DIGSUM team members Henrik Sigurdh, Felicia Lundstedt, and Simon Lindgren participated in the WASP-HS Winter Conference 2025, held from February 5th to 7th at Stockholm University. This annual event brought together researchers from diverse disciplines to discuss the societal implications of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Henrik’s presentation, Speaking of Bots: Unpacking Representations of Political Bots in Swedish News Media Discourse, examined how political bots are framed in Swedish news media, particularly in relation to concerns about democracy. His research analyses 226 articles from major Swedish newspapers and public service media, identifying a recurring discourse that portrays bots as a threat to democratic processes, often in a manner resembling moral panic.
Felicia’s poster, Community Bridging and Cluster Effects: The Impact of Social Networks on Digitally Communicated Climate Disinformation, analysed the spread of climate disinformation on Twitter during the COP26 and COP27 climate conferences. Her findings highlighted the role of network structures, such as clustering and community bridging, in amplifying the reach of disinformation beyond isolated echo chambers.
DIGSUM director Simon Lindgren participated in an invitational workshop aimed at shaping the future research agenda for WASP-HS. The session, led by Mary Robson from Durham University, brought together an interdisciplinary group of leading researchers to define key research questions on AI and autonomous systems for the next five to ten years. Discussions focused on interdisciplinary collaboration, research clusters, and strategic priorities for WASP-HS.