Semra Sevi
@semrasevi.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto
www.semrasevi.com
www.semrasevi.com
Reposted by Semra Sevi
This paper was a blast to work on. The challenge: present party positions across many issues, in real time, using language voters actually use. 🧵 on why we went with a more involved retrieval-based approach and where I think these tools are headed.
🚨Excited to share our new paper published in PNAS (joint with @yamilrvelez.bsky.social and Don Green)! AI can enhance political knowledge and provide balanced information about politics with proper guardrails and vetted sources (e.g., party platforms).
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
December 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
This paper was a blast to work on. The challenge: present party positions across many issues, in real time, using language voters actually use. 🧵 on why we went with a more involved retrieval-based approach and where I think these tools are headed.
Reposted by Semra Sevi
An AI Voter bot improves knowledge about politics
But, the AI bot has weak effects on downstream outcomes like vote preferences and party evaluations among respondents whose primary issue position aligns closely with one of the parties.
Partisan action is hard to change.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
But, the AI bot has weak effects on downstream outcomes like vote preferences and party evaluations among respondents whose primary issue position aligns closely with one of the parties.
Partisan action is hard to change.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
December 17, 2025 at 7:34 PM
An AI Voter bot improves knowledge about politics
But, the AI bot has weak effects on downstream outcomes like vote preferences and party evaluations among respondents whose primary issue position aligns closely with one of the parties.
Partisan action is hard to change.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
But, the AI bot has weak effects on downstream outcomes like vote preferences and party evaluations among respondents whose primary issue position aligns closely with one of the parties.
Partisan action is hard to change.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
🚨Excited to share our new paper published in PNAS (joint with @yamilrvelez.bsky.social and Don Green)! AI can enhance political knowledge and provide balanced information about politics with proper guardrails and vetted sources (e.g., party platforms).
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
🚨Excited to share our new paper published in PNAS (joint with @yamilrvelez.bsky.social and Don Green)! AI can enhance political knowledge and provide balanced information about politics with proper guardrails and vetted sources (e.g., party platforms).
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Quite a 24 hours in Canadian Politics, two Conservatives out (one to the Liberals, one gone altogether), a new Budget on the table, and my debut on Power & Politics! Nothing beats watching your research come to life.
Full interview here: gem.cbc.ca/power-politics
#cdnpoli
Full interview here: gem.cbc.ca/power-politics
#cdnpoli
November 8, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Quite a 24 hours in Canadian Politics, two Conservatives out (one to the Liberals, one gone altogether), a new Budget on the table, and my debut on Power & Politics! Nothing beats watching your research come to life.
Full interview here: gem.cbc.ca/power-politics
#cdnpoli
Full interview here: gem.cbc.ca/power-politics
#cdnpoli
Our study of every election since 1867 shows party switchers in Canada once thrived, but now they face steep losses. Here is a summary of our results: policyoptions.irpp.org/2018/09/rese... #cdnpoli
November 5, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Our study of every election since 1867 shows party switchers in Canada once thrived, but now they face steep losses. Here is a summary of our results: policyoptions.irpp.org/2018/09/rese... #cdnpoli
Reposted by Semra Sevi
@utoronto.ca, do better! The Uni is excluding recent hires from cost-of-living adjustments that an arbitrator decided ALL faculty/librarians deserve. This harms junior colleagues struggling w/ inflation: we’ve organized a petition demanding @utoronto.ca change course. Spread the word! www.utfa.org
University of Toronto Faculty Association
The University of Toronto Faculty Association exists to protect and advance the well being of the faculty, librarians and research associates of the University of Toronto, the University of St. Michae...
www.utfa.org
October 15, 2025 at 10:39 PM
@utoronto.ca, do better! The Uni is excluding recent hires from cost-of-living adjustments that an arbitrator decided ALL faculty/librarians deserve. This harms junior colleagues struggling w/ inflation: we’ve organized a petition demanding @utoronto.ca change course. Spread the word! www.utfa.org
Reposted by Semra Sevi
Which Canadian MPs are on Bluesky and what do they post?
My new paper w/ @rohanalexander.bsky.social in @cjps-rcsp.bsky.social unpacks these questions, finding MPs
use it like Twitter to discuss policy, the Ottawa bubble & constituency
Read more: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
#polsky #commsky #cdnpoli
My new paper w/ @rohanalexander.bsky.social in @cjps-rcsp.bsky.social unpacks these questions, finding MPs
use it like Twitter to discuss policy, the Ottawa bubble & constituency
Read more: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
#polsky #commsky #cdnpoli
September 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Which Canadian MPs are on Bluesky and what do they post?
