Alberto Acerbi

mulino.itA. ACERBI, Technopanic. New Media, Reasonable Caution, Unfounded FearThe spread of fake news, the power of conspiracy theories, the influence of algorithms on our choices and behaviour, the impact of social media on youth’s mental health, and other similar phenomena al...

23 Mar 2025

Tecnopanico: www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815... Cultural evolution in the digital age: bit.ly/2McstmR Individual-based models of cultural evolution. A step-by-step guide using R: bit.ly/3MQBjT4 (free: acerbialberto.com/IBM-cultevo) Substack (italiano): bit.ly/3lDERMq web: acerbialberto.com

Over 11k video games (1993-2016), competitive content declined and prosocial content (friendship, warmth, care) rose, within genres and within franchises osf.io/preprints/ps...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#158)La Telefontornet di Stoccolma (Unknown photographer, National Museum of Science and Technology (Sweden), Public Domain)

Credere a ciò che vogliamo che gli altri credano; divieti social e come evirarli; l’OCSE su IA generativa e istruzione; un po' di evoluzione culturale in podcast; e un update sui sei gradi di Kevin Bacon. albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

zenodo.orgWhy Computational Humanities needs falsifiable theoriesComputational humanities has powerful tools and abundant data, but too little research tests falsifiable theories. We argue for a shift: dedicating a share of research effort to theory-driven hypothes...

Straight in my cultural analytics syllabus!

Olivier Morin@oliviermorin.bsky.social

New preprint! Computational Humanities needs falsifiable theories. With 25 Paris-based researchers who share the same ambitions for the field and had an exciting conversation. zenodo.org/records/2349...

albertoacerbi.substack.com5 link special - Libri, amici (e smartphone): i dati IstatHo scoperto che Istat mette a disposizione molti dati su IstatData. Quelli su Aspetti della vita quotidiana (gli altri non li ho guardati) vanno dal 2001 al 2025, sono divisi per fasce d’età, istruzio...

5 link special - Libri, amici (e smartphone): i dati Istat albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/5-link-spe...

Gatekeeper at a fair trade. They surprise-called me in the afternoon, I left from uni and I had to stay outside from 6pm to 12pm, it started snowing. I invested my pocket money in a bottle of wine instead of dinner. I lost (only temporarily) a few passports of people entering. Got fired at the end.

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albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#157)(i) Gallup ha appena pubblicato lo State of the World’s Emotional Health 2026 Report, che, naturalmente, analizza l’uso dei social media.

Una relazione positiva (!) tra social media e benessere; L'effetto (minuscolo) di non avere smartphone in classe; Yandex e i bot russi: troppo bello per essere vero; Un data center in miniera, con mele e Trentodoc; Distruggete siti web. albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

journalqd.org JQD:DM Special Issue Call for Papers | Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media

Ignoring AI in research workflow is not an option. This looks like an interesting experiment. journalqd.org/special-work...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#156)(i) Io sono di parte, ma questo è un breve pezzo, dal DeepMind Institute, che ci ricorda che “dalla multicellularità all’evoluzione culturale, le grandi transizioni della vita sulla Terra sono state f...

Intelligenza (artificiale) collettiva; i giovani stanno meglio?; i 20 post più visti su Facebook fanno lo 0,03% delle visualizzazioni; l'IA dimostra teoremi; Netflix semplifica le serie? albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

The popularity of "cultural things" (think books, movies, songs, etc.) has skewed distributions, where hits get the big share of the market and everything else get crumbles. It is generally assumed that feed algorithms reinforce this tendency...

transparency.meta.comWidely Viewed Content Report: What People See on Facebook | Transparency CenterFacebook regularly publishes reports to give our community visibility into community standards enforcement, government requests and internet disruptions

...so that, in social media, "richer get (even more) richer". However, Meta's "Widely Viewed Content Report: What People See on Facebook" reports that the 20 most-viewed posts (in US) represent only the 0.03% of all content views (in US). transparency.meta.com/reports/wide...

Is popularity on social media *less* skewed than in other domains? I asked ChatGPT to plot a comparison with data from other cultural domains, that seems to confirm this intuition.

New preprint - "Associations between content and engagement vary across social media communities" Research on social media often seeks content features linked in general to engagement, e.g. negativity, moralisation, etc. But social media is not an uniform environment.

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Expected absolute slope values of communities are larger than the common slope estimated by the model. However, varying-slope model estimations are also small. The better fit does not come from stronger average effects, but from taking into account heterogeneity.

osf.ioAssociations between content and engagement vary across social media communitiesResearch on social media engagement often seeks general content features that are associated with online success. However, social media platforms contain communities with different audiences, topics, ...

