSMOS welcomes Hassam Khan as its new full-time Data Engineer. With six years of DevOps experience and a Master’s in Computer Science from Purdue University, Hassam brings strong expertise in cloud infrastructure, architectural design, and large-scale data systems. He was drawn to COSMOS’s mission and Prof. Agarwal’s leadership, valuing the center’s blend of creativity, data engineering, and real-world impact. He aims to enhance large-scale data processing, integrate AI-driven automation, and contribute to socio-computational research in a collaborative, supportive environment.
Cosmographer Corner: Dr. Tuja Khaund, Ph.D., Senior Data Scientist, Walmart
This edition of Cosmographer Corner highlights Dr. Tuja Khaund, a COSMOS alumna and Senior Data Scientist at Walmart Global Tech. A Ph.D. graduate in Information Science from UA Little Rock, Tuja contributed extensively to COSMOS research on online influence operations, social bot detection, and coordination analysis for DARPA-funded projects. She built data pipelines leveraging graph theory, network science, NLP, and cyber-forensics. Tuja credits COSMOS and Prof. Agarwal’s mentorship for shaping her research skills, career trajectory, and leadership, and continues applying these foundations to advanced AI and analytics work.