Communicating Science in the Digital Age

Today, most academics share their research online, while the public, journalists, and policymakers increasingly rely on digital media as a primary source of scientific information. In a landscape where science is often misunderstood, politicized, or sensationalized, it is more important than ever to understand how research is communicated and reshaped across online platforms. This talk presents our work on several pressing questions: Does sharing scientific articles online influence their citation impact? If digital dissemination affects citations—and by extension, academic evaluation—can all scholars participate on equal footing? How do researchers navigate the pressure to promote their work amid digital incentives that may favor virality over rigor? When scientific falsehoods gain traction, how visible and widespread are they online? And how is the rise of AI transforming not just the dissemination, but the very production of scientific knowledge? I will explore these challenges and reflect on how digital platforms might be designed or reimagined to foster more effective, equitable, and responsible science communication.

Bio: Ágnes Horvát is an Associate Professor of Communication and Computer Science (by courtesy) at Northwestern University, where she directs the Lab on Innovation, Networks, and Knowledge (LINK). Her research focuses on human-centered computing and network science, examining how online spaces operate and disseminate information. Her group strives to make digital tools more efficient for scientists, entrepreneurs, and creatives. Their recent projects investigate the use of LLMs in scientific writing and music creation, study biases in online attention to science, identify cases of collective intelligence and opportunities for improved decision-making, and develop frameworks to examine persuasion and opinion change in online discussions. Horvát’s work has been awarded an NSF CAREER, CRII, and collaborative awards. Her doctoral advisees have received highly competitive prizes, including a Northwestern Presidential Fellowship and best student paper awards at international conferences. Her research has been featured recently in Nature, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Economist, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.