AI, Tornadoes, & Social Science: Examining Trustworthiness and Communication at the Weather-Society Interface
August 22, 2024
Chris Wirz
Hosted by Pat Keys
Abstract
In this talk I demonstrate how fundamental social science can advance our understanding of how forecast information is developed, used, and communicated. I do this by highlighting results from two areas of research that examine different dimensions of the landscape surrounding forecast information: Trustworthy AI and severe weather communication. First, I highlight several ways that social science can be leveraged to understand the trustworthiness of AI for atmospheric science. Second, I share results from a series of qualitative studies aimed at advancing understanding of the communication and decision-making processes for severe weather communication. Together these areas of research show the ways social science can contribute to and enhance research in the atmospheric science domain.Bio: Christopher Wirz (he/him) is a Project Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the Weather Risks and Decisions in Society (WRaDS) group. He is also a member of the Risk Communication team for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography (AI2ES). He received his bachelor’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Environmental Science, Biology, and Science communication, where he also received his master’s and PhD in Science communication. Chris’ previous research has covered communication systems and dynamics relating to a range of topics – from GMOs to the COVID-19 pandemic. After coming to NCAR, he began studying risk communication at the weather-society interface. His current research focuses on communication among different experts and publics in the face of weather hazards and the development of use-inspired AI for environmental decision making.