News
Stay updated with the latest developments from the Communication and Computation Lab. Here you’ll find announcements about our research breakthroughs, conference presentations, academic publications, and media coverage featuring our faculty and students. We regularly share insights from our ongoing projects exploring the intersections of communication theory, social networks, and emerging technologies.
2025
Jiaqi Qin, under Professor Meng’s guidance, published research on support network typology and psychological well-being in young adults. The study appears in Health Communication journal. This research identifies patterns of social support structures and their impact on mental health outcomes.
Professor Jingbo Meng from Ohio State University participated in a discussion about AI companion bots for teenagers. She shared insights from her research on social networks and chatbots, highlighting the difference between artificial and human empathy. Professor Meng emphasized the need for balancing AI interactions with human connections.
2024
Professor Jingbo Meng from Ohio State University presented research on AI chatbots for mental health support at UW-Madison’s spring colloquium. She examined whether AI companions can provide comparable outcomes to human mental health professionals. Her findings suggest that while AI chatbots can be helpful, they lack the immediate connection established by human care providers.
2023
Professor Jingbo Meng delivered a talk at Seoul National University on “Social Support in the Digital Age: Social Network and Artificial Intelligence.” She shared research on the structural model of online social support and experimental findings on using artificial intelligence to communicate social support. The lecture explored how technology influences social support systems and compared human-machine interactions with interpersonal interactions.