Briana Vecchione
@briana-v.bsky.social
Researcher @ Data & Society • AI accountability & evaluation in mental health + companionship • PhD Cornell CIS • brianavecchione.org 🏳️🌈
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Researching the use of chatbots for mental health support, D&S's @briana-v.bsky.social heard from many people who expected less stigma from chatbots than from therapists, “which is really interesting, given what we know about machine-learning bias,” she tells @undark.org. undark.org/2025/11/04/c...
Researchers Weigh the Use of AI for Mental Health
Chatbots weren't designed for mental health, but they are increasingly used for therapy. What are the risks an benefits?
undark.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Researching the use of chatbots for mental health support, D&S's @briana-v.bsky.social heard from many people who expected less stigma from chatbots than from therapists, “which is really interesting, given what we know about machine-learning bias,” she tells @undark.org. undark.org/2025/11/04/c...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
🚨NEW PAPER ALERT 🚨 @tamigraph.bsky.social @briana-v.bsky.social and I discuss wellness chatbots, their labor implications, & "private vibes" vs "privacy". We call for critical human-AI communication scholarship that takes into account context & political economy: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A chatbot for the soul: mental health care, privacy, and intimacy in AI-based conversational agents - Communication and Change
Artificial intelligence-based conversational agents—chatbots—are increasingly integrated into telehealth platforms, employee wellness programs, and mobile applications to address structural gaps in me...
link.springer.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
🚨NEW PAPER ALERT 🚨 @tamigraph.bsky.social @briana-v.bsky.social and I discuss wellness chatbots, their labor implications, & "private vibes" vs "privacy". We call for critical human-AI communication scholarship that takes into account context & political economy: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
“The perennial availability of AI is rapidly reshaping our expectations of care,” @briana-v.bsky.social and Ranjit Singh write in a new blog post about this piece. “Care is not mere output. It lives in the slow, difficult work of attunement, which no machine can truly provide.”
October 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
“The perennial availability of AI is rapidly reshaping our expectations of care,” @briana-v.bsky.social and Ranjit Singh write in a new blog post about this piece. “Care is not mere output. It lives in the slow, difficult work of attunement, which no machine can truly provide.”
In tandem, Ranjit and I published a short guest piece that was released today on the BD&S blog! bigdatasoc.blogspot.com/2025/10/gues...
October 21, 2025 at 2:39 PM
In tandem, Ranjit and I published a short guest piece that was released today on the BD&S blog! bigdatasoc.blogspot.com/2025/10/gues...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
enhance your Halloween season reading with this rich, textured, and magickal collection of essays on algorithms and the occult, edited by yours truly with @tamigraph.bsky.social and @briana-v.bsky.social !
Our newest cluster is out!
*Algorithms and the Occult
Ed
Tamara Kneese, Jeffrey Moro, Briana Vecchione
Feat
E Quilty
C Tran
J Rauchberg
D Benqué
L Olympe Haute
A Ketchum
A Rocha
S Reinis
K Girginova
K Cassidy
X R Wang
D R Santos
AX Mina
A Segade
S Wong
asapjournal.com/cluster/algo...
*Algorithms and the Occult
Ed
Tamara Kneese, Jeffrey Moro, Briana Vecchione
Feat
E Quilty
C Tran
J Rauchberg
D Benqué
L Olympe Haute
A Ketchum
A Rocha
S Reinis
K Girginova
K Cassidy
X R Wang
D R Santos
AX Mina
A Segade
S Wong
asapjournal.com/cluster/algo...
Algorithms and the Occult - ASAP/Review
asapjournal.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
enhance your Halloween season reading with this rich, textured, and magickal collection of essays on algorithms and the occult, edited by yours truly with @tamigraph.bsky.social and @briana-v.bsky.social !
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Research (including that from tech companies) suggests that users are putting too much trust in AI chatbots. D&S researcher @briana-v.bsky.social notes that some people take chatbot output at face value, without critically considering the text the algorithms produce. undark.org/2025/09/12/c...
Are We Offloading Critical Thinking to Chatbots?
Research, much if it by companies with deep investment in AI, suggests that chatbot interactions alter how users think.
undark.org
September 12, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Research (including that from tech companies) suggests that users are putting too much trust in AI chatbots. D&S researcher @briana-v.bsky.social notes that some people take chatbot output at face value, without critically considering the text the algorithms produce. undark.org/2025/09/12/c...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Btw @jeffreymoro.com, @briana-v.bsky.social + I have a forthcoming special issue on Algorithms + the occult w/ @xrw.bsky.social @drs.bsky.social AX Mina @thechristinet.bsky.social @jessrauchberg.bsky.social @aketchum22.bsky.social @serife.bsky.social @emmaquilty.bsky.social Xandro Segade + more
July 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Btw @jeffreymoro.com, @briana-v.bsky.social + I have a forthcoming special issue on Algorithms + the occult w/ @xrw.bsky.social @drs.bsky.social AX Mina @thechristinet.bsky.social @jessrauchberg.bsky.social @aketchum22.bsky.social @serife.bsky.social @emmaquilty.bsky.social Xandro Segade + more
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
When D&S researchers Ranjit Singh, @livgar.bsky.social, @briana-v.bsky.social, and @emnetspeaks.bsky.social set out to interview people about their use of mental health chatbots, they encountered — and were fascinated by — a particular kind of AI-enabled deception. datasociety.net/points/chatb...
June 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
When D&S researchers Ranjit Singh, @livgar.bsky.social, @briana-v.bsky.social, and @emnetspeaks.bsky.social set out to interview people about their use of mental health chatbots, they encountered — and were fascinated by — a particular kind of AI-enabled deception. datasociety.net/points/chatb...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Excited to present "Towards AI Accountability Infrastructure: Gaps and Opportunities in AI Audit Tooling" at #CHI2025 tomorrow(today)!
