Professor Vian Bakir, Professor of Journalism and Political Communication at The University of Bangor, will deliver the 12th CRISP online seminar. The seminar is entitled 'Envisioning the digital influence industry in the age of Generative AI' and will begin at 1pm GMT on Wednesday 19th November 2025. 

Abstract

Drawing on her work on the data-driven influence industry (Bakir 2020, Briant and Bakir 2025), ethical persuasion (Bakir et al. 2019), and her recent work on deepfakes and companion chatbots (Bakir & McStay 2025a, 2025b, 2024, Bakir et al. 2024), Vian will discuss the digital influence industry in the age of generative AI. This will include how we can conceptualise the influence industry within data-driven ecosystems, why it matters, and how things might play out with emergent, rapidly growing forms of digital media such as social AI.

Biography

Vian Bakir is Professor of Journalism and Political Communication at Bangor University, UK. She is an expert in the impact of the digital age on surveillance, mis/disinformation and influence. She advises various US and UK national research councils on their major investments into digital citizenship, AI, trust, and governance; and the European Commission on its Horizon work programmes on digital disinformation and on emotional ecosystems. She has reviewed >250 large grant applications in technology and society, and has been awarded multiple grants on communications, data governance and transparency (from ESRC, AHRC, EPSRC, Innovate UK, and Arts Councils). Part of the Emotional AI Lab, she has advised a range of stakeholders on governance of emotion-driven, false information ecosystems. This includes parliaments (UK, Australia), UK media regulator Ofcom, National Union of Journalists (UK, Ireland), BBC, Royal Institution, IEEE, and industry.

Relevant Publications 

Briant E. & Bakir, V. (eds.) (2025). Routledge Handbook of the Influence Industry. New York: Routledge.

Bakir, V. & McStay, A. (2025a). The Moral Threshold of AI Companionship and Desired Governance: Reflections from the UK Public. SSRN.  

Bakir, V. & McStay, A. (2025b). Move fast and break people? Ethics, companion apps, and the case of Character.ai. AI & Society,  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02408-5

Bakir, V., and McStay, A., (2024). IEEE P7014.1: Is Deception in Emulated Empathy Innately Bad? IEEE Standards Association White Paper. https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/White_Paper/11856/  

Bakir, V. and McStay, A. (2022). Optimising Emotions, Incubating Falsehood: How to Protect the Global Civic Body from Disinformation and Misinformation (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, Springer). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13551-4 

Bakir, V. A., Laffer, A.McStay, D. Miranda & L.Urquhart (2024). On Manipulation by Emotional AI: UK Adults’ Views and Governance Implications. Frontiers in Sociology, Sec. Sociology of Emotion, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1339834

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