29/04/2026 (Wednesday) 11:30-12:30 E21-3118
From Technological Practice to Understanding Civilization: The Next Phase of the Greater Bay Area Communication Lab
Abstract:
This project investigates the production, interpretation, and reconfiguration of civilizational meaning in digital communication systems. Algorithmic recommendation and generative AI are no longer peripheral tools; they are infrastructural conditions, reshaping the structural logic of meaning production. Digital transformation is viewed as a structural reorganization, not just a technological upgrade. Algorithmic systems impact content generation, distribution, and representation, shifting communication outcomes from exposure to interpretive mechanisms across cultural contexts. The project integrates communication studies, digital humanities, and computational social science, addressing three limitations: the lack of operationalized “civilization” frameworks, the disconnection between archival work and experimental validation, and constraints in cross-cultural research. Using Chinese civilization as a core empirical field, it examines how narratives on continuity, identity, and memory are interpreted across cultures. Through multilingual corpus construction and cross-cultural experimental design, the project analyzes how trust, emotional response, and algorithmic mediation affect the reception of Chinese civilizational discourse. The project creates an integrated system of Digital Civilization Archives, a Narrative Laboratory, and a Testing Hub to test hypotheses and refine civilizational exchange. This aims to shift global digital civilization study from symbolic visibility to interpretive accountability, and from normative assertion to mechanism-based analysis.
Bio:
Prof. Yu HUANG had taken up various management roles in HKBU since 1994. Since 2024, Prof. Huang has joined the Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University to serve the senior management positions. He has authored (or co-authored) over 100 articles published in prestigious journals and more than 10 scholarly books in both English and Chinese in the field of his expertise. Recognising his exceptional contributions to the professional field, the International Chinese Communication Association honoured him with the Lifetime Achievement Award in May 2023.
