Austin van Loon
@austin-van-loon.bsky.social
Assistant professor of work and organization studies at MIT Sloan School of Management. I’m a sociologists and computational social scientist studying culture, identity, intergroup conflict, and other things I find interesting or important.
Reposted by Austin van Loon
Excited to continue learning about the latest #CSS at @ic2s2.bsky.social! I’ll be at the Social Prediction Session, presenting the mixed subjects design on combining human and LLM data in experiments. Paper with Michael Howes and @austin-van-loon.bsky.social. Come join us! doi.org/10.1177/0049...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
doi.org
July 21, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Excited to continue learning about the latest #CSS at @ic2s2.bsky.social! I’ll be at the Social Prediction Session, presenting the mixed subjects design on combining human and LLM data in experiments. Paper with Michael Howes and @austin-van-loon.bsky.social. Come join us! doi.org/10.1177/0049...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
New in Sociological Methods & Research: Soc PhD candidate @davidbroska.bsky.social, @austin-van-loon.bsky.social, & Michael Howes show how combining human subjects and large language models can yield precise estimates at low cost, with implications for scientific productivity
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
June 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM
New in Sociological Methods & Research: Soc PhD candidate @davidbroska.bsky.social, @austin-van-loon.bsky.social, & Michael Howes show how combining human subjects and large language models can yield precise estimates at low cost, with implications for scientific productivity
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
Looking forward to presenting my Class Gap work at the RNIM Online Seminar on Zoom this Friday!
Anyone can register to attend here: sites.google.com/view/rnim-se...
Anyone can register to attend here: sites.google.com/view/rnim-se...
June 17, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Looking forward to presenting my Class Gap work at the RNIM Online Seminar on Zoom this Friday!
Anyone can register to attend here: sites.google.com/view/rnim-se...
Anyone can register to attend here: sites.google.com/view/rnim-se...
My work with David Broska and Michael Howes on augmenting human subjects with LLM simulations was discussed in the Stat Modeling blog!
👀
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/06/12/b...
👀
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/06/12/b...
Better and worse ways to mix human and LLM responses in behavioral research (but you still have to figure what you’re measuring) | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu
June 13, 2025 at 10:20 AM
My work with David Broska and Michael Howes on augmenting human subjects with LLM simulations was discussed in the Stat Modeling blog!
👀
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/06/12/b...
👀
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/06/12/b...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
NYU Social Psychology is looking for people passing through NYC next year who want to give a research TALK in our Speaker Series.
We welcome self-nominations and scholars from all career stages (you can apply multiple times).
Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
We welcome self-nominations and scholars from all career stages (you can apply multiple times).
Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
April 22, 2025 at 10:04 PM
NYU Social Psychology is looking for people passing through NYC next year who want to give a research TALK in our Speaker Series.
We welcome self-nominations and scholars from all career stages (you can apply multiple times).
Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
We welcome self-nominations and scholars from all career stages (you can apply multiple times).
Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
Mixed feelings about silicon subjects (LLM predictions of human behavior) as replacements for human subjects? Consider the mixed subjects design.
🚨Now published at Sociological Methods and Research🚨
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
🚨Now published at Sociological Methods and Research🚨
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
April 23, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Mixed feelings about silicon subjects (LLM predictions of human behavior) as replacements for human subjects? Consider the mixed subjects design.
🚨Now published at Sociological Methods and Research🚨
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
🚨Now published at Sociological Methods and Research🚨
doi.org/10.1177/0049...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
New from Microsoft Research & Harvard Business School colleagues
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
April 19, 2025 at 10:13 PM
New from Microsoft Research & Harvard Business School colleagues
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
"Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI" by Eleanor Wiske Dillon, Sonia Jaffe, Nicole Immorlica, Christopher T. Stanton
arxiv.org/abs/2504.11436
I’ve never felt so seen 🥹
April 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
I’ve never felt so seen 🥹
Reposted by Austin van Loon
New paper from the computational culture lab, forthcoming @amjsoc.bsky.social!
