2026/11/18 【Nov. 17(US)/18(Taiwan)】Dr. Lisa Argyle: Silicon Sampling Methods in Public Opinion Research

Silicon Sampling Methods in Public Opinion Research
By Lisa Argyle
Date: November 18 10:00AM~13:00PM(Taiwan Time, GMT+8);
    November 17  8:00PM~11:00PM  (US Central Time, GMT-6).

Registration：https://utd.link/DAC20261117
Topic:Silicon Sampling Methods in Public Opinion Research

Abstract:Silicon sampling—the use of large language models to simulate responses from human populations—has opened new methodological opportunities and challenges for public opinion research. Its promise rests on the possibility that patterns embedded in human language can support useful simulations of political attitudes, judgments, and behavior. Realizing that promise requires confronting fundamental questions about representation, validity, and inference. This presentation will begin with a brief overview of the varied schools of academic research that form the intellectual foundations of silicon sampling. This will be followed with a discussion of the many challenges and uncertainties facing silicon sampling in practice, particularly how to distinguish the production of plausible responses from the generation of valid evidence. The central focus of the presentation is where silicon sampling can contribute to valid scientific knowledge and what standards and practices should guide its use.