Rewriting the Margins: Can Artificial Intelligence Agents Reshape the Power Dynamics in Social Media?

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents have infiltrated most aspects of our lives and the technologies we use, including social media. Content (and moderation thereof) on many popular social media platforms is currently a mix of human- and AI-generated. Depending on many technical, situational, and contextual factors, both human- and AI-generated content on social media platforms have the potential to either fuel or fight the stigmatization of marginalized groups. Stigmatization is the social process of stereotyping, devaluing, or marginalizing individuals or groups based on certain characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, religion, or race, which can lead to social exclusion and psychological damage. The impact of AI agents on either reinforcing or reducing existing stigmatization on social media platforms remains largely unknown within our scholarly community. We have even less understanding of how to design and implement AI agents that can actively help transform social media platforms into spaces for combating stigmatization while empowering marginalized groups. In this editorial, we call on the information systems (IS) community to conduct empirical, design, and theoretical research at the intersection of social media, specific AI systems or agents, and marginalized contexts. Advancing research in this space is critical to understanding and shaping the future of social media platforms as a social good and as places to reduce stigmatization.