CAREER: Conversational Intuition: Modeling Latent Interactional Dynamics to Improve Online Discussions

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

This research will develop computational tools and understanding that can endow online discussion platforms with an artificial intuition about ongoing conversations. While in the offline world we are attuned to subtle conversational signals that help us align our intentions and expectations with those of our interlocutors, online we have not yet developed an acute sensibility for such (often muted) meta-conversational signals. This project will develop a computational framework for (1) reconstructing aspects of this lost meta-conversational channel in online goal-oriented discussion; for (2) detecting warning signs of misalignment and conversational failure; and for (3) developing mechanisms aimed at keeping at-risk conversations on track. This work introduces new methods for tracking the balance of conversational behavior of interlocutors throughout a conversation. It proposes new hypotheses connecting these dynamics of interactional balance to the outcomes of goal-oriented conversations and tests these hypotheses in prediction settings on large-scale conversational data and through experimental interventions on real-world goal-oriented discussion platforms. A transformed understanding of the meta-conversational channel and new computational models for capturing it will have broader impacts along many dimensions. First, the project will provide new knowledge that organizations building online discussion platforms can adopt to maximize their effectiveness. Second, it provide new research methods for disciplines where computational treatment of conversations plays a key role. Third, the project will add to research infrastructure through the release of datasets, code, and working applications. Fourth, the project will develop a new interdisciplinary undergraduate course that will integrate the code, data, and knowledge generated by the research activities. Finally, there will be an extensive outreach program aimed at empowering disadvantaged high-schoolers through hands-on interactive activities highlighting the strengths and potential pitfalls of online teamwork. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.