Shown in photo (left to right): Tina Lassiter, Sharon Strover, Jessica Needle, Sheila B. Lalwani, Silvia Dal Ben
Washington, D.C., — The University of Texas was well represented at the 53rd Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy.
Four graduate students – Silvia Dal Ben, Sheila B. Lalwani, Jessica Needle and Tina Lassiter shared their research at the TPRC conference in Washington. Dal Ben and Lalwani are doctoral candidates at the Moody College of Communication, while Lassiter and Needle are doctoral students in the School of Information. The conference took place at the Washington College of Law on the American University campus from September 24 to 26. All received travel fellowhsips from the Technology and Information Policy Institute to attend the conference.
“It is fantastic for our students to present their doctoral research at the TPRC Conference,” said Sharon L. Strover, the Philip G. Warner Regents Professor in Communication. Strover, who also chaired TPRC, added, “Their work on pressing technology policy and information-related issues is timely, and the conference is a chance to have their ideas aired with both policymakers and leading academic scholars in the field.”
TPRC facilitates interdisciplinary research and policy questions on current and emerging issues in communications and the Internet. Its mission is to serve researchers, policymakers, and members of the private sector and civil society in the U.S. and overseas. Topics covered in the conference include artificial intelligence, the Internet, broadband, traditional mass media, cybersecurity, telecommunications policy and privacy.
Dal Ben researches AI and journalism, while Lassiter studies AI ethics and Needle looks at AI governance. Lalwani examines emerging technologies related to surveillance and their implications for journalists and media. Dal Ben also presented a separate paper during the conference.
This year’s conference was well-attended by a diverse group of international scholars from Brazil, Germany, South Korea, China and Thailand, among others, who represented industry, government, academia, and nonprofit organizations to share and challenge one another’s ideas. Students participated in the multi-day conference and listened to and commented on keynote speeches from federal agency heads, industry leaders, and prominent scholars.
“TPRC is a fantastic and focused conference for scholars and practitioners invested in challenging one another on communication law and policy,” Lalwani said. “You’re in company with towering figures in academia, government, and the industry, all passionately committed to communications law and policy.”