AI生成的梗图在2024大选中显著提升互动，但形式比技术更重要。
The Meme Is the Message: Generative Memesis and AI Visuals in the 2024 USA Presidential Elections
- 用多模态方法分析23万张Instagram图片，结合视觉与语言模型。
- 梗图格式比纯AI图像更能带动互动，二者结合效果更佳。
- 民主党用户用AI支持同党，共和党用户多用于攻击对手。
社交媒体上的视觉内容在塑造政治讨论和公民参与中愈发重要，但也因多媒体制作成本升高而限制参与。生成式AI则为公民提供了新参与方式，降低了创作门槛。基于239,526张Instagram图片的数据集，我们采用结合计算机视觉、大语言模型和面部情感分析的多模态工作流，分析2024年美国大选期间合成图像的影响。结果表明，梗图格式比单纯使用AI生成内容更能预测互动量。然而，当合成图像通过人工策划融入梗图时，产生显著交互效应，表明互动呈协同增长。我们还发现用户在策划图像时存在党派差异：倾向民主党的用户更倾向于用AI强化内部认同，倾向共和党的用户则更常用于攻击对立群体。用户普遍选择比真实照片更快乐的合成面孔。本文提出‘生成式梗化’（generative memesis）概念，指梗图不再由人直接传播，而是经由AI定制视觉后中介传播。文章探讨生成式AI如何赋能公民参与、内容生产与策划的分化，并反思其在新技术与参与文化史中的意义。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Visual content on social media has become increasingly influential in shaping political discourse and civic engagement, but it also limits participation due to the increased cost of multimedia production. In tandem, the growth of generative AI provides novel ways for citizens to participate in politics by lowering these costs. Drawing on a dataset of 239,526 Instagram images, we analyze the effects of synthetic images during the 2024 United States presidential election, using a multimodal workflow combining computer vision, large language models, and facial affect analysis. Results show that meme format is a stronger predictor of engagement than AI-generated content alone. However, AI-generated memes yield a significant interaction effect, suggesting synergistic increases in engagement when synthetic imagery is integrated with memes through human curation. We also characterize how users curate images. Partisans use AI in different ways: Democrat-leaning users tend to use it for in-group support, whereas Republican-leaning users more often employ it for out-group attacks. Users generally select happier synthetic faces compared to real photographs. We define generative memesis as a mode of communication in which memes are no longer shared person-to-person, but mediated by AI through customized visuals. We discuss how generative AI may empower civic participation, the bifurcation of content production and curation, and its implications for in the history of novel technologies and participatory culture.
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