This may explain some contrasting findings in the literature. Different studies may find different associations. "Universal" effects may be masked by sampling heterogeneous niches. Link to the preprint: osf.io/preprints/so...

Some examples: in r/AmItheAsshole, the most negative posts get *less* engagement, possibly because negativity is already the baseline there. In r/cscareerquestions, negativity goes with more engagement. In r/knitting, high arousal (enthusiasm?) pays off.

These results generalise. I compare two multilevel models. One estimates a single within-community slope per feature and the other lets slopes vary across communities. Varying-slope models fit better in all five corpora.

I analysed four content features (negativity, moralisation, arousal, in/out-group balance) in 1M+ items from 587 communities on 5 corpora across Reddit, Stack Exchange, X and YouTube. Here is reddit (communities are 43 subreddits)

blog.arxiv.orgFair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit PolicyarXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…

ArXiv submissions through time. From blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#155)(i) Ammetto, aspettavo con curiosità il DevDay di OpenAI, ma poi quasi tutti sono rimasti un po’ delusi, che sostanzialmente si è trattato della presentazione di dots. Invece di curare il cancro (o di...

I link della settimana (#155) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

Very happy to be part of this. Great team and fantastic work from Tanay!

Tanay Katiyar@adigitaltanay.bsky.social

Does spreading mental health awareness online amplify self-diagnosis? In my first PhD pre-print, I empirically examine this question (n =3392) with some kick-ass collaborators and tools from cultural evolution A 🧵

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#154)(i) Ci si lamenta spesso che gli algoritmi dei social media sono fatti per tenerci incollati agli schermi, e che per questo ci danno contenuti negativi, superficiali, e divisivi.

I link della settimana (#154) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#153)(i) “Scrivere è pensare”: sono d’accordo, ma anche interagire in modo produttivo con l’IA lo è, seppure in modo differente.

19 Sept

I link della settimana (#153) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

17 Sept

New paper out with Eliana Fattorini, Massimiano Bucchi, and Enzo Loner. “Weapon and poison? Framing disinformation in European Commission speeches, 2016–2024” We analyse how disinformation is framed in 238 speeches by European Commission in the last 10 years.

The framing matters because they shape policies: platform regulation, detection and takedown, and media-literacy “vaccines”. While these measures may be useful, we argue for a broader approach that also considers institutional accountability, media pluralism, and citizens’ participation and trust.

tandfonline.comWeapon and poison? Framing disinformation in European Commission Speeches, 2016–2024Drawing on 238 speeches delivered by European Commission (EC) presidents, vice-presidents, and commissioners (2016–mid-2024), this paper examines how the EC narrates ‘disinformation’. Using topic m...

17 Sept

Free link: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/HF5RT...

Speakers often use a self-absolving and fatalistic narrative. Disinformation is portrayed as a “weapon” or “poison”, driven by hostile states, bad actors, and digital platforms, and citizens as vulnerable subjects who need protection.

medium.comPrompting Is Thinking TooOn why co-working with large language models does not put an end to thinking, but relocates part of it to the meta-level.

16 Sept

"On why co-working with large language models does not put an end to thinking, but relocates part of it to the meta-level" medium.com/@stefano.pal...

journals.sagepub.comHow Does the Mind Grow? Cross-Cultural Intuitive Theories of Mental Development - Xianwei Meng, Ryuji Oguni, Kuniyuki Nishina, Taro Murakami, Yuka Mizuno, Jinjing (Jenny) Wang, 2026How does the mind grow? Despite centuries of philosophical and psychological inquiry, little is known about how ordinary people intuitively conceptualize mental...

16 Sept

A nature/nurture dichotomy seems to be engrained in how we reason about mental development. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#152)(i) Quando lo slop era wikipedia.

16 Sept

"Copying whatever the environment happens to show is enough to produce most of the collective structure of this population." arxiv.org/pdf/2609.09150

I link della settimana (#152) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

cambridge.orgThe cultural ecology of social media « Anthropology# « Cambridge Core BlogFor researchers working in cultural evolution, “The cultural ecology of social media” represents a case study in the usefulness of an ecological approach to culture. Thinking in terms of what goals in...

11 Sept

I just realised I mixed up former/latter in the opening sentence! :) "Whether you hate or love them (most likely the latter), social media..."

