Doctoral Student
Josh (Wei-Jie) Xiao is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Firestone Fellow at Aspen Digital Projects (Emerging Tech) and a research affiliate of the Center for Media Engagement (CME) and the Center for Entertainment & Media Industries (CEMI) at UT, where he researches the conjunction of journalism and information technology.
His research is solution-driven and interdisciplinary: he aims to map the crisis facing journalism and seeks to assess potential solutions to the growing threat of (dis)misinformation to democratic societies. Particularly, he examines the evolution of bots from transmitting information to coordinating communication with humans, other bots, and their environment. He also investigates developing blockchain-based solutions (e.g., decentralized identity, trusted data trading, and token-based governance) to communication problems while dissecting the socio-economic dynamics between humans (e.g., technologists, journalists, and business people) and blockchain artifacts.
Prior to his doctoral studies at UT, Josh worked as a digital journalist in non-profit sectors and focused on how technological forces are shaping the business of news and audience engagement. Josh is a recipient of the prestigious scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, for pursuing his Ph.D. program.
