Prof. Patrick Wamuyu

About
Patrick Wamuyu is the Coordinator of the SIMElab Africa (Social Media Lab Africa), an interdisciplinary center focused on research in big data and social media analytics at USIU-Africa. During his fellowship at the Weizenbaum Institute, Dr. Wamuyu aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between social media, artificial intelligence, and societal dynamics, particularly in non-Western contexts.
During his fellowship, Dr. Wamuyu will be conducting research on the following topics:
- Investigating the application of artificial intelligence technologies to identify and mitigate the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.
- Understanding how malicious actors exploit social media users through social engineering tactics and the potential impact of such attacks on user emotional well-being.
- Comparing social media practices in Western and non-Western societies, with a particular focus on Kenya where digital technologies are often used in innovative ways.
The potential outcomes of Dr. Wamuyu stay at the WI will include and not limited to:
- Developing collaborative publications on AI in the social media environment and the problematic uses and effects of social media in different societies.
- Creating a new grant proposal building upon a previous unsuccessful submission to the DFG.
- Sharing research findings through presentations, guest lectures, and interactions with other researchers in the field.
Weizenbaum Digital Science Center, Weizenbaum Panel
Positions
Contact
Fields of Research
AI-Driven Misinformation Detection; Social Engineering and User Vulnerabilities; Comparative Analysis of Social Media Use
AI, social media, misinformation, cultural context