UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1282

Submission information
Submission Number: 1282
Submission ID: 21006
Submission UUID: f892e7f3-9c3b-49f6-a673-73edd169ee8b

Created: Mon, 08/18/2025 - 08:45 PM
Completed: Mon, 08/18/2025 - 09:23 PM
Changed: Mon, 08/25/2025 - 11:43 AM

Remote IP address: 179.218.246.76
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Primary Research Mentor Name Marcos Müller Vasconcelos
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Prof.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) m.vasconcelos@fsu.edu
Position Title Faculty
FSU College (if applicable) FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Electrical Engineering
Headshot (optional) IMG_2726_jpg.jpg
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above)
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns
Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable)
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns
Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific?
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated)
Title of the Project The Logic of the Feed: Mathematical Models of Recommender Systems in Digital Media Platforms
Project Keywords Economics, Game Theory, Recommender Systems, Human-AI Interaction
Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Economics, Statistics, Business, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science
Project Location: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? Yes
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): Partially Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 10 hours/week
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description Most information consumed online today flows through digital media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Because the volume of available content is overwhelming, these platforms rely on recommendation systems to filter and promote material. However, recommendations are made under uncertainty: platforms cannot directly observe a user’s private preferences. Instead, they adapt their strategies to maximize engagement, even if it means amplifying extreme or polarized content. Our recent research has modeled this interaction as a signaling game between a platform and a user: the user seeks content aligned with their preferences, while the platform seeks to maximize engagement regardless of alignment. Theoretical results show that equilibrium strategies in such games can naturally lead to the escalation of extreme content availability. This raises important questions about how algorithms, user behavior, and economic incentives jointly shape the online information ecosystem.

Objectives:

This UROP project aims to explore recommender systems by focusing on three interconnected areas:

1. Algorithmic Foundations – how recommendation strategies influence exposure to extreme versus moderate content.

2. User Behavior & Engagement – how individuals respond to content depending on alignment and private preferences.

3. Economic & Game-Theoretic Aspects – how engagement-driven incentives can lead to unintended outcomes, such as polarization and escalation of content intensity.

This is a joint project with professors from the University of Southern California (USC).
Research Tasks 1. Simulation & Modeling: Build simplified game-theoretic or agent-based models of user–platform interactions, exploring equilibrium dynamics.

2. Data Analysis: Use small-scale datasets (e.g., Reddit, Twitter/X, or simulated feeds) to study recommendation patterns and engagement responses.

3. Theoretical Exploration: Extend the signaling game framework to test how assumptions (e.g., user heterogeneity, platform objectives) affect equilibrium outcomes.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Students should have:

1. Basic programming (Python, MATLAB, or R) - recommended

2. Probability/statistics background - recommended

3. Interest in digital media, algorithms, and game theory - required
Mentoring Philosophy Our mentoring philosophy centers on empowering students to gain confidence in their ideas and nurturing their creativity. At the MINDS lab, we embrace the motto that there is no limit to what the human mind can accomplish and that the world of ideas offers an infinite number of low-hanging fruits. Currently, our lab has supported a diverse group of researchers, including many undergraduates, two PhD students, and one postdoc. We believe that a diverse team, representing a wide spectrum of backgrounds and perspectives, leads to more innovative work, thereby contributing to the broadening of participation of underrepresented groups in the scientific community and society as a whole.
Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):
Please add any additional information here (if applicable):
Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? No
Roundtable times and Zoom links
Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation Yes
Materials Grant Yes
UROP Poster Presentation Yes
Year 2025
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