Media Releases and Opportunities

Two Expert Interview Opportunities on Dalhousie’s Computational Social Science Symposium and the Impacts of AI on Society, Culture and Research

Dalhousie University will host the Computational Social Science Symposium, Bridging Disciplines: Exploring the Nexus of Data, Culture, and Society, on January 24–25, 2026. The event brings together leading scholars from across Canada to explore how computational methods are reshaping research, culture, and society. 

Two Dalhousie subject matter experts are available for interviews around this interdisciplinary gathering.

Dr. Deena Abul‑Fottouh, National CSS Symposium on the Future of Computational Social Science

Symposium organizer and assistant professor Dr. Deena Abul‑Fottouh is available to speak about the event, its goals, and the emerging research being presented.

Supported through her SSHRC Exchange Grant, Dr. Abul‑Fottouh has designed this symposium to highlight how computational social science (CSS) can enrich scholarship across the social sciences and humanities—and how SSH perspectives, in turn, can critically inform the development of computational methods.

Dr. Abul‑Fottouh can speak to:

• Why computational methods are increasingly essential in the social sciences and humanities
• How interdisciplinary collaboration is reshaping academic research
• Opportunities and challenges in integrating data‑driven methods into traditional scholarship
• The broader societal implications of computational research

Dr. Christopher Helland on Why People Are Turning to AI for Comfort in Times of Crisis

Symposium speaker Dr. Christopher Helland, an expert in religion and emerging technologies, is available to discuss his research on how people are increasingly turning to AI for emotional and existential guidance during times of social disruption.

His forthcoming paper explores how experiences of social instability, anxiety, and anomie are leading individuals to seek comfort from algorithms in ways that echo historical reliance on religion during periods of perceived crisis or societal breakdown.

Dr. Helland can address key questions such as:

• Why so many people today feel a sense of apocalyptic uncertainty—even outside traditional religious frameworks
• How and why individuals turn to AI for comfort, clarity, and reassurance
• Ways AI tools may replicate or replace the roles once played by religious authorities
• Whether AI can genuinely help people navigate fear and instability
• The risks of relying on AI for moral, spiritual, or emotional guidance

Dr. Helland can offer evidence‑based insight into how AI is reshaping notions of guidance, meaning, and authority during an era of technological dependence and global uncertainty.

To arrange interviews, please contact Lindsay Dowling-Savelle, Dalhousie Media Relations Manager, at Lindsay.Savelle@dal.ca.