Kun Xu

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Advertising faculty, doctoral students and alumni were recognized at the 2024 American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon, from March 14-17. Yuan Sun, UFCJC Advertising assistant professor, was the co-recipient of a 2024 AAA Research Fellowship to study…

Four University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) faculty and two doctoral students are included in the Research Handbook on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Communication edited by Seungahn Nah, Dianne Snedaker Chair in Media Trust and research director of the UF’s Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology.…

Robot narratives have been with us for a long time, 155 years to be exact, when Steam Man of The Steam Man of the Prairies first made an appearance in a dime-store novel. Since then, humans have fantasized, advised and prophesized about robots existing among us. But would people actually…

A new study has revealed optimistic prospects for using robots’ behavioral outcomes and social positions to promote pro-social behavior. The findings by Kun Xu, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, were featured in “A Mini Imitation Game: How…

A new study has found that robot health advisors can have positive benefits leading to strong intentions to adopt the service. The findings by Kun Xu, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, and colleagues were featured in “My…

An article by Kun Xu, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, and co-author Matthew Lombard has received the 2022 Amsterdam School of Communication Research Denis McQuail Award. The article, “Social Responses to Media Technologies in the 21st Century:…

A new study has found that manipulating social robots’ facial and kinetic cues can induce medium-to-large-sized effects on users’ social presence and trust. The findings by Kun Xu, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, UFCJC doctoral student…

Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Media Production, Management, and Technology professor and Media Consumer Research director, and Kun Xu, UFCJC Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, have received a $100,000 grant from Meta’s 2022 People’s Expectations & Experiences Digital Privacy…

As more uses for technology emerge, researchers are interested in studying which mechanism of technology, such as chatbots, voice assistants, and social robots, are most effective in explaining social presence and perceived trustworthiness for users. In other words, how do people tend to interact with different forms of interactive technology?…

As artificial intelligence (AI) technology has advanced, its use has expanded to a range of industries, including broadcast news. AI could be used in place of a human weather newscaster, for example, if a human is not available during a weather emergency. Yet little research exists that looks at how…

Social robots today are a $2 billion industry, which is expected to grow to $11 billion by 2026. While some believe that social robots are just human-like versions of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, the emerging technology is being used in a variety of areas, including public health, elderly…

Kun Xu, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology assistant professor in emerging media, is the co-author of “Man vs. Machine: Human Responses to an AI Newscaster and the Role of Social Presence” published in The Social Science Journal on Jan. 28. Xu and…