PhD Affiliate research spotlight | February

Each term members of the Data Science Institute’s PhD Affiliate Network are invited to share their research at our Research Spotlight events. Our speakers this month are Sonya Belkin and Roop Bhadury.

How will LLMs reshape our information ecosystem?

Sonja Belkin, Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science

Sonja Belkin, DSI PhD Affiliate in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, will discuss her planned doctoral research which examines the role of large language models (LLM) in reshaping the contemporary information ecosystem. She will set out why information exchange is best understood as a complex system, encompassing individual belief formation, conversational dynamics, the design of social networking platforms, and the wider geopolitical context that enables malicious interference by foreign state actors. She will also outline preliminary ideas on LLMs and source dependency, suggesting why these systems may be particularly corrosive to the marketplace of ideas on social networking platforms.

An experimentation based architecture for the design of AI Agents

Roop Bhadury, Department of Management

This paper discusses a rigorous, validation-first framework for constructing reliable LLM systems. Deviating from standard monolithic prompt engineering, this architecture enforces a modular design process where individual "descriptor snippets" (discrete instructions, constraints, and persona definitions) are rigorously pre-tested for semantic clarity and interpretability by the LLM prior to integration. By experimentally validating these components in isolation, the methodology ensures that the final agent is assembled from verified building blocks, thereby minimising ambiguity and guaranteeing that the deployed agent operates upon a foundation of confirmed machine understanding.

About the DSI PhD Affiliate Network

We invite doctoral researchers, from all departments across LSE, who have an interest in data science and artificial intelligence to join the DSI PhD Affiliate Network; whether you are interested in applications for your research, are studying the social scientific implications of AI and data or are working on fundamental methodologies, please sign up.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.