EXPLORING PUBLIC ACTORS IN THE CONTEXT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NETWORK-BASED PUBLICS AND THEIR IMPACTS

Abstract

Organizational actors, such as research institutes and media, no longer hold an exclusive role in leading social discourse on emerging technology. Individuals not representing an organization, referred to as public actors, now actively engage in communication about emerging technology. This dissertation explores public actors in the communication of emerging technology. Specifically, drawing from the network ecology approach, this dissertation identifies and characterizes public actors in the issue network of emerging technology. It also examines the impacts of public actors on motivating other publics to address issues, proposing a public-to-public communication model in the context of emerging technology.First, a series of social network, cluster, and content analyses identified and characterized public actors in the issue network of emerging technology. Using Twitter data, issue networks in the contexts of AI chatbots and self-driving vehicles were constructed, and active actors in each issue network were identified. Public actors predominantly comprised the active actors, with the remainder being organizational actors. These active actors were then clustered based on their network positional features, identifying seven types of communicative roles: mega-influencer, influencer, micro-influencer, bridge, influencer associate, enthusiast, and engager. Compared to organizational actors, public actors were proportionally prominent in the roles of influencer associates and enthusiasts. In addition, a content analysis of Twitter user profiles revealed the science-related profiles of public actors in each communicative role. Interestingly, the science-related profile of each communicative role corresponded to its positional feature in the network. For example, influencers held technology-related professions. Bridges were technologists and/or technology users. Influencer associates did not display professional expertise but featured their trust in science or membership in scientific communities. Enthusiasts were technology fans. Second, structural topic modeling of Twitter posts revealed the topics public actors engaged with in issue networks. Public actors covered topics ranging from technology risks to benefits. Third, a set of experiments uncovered the impacts of the identified public actors on motivating other publics to address emerging technology issues. Extending the framework of the situational theory of problem solving, a public-to-public communication model was proposed. This dissertation research contributes to advancing public relations theory and practice. The findings provide empirical evidence illustrating actor dynamics in issue-driven networks in scientific contexts. The identified public actor types, characterized by varied communicative roles and science-related profiles, serve as a framework for strategizing around public actors to mobilize issue networks. Lastly, the findings propose one of the first public-to-public communication models, outlining the interactions between public actors and other publics in emerging scientific contexts.