Riyadh Alnasser

Research keywords: Computational Social Science (CSS), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, Data Science, AI for Social Good

Bio:

Riyadh is a doctoral researcher working at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Social Science, where he uses methods from Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Data Science, and Social and Information Network Analysis to investigate human behaviour, social phenomenon, and social dynamics. His work explores critical challenges such as the spread of misinformation on social media and how novel data and technologies can be leveraged to address socio-economic issues and understand the ways societies evolve.

Prior to starting his PhD, Riyadh led Data and Artificial Intelligence strategy initiatives for multiple organizations in Saudi Arabia, applying advanced methods in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science to deliver impactful real-world applications. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from EPFL in Switzerland and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.

Outside of work, Riyadh is into cooking, hiking, camping, and other activities that help him stay creative, grounded, and connected to nature.

PhD research:

Disinformation campaigns do not always create fake news that is completely inauthentic but instead stealthily distort the news to sway public opinion. For instance, a video of two people fighting may be falsely attributed to their ethnicity or immigration status to incite hate speech and prevent the public from being informed about the true nature of the event. Or a politician’s remark might be clipped or stripped of context and circulated as ‘proof’ they are plotting against national security. In his PhD research, Riyadh is developing new methods that combine original news, their manipulated versions, and their visual component to understand how news gets manipulated, identify the characteristics of these manipulations, and build tools to detect and predict them. Ultimately, he aims for this work to support journalists and policymakers with advanced fact-checking tools to identify and challenge manipulations more effectively. In doing so, his research aims to strengthen cyber defence mechanisms, protect the integrity of public information, and help people stay better informed in today’s increasingly complex information landscape.

Supervisors: Tj Elmas