The AI Gap: How Socioeconomic Status Affects Language Technology Interactions
In this talk, Dr. Elisa Bassignana, Postdoctoral Researcher Fellow at Bocconi University and the IT University of Copenhagen, will present research on how socioeconomic status (SES) influences interactions with language technologies and generative AI. Based on a study of 1,000 individuals and thousands of real prompts from large language models, the talk will highlight systematic differences across SES groups in usage patterns, interaction styles, and topics.
The findings show that higher SES is associated with more abstract and concise language use, while lower SES correlates with more concrete language and stronger anthropomorphization of AI systems. The talk will discuss how these differences contribute to an emerging «AI Gap» and why socioeconomic factors should be considered in the development of language technologies.
When / Wann: January 27, 2026, 14:00 - 15:00
Where / Wo: AFL-E-003, Department of Political Science, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050 Zürich
Language / Sprache: English
Organisation: DSI Community Digital Publics &Department of Political Science