The Computational Observation of Digital Exposure (CODE) Lab at UW–Madison is beginning its work studying how digital exposure shapes human attitudes and behaviors. Launched by School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) Assistant Professor Ross Dahlke, the lab provides researchers and graduate students with large-scale behavioral data, computational infrastructure, and a collaborative space to study online information environments.
“In information environments increasingly shaped by AI, we want to know: What content are people actually seeing and engaging with? How can we quantify the impacts of the information environment on beliefs, behavior, and well-being? What is the role of AI in shaping media consumption and beliefs?”
The work in the lab will focus on two primary information domains: the open web and private messaging channels. To study the open web, the lab is developing an ongoing panel of 1,000 study participants who voluntarily download software to track the content they encounter online and fill out regular surveys. Dahlke says the goal is to compile data over long periods of time, potentially even years, and to connect online information exposure with human-centered outcomes.
To study private messaging, the lab is building off of Dahlke’s Ph.D. dissertation work, completed at Stanford University, which developed technology that allows study participants to voluntarily share the messages they receive on encrypted apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram, giving researchers their first direct window into what content actually circulates in these otherwise inaccessible spaces.
This work is influenced by Dahlke’s experience as a Data Scientist in the technology industry, where he built data pipelines and statistical models to understand the impact of advertising on consumer behavior and purchases. Dahlke said. “The cutting-edge methods used in the technology industry can be leveraged to study human behavior more broadly. I want to develop a lab where we can use the same types of data and techniques to measure things that are important to society.”
Traditionally, academic researchers have used surveys to gather information about the types of content users consume. But this method of information gathering can lend itself to response bias and capturing perception rather than reality. The CODE Lab aims to change that by collecting what researchers call “digital trace data,” which records real user behavior and media consumption.
For Dahlke, a UW–Madison SJMC and Political Science alum (JBA ’18), the CODE Lab brings his path full circle.
“The faculty and graduate students I learned from as an undergraduate shaped how I think about media exposures and effects, introduced me to computational methods, and ultimately pointed me toward a research career,” Dahlke said. “Coming back to Vilas Hall as a faculty member is a privilege. I want the CODE Lab to give today’s students the same kind of generative, collaborative research environment that the department gave me.”
By tracking content consumption across topics such as AI, health, and politics, the lab will produce data that future researchers, graduate students, and professionals can draw on to answer questions about the effect of media on beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes.
“I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful graduate students in my time here. And many of them are interested in collaborating,” Dahlke said. “Having a lab where we can gather people, interests, and perspectives in a single space is a powerful thing. Already, the graduate students in the labs have proposed and are starting to work on projects that are going to push forward our understanding of human behavior online and its effects.”
If you are a current UW-Madison graduate student or affiliate interested in the CODE Lab, please email ross.dahlke@wisc.edu for more details.