My new paper w/ @rohanalexander.bsky.social in @cjps-rcsp.bsky.social unpacks these questions, finding MPs
use it like Twitter to discuss policy, the Ottawa bubble & constituency
Read more: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
#polsky #commsky #cdnpoli
My new paper w/ @rohanalexander.bsky.social in @cjps-rcsp.bsky.social unpacks these questions, finding MPs
use it like Twitter to discuss policy, the Ottawa bubble & constituency
Read more: doi.org/10.1017/S000...
#polsky #commsky #cdnpoli
🚨NEW STUDY: Do Americans support a woman president? Our list experiment during the 2024 election, when @kamalaharris.com was on the ballot, reveals hidden bias, and it's more widespread than you'd expect.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Do Voters Support a Female President? Evidence from a List Experiment - Semra Sevi, Can Mekik, 2025
Public opinion polls indicate that a significant portion of the American public would be willing to vote for a qualified female presidential candidate. However,...
journals.sagepub.com
August 15, 2025 at 3:20 PM
🚨NEW STUDY: Do Americans support a woman president? Our list experiment during the 2024 election, when @kamalaharris.com was on the ballot, reveals hidden bias, and it's more widespread than you'd expect.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Semra Sevi
🪃Do legislators trade proposals?
➡️Leveraging a lottery in the Canadian Parliament, @semrasevi.bsky.social & D.P. Green find little evidence MPs second motions to gain favor. Support seems driven by shared interests, not quid pro quo www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
➡️Leveraging a lottery in the Canadian Parliament, @semrasevi.bsky.social & D.P. Green find little evidence MPs second motions to gain favor. Support seems driven by shared interests, not quid pro quo www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
July 21, 2025 at 10:57 AM
🪃Do legislators trade proposals?
➡️Leveraging a lottery in the Canadian Parliament, @semrasevi.bsky.social & D.P. Green find little evidence MPs second motions to gain favor. Support seems driven by shared interests, not quid pro quo www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
➡️Leveraging a lottery in the Canadian Parliament, @semrasevi.bsky.social & D.P. Green find little evidence MPs second motions to gain favor. Support seems driven by shared interests, not quid pro quo www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
🚨NEW PAPER: Do legislators trade favours?
My latest with Donald Green uses a natural lottery in the Canadian Parliament to test whether MPs return favours when others support their proposals.
Our findings may surprise you.👇
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
My latest with Donald Green uses a natural lottery in the Canadian Parliament to test whether MPs return favours when others support their proposals.
Our findings may surprise you.👇
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
July 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM
🚨NEW PAPER: Do legislators trade favours?
My latest with Donald Green uses a natural lottery in the Canadian Parliament to test whether MPs return favours when others support their proposals.
Our findings may surprise you.👇
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
My latest with Donald Green uses a natural lottery in the Canadian Parliament to test whether MPs return favours when others support their proposals.
Our findings may surprise you.👇
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
🚨NEW PAPER: Do incumbents really have an edge in elections?
Research says yes. But what happens when party labels are added to the ballot?
A natural experiment from Canadian elections tells an interesting story👇🧵
Research says yes. But what happens when party labels are added to the ballot?
A natural experiment from Canadian elections tells an interesting story👇🧵
June 9, 2025 at 4:52 PM
🚨NEW PAPER: Do incumbents really have an edge in elections?
Research says yes. But what happens when party labels are added to the ballot?
A natural experiment from Canadian elections tells an interesting story👇🧵
Research says yes. But what happens when party labels are added to the ballot?
A natural experiment from Canadian elections tells an interesting story👇🧵
Reposted by Semra Sevi
From classroom to control room: #UofT students join Global News on election night 🗳️ uoft.me/bzJ
May 9, 2025 at 2:03 PM
From classroom to control room: #UofT students join Global News on election night 🗳️ uoft.me/bzJ
Reposted by Semra Sevi
#UofTArtSci students joined @globalnews.ca on election night, working behind the scenes in the newsroom to help call live results — an unforgettable hands-on experience.
Read more: bit.ly/3YpJPQL
Read more: bit.ly/3YpJPQL
May 1, 2025 at 8:38 PM
#UofTArtSci students joined @globalnews.ca on election night, working behind the scenes in the newsroom to help call live results — an unforgettable hands-on experience.
Read more: bit.ly/3YpJPQL
Read more: bit.ly/3YpJPQL
Reposted by Semra Sevi
Just days after Canadians elected Liberal leader Mark Carney as Prime Minister, the mix of victories, upsets and expected outcomes reflects deeper trends that #UofTArtSci elections expert Semra Sevi has spent years analyzing.
Read more: bit.ly/4lVQ7ld
Read more: bit.ly/4lVQ7ld
May 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Just days after Canadians elected Liberal leader Mark Carney as Prime Minister, the mix of victories, upsets and expected outcomes reflects deeper trends that #UofTArtSci elections expert Semra Sevi has spent years analyzing.
