时间：2024年11月1日 14:00

地点：邵逸夫科学馆401

主讲人：魏立佳

讲座题目：Navigating the Clouds: The Impact of Air Pollution on AI Chatbot Conversations

摘要：The influence of air pollution on economic activities is extensively documented, particularly regarding its negative effects on individual productivity and mental health. Nonetheless, the impact of air quality on entertainment activities, such as interactions with AI chatbots, is less understood. This study investigates how air pollution affects user engagement with AI chatbots, employing daily city-level panel data from 240 cities in China over a one-year period. Engagement is measured through two primary indicators: the frequency of dialogue rounds and the interaction quality, assessed via the use of ``inspiration messages''. Our findings reveal that worsening air quality correlates with heightened user engagement with chatbots, marked by extended dialogue rounds but a reduction in interaction quality as users increasingly rely on AI-generated suggestions. A one standard deviation rise in the Air Quality Index (AQI) leads to a notable increase in both active users and dialogue rounds, alongside a growing tendency to depend on AI responses. To tackle potential endogeneity, we utilize thermal inversions as instrumental variables for AQI. Our results underscore that poor air quality amplifies the need for emotional expression, particularly at night, as evidenced by more emotionally charged conversation topics. This research sheds light on how environmental factors affect digital communication and user behavior in AI-human interactions.

主讲人介绍：魏立佳，武汉大学经济与管理学院教授、博士生导师，数理经济与数理金融系主任，行为科学研究实验中心执行主任，珞珈青年学者。研究领域是行为经济学，数字经济。现兼任教育部经济学“101计划”《行为与实验经济学》课程联合牵头人、China Economic Review等国际期刊的客座编辑等职务。论文发表于Marketing Science、Econometric Theory、Experimental Economics、Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, AEA: Papers and Proceedings等国际一流期刊，以及《中国工业经济》、《经济学（季刊）》、《系统工程理论与实践》等中文权威期刊。主持国家自然科学基金重点、面上、青年项目，教育部人文社会科学基金，教育部产学研创新基金，科技部高端专家引进项目等国家级、省部级项目。