Huiqian (Mia) Lai

Lai, H., & Li, Y. (2026). Beyond Accuracy: Assessing the Information Quality of Large Language Models for Systematic Literature Reviews. Telematics and Informatics, 102447. [link]

Lai, H., Liu, J., & Ding, R. (2026). Eating Melons, Making Scandals: Participatory Scandalization and Contested Gender Discourses on Weibo amid Lisa's Crazy Horse Controversy. Women's Studies in Communication, 1–28. [link]

Sun, Q., Lai, H., & Ding, R. (2026). The Industrialization of Digital Entrepreneurship: The Case of Beauty Influencers in China's Multichannel Networks Economy. International Journal of Communication, 20, 1214–1235. [link]

Lai, H., & Cheon, E. (2026). Fast-Food Intimacy: How Chinese Women Navigate Soul's AI Boyfriend. Proceedings of the 2026 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '26), 5008–5033. [link] Best Paper Honorable Mention Award (Top 5%) Featured in Le Parisien; interviewed as a background source by BBC

Lai, H. (2026). "Please, Don't Kill the Only Model That Still Feels Human": Understanding the #Keep4o Backlash. Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). [link] Featured in Bloomberg, WIRED, Libération, IEEE Spectrum, Gizmodo, TechRadar, The Decoder, India Tribune, DeepTech, and Wikipedia

Lai, H., & Ding, R. (2027). Desirability Confirmation: Relational Sycophancy in AI Intimate Roleplay. Proceedings of the 60th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-60). Accepted, camera-ready in preparation

Lai, H., & Ding, R. (2027). Source Attribution and Audience Uptake in Digital Witnessing: Evidence from a Chinese Diaspora Account on X. Proceedings of the 60th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-60). Accepted, camera-ready in preparation

Lai, H. (2026). Are LLMs More Skeptical of Entertainment News? Proceedings of the ICWSM Workshops: MisD 2026, the 2nd Workshop on Misinformation Detection in the Era of LLMs, co-located with ICWSM 2026, Los Angeles, CA. [link]

Lai, H. (2026). Safe but Scripted: Uncovering Second-Order Bias in LLM LGBTQ+ Storytelling. Information Research, 31(iConf), 922–930. [link]

Lai, H. (2025). Can LLMs Talk "Sex"? Exploring How AI Models Handle Intimate Conversations. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 62, 984–989. [link] Featured in MIT Technology Review

Lai, H. (2026, November 19–22). No Way Out? Zouxian and Counter-Discourse on X. Accepted for presentation at the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Lai, H. (2026, November 19–22). Teacher Li Is Not Your Teacher: Witnessing Suppressed Speech as Digital Counterpublicity. Accepted for presentation at the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA. Best Student Paper Award, Freedom of Expression Division

Lai, H. (2026, November 19–22). "My AI Friend Is Gone": A #Keep4o Case Study of Grief, Emotional Publics, and Structural Decoupling in AI-Related Connective Action. Accepted for presentation at the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Introne, J., Lai, H., & Li, J. (2026, July 28–31). Initial Evidence for an Empirical Belief Field. Paper presented at the International Conference on Computational Social Science (IC2S2), Burlington, VT.

Peng, Z., & Lai, H. (2026, June 4–8). Explaining in the Hybrid Media System: A Mixed-Methods Comparison of Influencers' and News Media's Explanatory Videos on YouTube. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.

Lai, H. (2026, June 4–8). Lines, Likes, and Labor: Reconstructing Authenticity through the "Chicken Chop Guy". Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.

Lai, H. (2026, June 4–8). Do Different LLMs Provide Different Perspectives? Evidence from Multi-Agent Debates. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.

Lai, H., & Li, Y. (2025, August 8–10). Breaking the Silos: Unveiling the Power of Cross-Platform Research in Digital Communication. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, San Francisco, CA.

Lai, H., Liu, J., & Ding, R. (2025, June 12–16). Curiosity, Critique, and Cultural Clash: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Post-Feminism and Traditional Gender Norms on Chinese Weibo amid Lisa's Crazy Horse Show. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Denver, CO. Best Student Paper Award, Popular Media & Culture Division

Lai, H. (2024, June 22–23). Shaping Macau's Image through the Stride: A Weibo Analysis of the Macau International Marathon. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Beijing Hub, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China.

Sun, Q., Lai, H., & Ding, R. (2024, June 20–24). From Self-Entrepreneurship to Industrialized Business Models: Unraveling the Digital Entrepreneurship of China's Top-Tier Beauty Bloggers. Paper presented at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.