Read more: bit.ly/4lVQ7ld
Read more: bit.ly/4lVQ7ld
Can AI reduce prejudice? 🇺🇸 In our new preprint, GPT-4o moved the needle on trans rights in a national U.S. study using morally tailored messages. The shift was real and short-lived. For more, read 👇 Comments and feedback are welcome.
Prejudice is common in modern societies.
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
April 24, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Can AI reduce prejudice? 🇺🇸 In our new preprint, GPT-4o moved the needle on trans rights in a national U.S. study using morally tailored messages. The shift was real and short-lived. For more, read 👇 Comments and feedback are welcome.
Reposted by Semra Sevi
Prejudice is common in modern societies.
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
April 24, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Prejudice is common in modern societies.
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reducing prejudice is difficult to do, particularly in a cost-effective & scalable manner.
Can AI help reduce prejudice?
My new working paper w @semrasevi.bsky.social, @mbosley.bsky.social & Crabtree examines this question!
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Semra Sevi
Why aren't we talking about harassment in #elxn45?
In my new op-ed, I reflect on the harassment women continue to face in #cdnpoli, and the threat it poses to democracy:
theconversation.com/growing-thre...
@theconversationca.bsky.social #gendersky #polisky
In my new op-ed, I reflect on the harassment women continue to face in #cdnpoli, and the threat it poses to democracy:
theconversation.com/growing-thre...
@theconversationca.bsky.social #gendersky #polisky
Growing threats faced by women candidates undermine our democracy
This scholar has found that 86 per cent of replies to tweets sent to women MPs contained some form of harassment. This is a clear threat to women’s participation in politics.
theconversation.com
April 16, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Why aren't we talking about harassment in #elxn45?
In my new op-ed, I reflect on the harassment women continue to face in #cdnpoli, and the threat it poses to democracy:
theconversation.com/growing-thre...
@theconversationca.bsky.social #gendersky #polisky
In my new op-ed, I reflect on the harassment women continue to face in #cdnpoli, and the threat it poses to democracy:
theconversation.com/growing-thre...
@theconversationca.bsky.social #gendersky #polisky
🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨 with Charles Crabtree & André Blais "Do Voters Punish Women Politicians More?"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
August 24, 2024 at 1:57 PM
🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨 with Charles Crabtree & André Blais "Do Voters Punish Women Politicians More?"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
🚨Are feminine traits a liability in elections? My latest with André Blais at Acta Politica is now online!
April 17, 2024 at 9:43 PM
🚨Are feminine traits a liability in elections? My latest with André Blais at Acta Politica is now online!
Ever wonder whether snap elections backfire? In my latest with Marco M. Aviña & @rdassonneville.bsky.social we study this question in the Canadian context. Now out at the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
December 13, 2023 at 6:23 PM
Ever wonder whether snap elections backfire? In my latest with Marco M. Aviña & @rdassonneville.bsky.social we study this question in the Canadian context. Now out at the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Really excited to share my latest with André Blais now out at Electoral Studies on "Are women election averse?"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@uoft.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@uoft.bsky.social
November 9, 2023 at 5:19 PM
Really excited to share my latest with André Blais now out at Electoral Studies on "Are women election averse?"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@uoft.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@uoft.bsky.social
Reposted by Semra Sevi
New paper now conditionally accepted at @thejop.bsky.social
With @elizabethsim0n.bsky.social - one of the best (& nicest) people in polisky - we ran a meta analysis looking at effects of educational group-based biases in candidate choice experiments.
👉https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hrufe
With @elizabethsim0n.bsky.social - one of the best (& nicest) people in polisky - we ran a meta analysis looking at effects of educational group-based biases in candidate choice experiments.
👉https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hrufe
November 7, 2023 at 5:14 PM
New paper now conditionally accepted at @thejop.bsky.social
With @elizabethsim0n.bsky.social - one of the best (& nicest) people in polisky - we ran a meta analysis looking at effects of educational group-based biases in candidate choice experiments.
👉https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hrufe
With @elizabethsim0n.bsky.social - one of the best (& nicest) people in polisky - we ran a meta analysis looking at effects of educational group-based biases in candidate choice experiments.
👉https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/hrufe
Reposted by Semra Sevi
Friends, please encourage your students to consider a pre-doctoral fellowship with me working on meta-analyses of political science experiments.
I promise a good trade of money and skills in exchange for effort and time!
tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...
I promise a good trade of money and skills in exchange for effort and time!
tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...
October 31, 2023 at 1:28 PM
Friends, please encourage your students to consider a pre-doctoral fellowship with me working on meta-analyses of political science experiments.
I promise a good trade of money and skills in exchange for effort and time!
tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...
I promise a good trade of money and skills in exchange for effort and time!
tobin.yale.edu/opportunitie...