Professor Don Shin
Speech Title : From Gatekeepers to Algorithms: Rethinking Truth and Verification in the Age of AI Fact-Checking
Abstract
This presentation explores the evolving epistemic landscape of fact-checking in an era dominated by AI-driven verification systems. Once rooted in journalistic gatekeeping, fact-checking has become a contested site of algorithmic governance, where the authority to arbitrate truth is increasingly delegated to opaque, data-driven systems. This shift gives rise to what can be termed algorithmic truth—a probabilistic, procedural, and infrastructural approach to verification that often lacks contextual understanding, justification, and accountability. While AI systems offer unprecedented scale and speed in misinformation detection, they also introduce profound epistemic challenges, including cognitive misalignment, user mistrust, and the erosion of democratic legitimacy.
The talk argues that effective fact-checking must move beyond automation toward hybrid, human-centered models that integrate cognitive epistemology, participatory verification, and explainable AI. Drawing on emerging frameworks such as cognitive-epistemic modeling (CEM) and participatory fact-checking platforms like Community Notes, the presentation outlines strategies for designing verification systems that are not only technically accurate but also cognitively resonant, socially inclusive, and epistemically just. It concludes by calling for a reimagining of AI fact-checking as a civic infrastructure that sustains democratic deliberation, epistemic pluralism, and public trust in an increasingly algorithmic information environment.
Biography
Dr. Shin is a Professor at the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University and holds the title of University Presidential Professor, the university’s highest academic honor. Recognized among the world’s top 2% of scholars according to Stanford University's global citation database, Dr. Shin’s research focuses on human-algorithm interaction, social computing, and media analytics, with particular emphasis on the ethical implications of algorithmic platforms.
His interdisciplinary work integrates ethics, algorithms, human-computer interaction, and data analytics to explore how individuals construct meaning and make decisions through algorithmically mediated environments. Applying advanced computational techniques, he investigates the social and psychological mechanisms underlying algorithmic consumption behaviors, including the influence of recommender systems and online news platforms on public opinion and information access.
Dr. Shin has served as the Principal Investigator for a large-scale national research project funded by the Ministry of Education in Korea. He was inducted as a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA Fellow) in 2024 in recognition of his scholarly contributions. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Shin serves as an editor of AI and Society, a leading interdisciplinary journal at the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and societal impact. His work continues to advance critical discussions at the crossroads of technology, society, and ethics in the digital age.