MEDIA RELEASE - New major infrastructure initiative for social data and digital platform research in Australia

It will support innovative approaches to the collection and analysis of digital social data and internet platforms and the analytical tools and governance required to support cutting-edge research on social, economic, health and environmental issues. [...] Distinguished Professor Julian Thomas, AIO Program Lead and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society (ADM+S) said, “over the last decade there’s been a dramatic transformation in how Australians use digital platforms, how they interact with the automated systems and the digital economy, and how they communicate with machines and each other. [...] “With the support of the Australian Research Data Commons, the Australian Internet Observatory brings together a group of researchers and universities with the capabilities to assemble the necessary techniques and systems. [...] It requires a collaborative, co-operative effort.” The AIO is a four-year national research infrastructure project that will create an interconnected ecosystem of people, data and tools to support innovative approaches to the collection and analysis of digital social data across a range of disciplines and sectors. [...] It will enable researchers to explore topics such as the distribution of misinformation, the patterns of everyday engagement with business, culture and science, flows of communication in emergencies and humanitarian crises, and the dynamics of political conflict and consensus.