Study: Virtual Humans Can Be Used as Pro-Social Campaign Endorsers

A new study has revealed the innate ability of virtual humans within video content to persuade humans to engage in stopping misinformation and seeking scientific information about climate change.

The findings by Won Ki-Moon, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising assistant professor, University of Texas at Austin (UT) doctoral student Yong Whi (Greg) Song and UT Associate Professor Lucy Atkinson were featured in “Virtual Voice for Real Change: The Efficacy of Virtual Humans in Pro-Environmental Social Marketing for Mitigating Misinformation About Climate Change” published in Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans on Jan. 23.

According to the authors, “Better communication campaigns are imperative to combat misinformation on climate change, promote scientific information seeking and cultivate improved media literacy regarding online climate change narratives.”

They add, “Our research delves into audience interpretations of virtual human content intended to advocate for fact-checking in the context of climate change awareness. Focusing on efforts to advance public literacy about climate change, we seek to determine the degree to which individuals can empathize with and recognize virtual human entities featured in pro-social messages.”

Posted: January 29, 2024
Category: AI at CJC News, College News
Tagged as: Advertising, Climate change, Computers in Human Behavior, Virtual Humans, Won-Ki Moon