Publications & Reports
When Floods Hit, Can AI and People Make Better Evacuation Decisions Together?
A central concern for researchers is how AI tools can be leveraged to help us better respond to disasters. But how can we use AI tools reliably in ways that also draw on human judgement? A new study from a multi-university team, including TIPI’s own Keri K. Stephens,...
Unpacking the Readability and Compliance of Boil-Water Notices Across Communication Platforms
To ensure public safety, should water utilities prioritize message clarity, compliance with regulatory requirements, or both? But can they really accomplish both those objectives? The mandatory language requirements for emergency water notifications were established...
Empowering Cities: Dr. Sharon Strover’s Roadmap for Ethical AI Governance
Empowering Cities: Dr. Sharon Strover’s Roadmap for Ethical AI GovernanceDr. Sharon Strover, TIPI Co-Director, has received an IBM grant to publish a report in their series on the Business of Government. Her work, titled Training Local Government for Ethical AI...
Flood Warning Signs/Risky Driving Article Messaging
Flood warning signs work—but not how you'd expect. In our new study of over 1,000 Texas drivers, we found that simply having seen a "Turn Around Don't Drown" road sign in the past made drivers almost twice as likely to turn their car around during flooding...
Ethics Before Efficiency: Austin’s Model for Responsible Government AI
“What happens when a city asks ‘Should we’ before ‘Can we?’ with AI?” In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) can bring unprecedented efficiency to cities, the real challenge isn’t just about how fast governments can adopt new tools but whether they do so in ways...
Faculty and Students from the Department of Communication Secure Prestigious Grants
Craig Scott (PI), Keri Stephens (Co-PI) and Mir Rabby (Co-PI, and TIPI graduate research assistant) received a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). As automated decision-making through algorithmic systems is...
TIPI Announces Spring 2025 Graduate Student Research Fellows
The Technology and Information Policy Institute (TIPI) is thrilled to announce the recipients of our Graduate Student Research Fellowships for Spring 2025. We have funded six exceptional projects at the end of the last spring semester that delve into the complex...
TIPI NCA Annual Conference 2024
The National Communication Association (NCA) is hosting it’s 110th Annual Convention: Communication for Greater Regard from November 21st-24th in New Orleans, Louisiana.
New White Paper Offers Ethical Guidelines for Procurement and Management of Smart City Technologies
The rapid advancement of smart city technologies, particularly the widespread deployment of camera-based surveillance systems, has sparked popular conversation about ethics, transparency, and accountability in data collection and use.
Strengthening Community Resilience: Connecting Online and Offline Networks
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin (including TIPI researchers) explored how Texas communities responded during the 2021 winter storm.