Alberto Acerbi@acerbialberto.com

I wrote a short blog post about my recent paper "The cultural ecology of social media" www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...

machineculture.ioModel Convo: Alberto AcerbiOn Cultural Evolution, Epistemic Vigilance, and Technopanic

11 Sept

I wrote a short blog post about my recent paper "The cultural ecology of social media" www.cambridge.org/core/blog/20...

Alberto Acerbi reposted

Rob Sica

@robsica.bsky.social

9 Sept

🔪"My evolutionary background, especially influenced by the idea of epistemic vigilance, suggested we are not as gullible as generally believed. If anything, we are too stubborn when evaluating new ideas."

Alberto Acerbi reposted

Mason Youngblood

@masonyoungblood.bsky.social

6 Sept

New tutorial preprint about simulation-based inference! Shows how to fit a cultural evo model to baby name data using approx Bayesian computation, random forests, and deep learning. Wrote for @eslr.bsky.social but wanted to share with others in @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social! :) osf.io/preprints/so...

I link della settimana (#151) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#151)(i) Un problema interessante per chi fa ricerca: è chiaro che con l’intelligenza artificiale aumenterà enormemente (sta già accadendo) il numero di prodotti - oggi generalmente articoli: questo post s...

Alberto Acerbi reposted

Mason Youngblood

@masonyoungblood.bsky.social

3 Sept

Our new preprint explores how increasing interaction between humans and artificial agents and is reshaping creativity, from the perspective of cultural evolution! @katieeeeeeeeeee.bsky.social @manuelangladatort.bsky.social @camrobjones.bsky.social @gemschedel.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2609.02620

arxiv.orgCollective creativity in hybrid societiesGenerative AI is changing how cultural artifacts are created and circulated, and with it our understanding of creativity itself. Researchers disagree about whether these tools enrich or impoverish cul...

nature.comBland new world: is AI making us all think the same?Researchers worry that generative AI is homogenizing culture and cognition.

2 Sept

Nature feature on AI homogenisation. Yours truly quoted at the end being "relatively optimistic". Unfortunately the part were I talk about our recent work did not go through, I guess they preferred the general comment of the "cognitive anthropologist"... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

31 Aug

Another food-related traditions that turns out to be relatively recent: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/w...

I did not know this: eBay ran field experiments turning off paid search ads on google and there was zero measurable effect on sales. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.3...

obsoletesony.substack.comWhy Sony Can’t Bring Back Its Classic Walkman ModelsExplained by a former Sony engineer

Cultural evolutionists often talks about the possibility of loss of cultural traits. The walkman could be one: obsoletesony.substack.com/p/why-sony-c...

nature.comSocial technology use and life satisfaction in a five-wave panel study of US adults - Nature Human BehaviourWhat is the relationship between life satisfaction and social technology use? That is the question of the current research. Using five waves of panel data on self-reported use of ten common social tec...

"Among a diverse sample of US adults, we found little credible evidence that frequency of use of social media, texting, email or video calling are prospectively related to later life satisfaction" www.nature.com/articles/s41...

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#150)(i) Dei ricercatori in Finlandia hanno seguito dei bambini per 8 anni, tracciando varie loro attività, incluso lo screen time e, contro la loro ipotesi, hanno trovato che il tempo passato sugli scherm...

I link della settimana (#150) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

Alberto Acerbi reposted

Nicholas A. Christakis

@nachristakis.bsky.social

26 July

We have done many field experiments documenting the policy relevance of social contagion and I wholly agree that “diffusion should be part of behavioural policy making.” This paper is a valuable exploration of mechanisms involved.

koenfucius@koenfucius.bsky.social

Behavioural policy relies on social transmission—but how do different social learning mechanisms perform? Paper by @gaveltri.bsky.social & @acerbialberto.com examines four canonical social learning rules, and argues diffusion should be part of behavioural policy making: buff.ly/cbyAnuD

albertoacerbi.substack.comI link della settimana (#149)Tornati dalle vacanze?

22 Aug

I link della settimana (#149) albertoacerbi.substack.com/p/i-link-del...

The perception that crime is on the rise is widespread in Italy. But hey, there's data! I plotted data from the Viminale (via mappine.it) from 2012 to today on homicides, thefts, and robberies. They're below.

PS: Data is better than personal opinion and hearsay, but it's not the "Truth". It could be that crimes are being discovered less or that definitions change over time. But it definitely tells us that the common perception isn't obvious.

mappine.itmappine #10: i brutti dati sulla sicurezza

PPS: There are points based on 19 months, others on 6 or 7, I did what I could with "ugly" data, as explained here (in Italian): mappine.it/p/mappine-10...