In Solidarity with Ukraine through Conversational AI via Facebook Ads: A Case Study of Online Discussion in 15 Countries

Abstract

The world is facing increasing volatility due to ongoing geopolitical instabilities, which pose threats to international peace and democracy. In this unstable world, togetherness is considered to be the most important form of civic involvement. Therefore, online discussion forums are posed to be the next-generation platforms for democratic human communication. However, research argues that a publicly virtual social conversation alone cannot guarantee meaningful discussions and consultations because it fails to provide supportive means to facilitate problem-solving conversations. Incentive and facilitation mechanisms required to stimulate efficient communication and collaboration among online users within online forums. This paper focuses on the problem of managing crowdsourced deliberation in online communities, with the aim of human solidarity with Ukraine. Specifically, we targeted online communities in capital cities of 15 countries using Facebook Ads and directed them to an online discussion site, hosted by D-Agree, an online discussion forum. We first provide an overview of the deliberative initiative that is being used to facilitate deliberation in solidarity with Ukraine through conversational AI via Facebook Ads. We present a process for collecting the wisdom of the crowd on “how to collect and spend the collected aids in Ukraine '' for Ukraine solidarity good, by providing the public with an AI-facilitated online environment to post their opinions. The collected insights can be used as a planning tool for authorities.