🗓 Tue, 29 Apr | 9:48–10:00 AM JST (Mon, 28 Apr | 8:48–9:00 PM ET)
📍 G401 (Pacifico North 4F)
📄 dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
🗓 Tue, 29 Apr | 9:48–10:00 AM JST (Mon, 28 Apr | 8:48–9:00 PM ET)
📍 G401 (Pacifico North 4F)
📄 dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
April 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Excited to present "Towards AI Accountability Infrastructure: Gaps and Opportunities in AI Audit Tooling" at #CHI2025 tomorrow(today)!
🗓 Tue, 29 Apr | 9:48–10:00 AM JST (Mon, 28 Apr | 8:48–9:00 PM ET)
📍 G401 (Pacifico North 4F)
📄 dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
🗓 Tue, 29 Apr | 9:48–10:00 AM JST (Mon, 28 Apr | 8:48–9:00 PM ET)
📍 G401 (Pacifico North 4F)
📄 dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
🎉 Participants Needed for Paid Research!
Do you use chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) for mental health? @datasociety.bsky.social is studying how people use them for support.
Details:
✔️ 4-week diary study
✔️ Optional 1-hr focus group
✔️ 45-min interview
💰 Earn up tp to $400
Learn more/sign up: bit.ly/4iCLkTd
Do you use chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) for mental health? @datasociety.bsky.social is studying how people use them for support.
Details:
✔️ 4-week diary study
✔️ Optional 1-hr focus group
✔️ 45-min interview
💰 Earn up tp to $400
Learn more/sign up: bit.ly/4iCLkTd
Screening Form: Chatbots for Therapy
We are conducting a research study on how people use AI chatbots for mental health support and are looking for participants! If you regularly use an AI chatbot for emotional or mental health support, ...
bit.ly
April 11, 2025 at 1:59 PM
🎉 Participants Needed for Paid Research!
Do you use chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) for mental health? @datasociety.bsky.social is studying how people use them for support.
Details:
✔️ 4-week diary study
✔️ Optional 1-hr focus group
✔️ 45-min interview
💰 Earn up tp to $400
Learn more/sign up: bit.ly/4iCLkTd
Do you use chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) for mental health? @datasociety.bsky.social is studying how people use them for support.
Details:
✔️ 4-week diary study
✔️ Optional 1-hr focus group
✔️ 45-min interview
💰 Earn up tp to $400
Learn more/sign up: bit.ly/4iCLkTd
This program fundamentally changed the course of my career, and I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it for eligible undergraduates! Feel free to reach out to me for any tips or questions 😊
Attention NYC undergrads: Applications are open for our 12th annual Data Science Summer school at Microsoft Research NYC! Apply here by April 15th: bit.ly/3pCQENh
bit.ly
March 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
This program fundamentally changed the course of my career, and I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it for eligible undergraduates! Feel free to reach out to me for any tips or questions 😊
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Just a heads-up that our X account — where we haven't posted since November of last year — appears to have been hacked, this after two of our posts were falsely flagged as a "policy violation." Good times over there! Please note that here and LinkedIn are the only platforms we're active on.
February 18, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Just a heads-up that our X account — where we haven't posted since November of last year — appears to have been hacked, this after two of our posts were falsely flagged as a "policy violation." Good times over there! Please note that here and LinkedIn are the only platforms we're active on.
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
Shoutout to our all-star co-authors: Ranjit Singh, @carolanderson.bsky.social, @emnetspeaks.bsky.social, @briana-v.bsky.social, @bduckles.bsky.social, and Jacob Metcalf.
Red-Teaming in the Public Interest
This report offers a vision for red-teaming in the public interest: a process that goes beyond system-centric testing of already built systems to consider the full range of ways the public can be invo...
datasociety.net
February 11, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Shoutout to our all-star co-authors: Ranjit Singh, @carolanderson.bsky.social, @emnetspeaks.bsky.social, @briana-v.bsky.social, @bduckles.bsky.social, and Jacob Metcalf.
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
On Thursday, Feb 20 @ 1 pm ET, Lama Ahmad, @camillefrancois.bsky.social, Tarleton Gillespie, @briana-v.bsky.social, and @borhane.bsky.social will examine red-teaming’s place in the evolving landscape of genAI evaluation and governance. RSVP and join us online! datasociety.net/events/red-t...
February 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
On Thursday, Feb 20 @ 1 pm ET, Lama Ahmad, @camillefrancois.bsky.social, Tarleton Gillespie, @briana-v.bsky.social, and @borhane.bsky.social will examine red-teaming’s place in the evolving landscape of genAI evaluation and governance. RSVP and join us online! datasociety.net/events/red-t...
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
February 4, 2025 at 1:26 AM
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
Reposted by Briana Vecchione
D&S researchers @livgar.bsky.social & Briana Vecchione are organizing a panel at @4sweb.bsky.social in Seattle called “Know Th/AI Self: Mental Health, Therapeutic Divination, and Chatbot Conspirituality” (see #177). Apply now: the CFP closes on Friday! www.4sonline.org/accepted_ope...
Accepted Open PanelsSearchMobile Menu
www.4sonline.org
January 29, 2025 at 3:29 PM
D&S researchers @livgar.bsky.social & Briana Vecchione are organizing a panel at @4sweb.bsky.social in Seattle called “Know Th/AI Self: Mental Health, Therapeutic Divination, and Chatbot Conspirituality” (see #177). Apply now: the CFP closes on Friday! www.4sonline.org/accepted_ope...