Building on (largely untested) sociological intuitions, we show how positions in the organizational network relate to identification with the organization, using a language model:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Building on (largely untested) sociological intuitions, we show how positions in the organizational network relate to identification with the organization, using a language model:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
March 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
New paper from the computational culture lab, forthcoming @amjsoc.bsky.social!
Building on (largely untested) sociological intuitions, we show how positions in the organizational network relate to identification with the organization, using a language model:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Building on (largely untested) sociological intuitions, we show how positions in the organizational network relate to identification with the organization, using a language model:
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
Reposted by Austin van Loon
Want to learn about computational social science *for free* and launch interdisciplinary research projects? We are so excited to announce there will be *26* Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science this year! Apply to one of them here: sicss.io/locations
February 24, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Want to learn about computational social science *for free* and launch interdisciplinary research projects? We are so excited to announce there will be *26* Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science this year! Apply to one of them here: sicss.io/locations
Reposted by Austin van Loon
Our paper is out today in @pnas.org! 🎉 In a large-scale experiment on a YouTube-like platform, we find that giving people politically “slanted” video recs doesn’t shift beliefs or viewing behaviors.
In other words, online filter bubbles may not be as polarizing as we think…
In other words, online filter bubbles may not be as polarizing as we think…
📣New Paper 📝 in PNAS: Short-term exposure to filter-bubble recommendation systems has limited polarization effects: Naturalistic experiments on YouTube
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Short-term exposure to filter-bubble recommendation systems has limited polarization effects: Naturalistic experiments on YouTube | PNAS
An enormous body of literature argues that recommendation algorithms drive political
polarization by creating “filter bubbles” and “rabbit holes.” ...
www.pnas.org
February 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Our paper is out today in @pnas.org! 🎉 In a large-scale experiment on a YouTube-like platform, we find that giving people politically “slanted” video recs doesn’t shift beliefs or viewing behaviors.
In other words, online filter bubbles may not be as polarizing as we think…
In other words, online filter bubbles may not be as polarizing as we think…
🚨 ACCEPTED AT SMR 🚨
Confused by colleagues who seem to want to study LLMs instead of humans? Frustrated by skeptics (e.g., myself 8 months ago) who dismiss LLMs as a potential source of data on human behavior? Check out our paper for a new way forward: osf.io/j3bnt_v3/
OSF
osf.io
February 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
🚨 ACCEPTED AT SMR 🚨
Confused by colleagues who seem to want to study LLMs instead of humans? Frustrated by skeptics (e.g., myself 8 months ago) who dismiss LLMs as a potential source of data on human behavior? Check out our paper for a new way forward: osf.io/j3bnt_v3/
Reposted by Austin van Loon
I am hiring a predoc at MIT to start this summer!
We will work on various topics in labor economics - unions, minimum wages, imperfect competition, etc.
Please apply and share !
#predoc @mitiwer.bsky.social #EconSky
apply.interfolio.com/163492
We will work on various topics in labor economics - unions, minimum wages, imperfect competition, etc.
Please apply and share !
#predoc @mitiwer.bsky.social #EconSky
apply.interfolio.com/163492
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
February 14, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I am hiring a predoc at MIT to start this summer!
We will work on various topics in labor economics - unions, minimum wages, imperfect competition, etc.
Please apply and share !
#predoc @mitiwer.bsky.social #EconSky
apply.interfolio.com/163492
We will work on various topics in labor economics - unions, minimum wages, imperfect competition, etc.
Please apply and share !
#predoc @mitiwer.bsky.social #EconSky
apply.interfolio.com/163492
Reposted by Austin van Loon
UNB's St. John campus is hiring a TT position in Sociology with an emphasis on quantitative methods. Although there are rules about prioritizing Canadian candidates, I would encourage US folks to apply.
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
February 7, 2025 at 3:45 PM
UNB's St. John campus is hiring a TT position in Sociology with an emphasis on quantitative methods. Although there are rules about prioritizing Canadian candidates, I would encourage US folks to apply.
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...