Department of Communication and Culture

Computers & Education: Artificial Intelligence (CAEAI) 11 p. 100625-100625 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2026.100625

Drawing on expectation confirmation theory (ECT), this study explores the factors that impact Human-Artificial Intelligence (AI) collaboration and investigates the effect of students' distrust towards GenAI. An online survey was administered to students in higher education using GenAI (N = 245). This study found positive and significant relationships between effort expectation and performance expectation, as predicted by ECT, with positive confirmation of GenAI collaboration significantly influencing intentions and positively impacting student behavior. This study further revealed that GenAI distrust negatively moderates the relationships between (1) effort expectation and performance expectation; and (2) expectation confirmation toward collaborating with GenAI and intentions to collaborate with GenAI. Accordingly, this research contributes to the understanding of the role of distrust into Human-AI collaboration and extends the theoretical boundaries of ECT in higher education context. Practically, our findings provide insights for educators and GenAI practitioners to develop strategic approaches that effectively bridge students' distrust and initial expectations with responsible Human-AI collaboration behaviors.

Social Media + Society forthcoming

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly advanced AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, has transformed human-AI interactions by providing unprecedentedly natural interaction environments. These developments have significantly heightened user perceptions of AI as human-like, making anthropomorphism, a tendency to attribute human traits to non-humans, increasingly prevalent. Despite the recognition of the rising anthropomorphism in these interaction modalities, little is known about how people anthropomorphize generative AI, especially in social media discourse. Using Twitter/X as a discursive space, we systematically analyze how users described and engaged with ChatGPT, identifying distinct categories and recurring forms of anthropomorphism. Findings reveal diverse anthropomorphic perceptions, including personification, emotional attributions, cognitive and human-like attributes, social interactions, and human-like personality traits. Building on the observation that social media platforms not only reflect but also actively shape and reinforce anthropomorphic narratives, this study raises important implications for trust, misinformation, user expectations, and human-AI interactions.

Convergence. The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies Doi: https://doi-org.bi.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/13548565261464938

This article investigates the intersection of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the book industry, focusing on the use of copyrighted literary works for training large language models (LLMs). As LLMs require enormous volumes of content for training, published books and other media have become valuable sources of data. Many training datasets appear to have been assembled without authorization or transparency, raising acute legal, ethical and cultural questions. In this article, we provide a detailed empirical analysis of the Scandinavian content within the Books3 dataset, used to train multiple major AI systems, characterizing it by publication year, publisher, authorship, genre, and language. As comparatively small language markets situated outside of the main hubs for AI development, the Scandinavian countries provide a relevant context for exploring the local implications of global AI deployment. The findings are discussed through a theoretical lens drawing on Michel Serres’s concept of the “parasite.” We argue that the inclusion of Scandinavian books in Books3 is part of a multidimensional ecology of parasitic exchange. This framework interprets the relationship between AI developers, shadow libraries, and publishers as a cascade of information appropriation, signifying a reconfiguration of cultural production and ownership in the age of generative AI.

International Journal of Strategic Communication 20(3) p. 239-253 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118x.2026.2673734

Over the past two decades, the Nordic countries have attracted attention, for instance, due to their high rankings in surveys of happiness and a range of other economic and social indicators. This special issue investigates how strategic communication is theorized and practiced within this regional context, focusing on the distinctive conditions that shape both conceptual frameworks and professional approaches. In this introduction, we first ask whether there is such a thing as a Nordic approach to strategic communication. We then consider how communication practices may be influenced by what is commonly referred to as the “Nordic model” – a concept associated with social-democratic welfare states characterized by extensive public services, high labor participation, and substantial taxation. While frequently cited as a blueprint for effective welfare governance, the Nordic model is also increasingly used as a lens for interpreting regional communication norms. We outline the main features typically attributed to the Nordic model and critically assess its usefulness as an analytical framework, a myth, and as both a strategic resource and a constraint for strategic communication within and beyond the region. In doing so, we highlight the potential ‘Nordicness’ that may underpin strategic communication and prepare the ground for the contributions presented in this special issue.

International Conference on Management and Organization

Avatar-mediated communication presents a novel avenue for leaders to express their authentic selves through digital embodiment, extending the concept of embodied authentic leadership (EAL). However, the specific mechanisms by which avatars enable users to engage in EAL remain underexplored. To elucidate the underlying psychological pathways from avatars to EAL, this study integrated social identity theory (SIT), which explains how people define themselves based on their membership in various groups (Tajfel, 1978), with a biographical case study of Mats Steen. Through an analysis of Mats's biographical documentary and blog narratives, we identified two key enabling mechanisms: from personal level, avatars facilitate the convergence of Mats's constrained physical self-identity and his idealized virtual self-identity. This convergence enhances his self-efficacy and reduces disinhibition, thereby fostering EAL. From social level, we find that the avatar-enabled depersonalization (shifting from individual to social identity focus) paradoxically catalyses social identification with the group, leading to higher levels of EAL. These findings contribute to leadership theory by proposing a framework for digital embodiment in EAL and challenge traditional, physically cantered models. They also offer implications for management research and organizations to leverage avatars and enhance leadership effectiveness.