Sungyeon Hong
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    • Order, disorder and in-between
    • Information dynamics
    • Embodied complexity
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Information · Meaning · Adaptation

Information dynamics

How does information evolve as it moves through complex communication networks?

Overview

Information rarely remains unchanged as it passes from one person (or a system) to another. Meanings are interpreted, compressed, transformed, and occasionally distorted through continual interaction. As generative AI becomes increasingly embedded in how we create, communicate, and evaluate knowledge, understanding these dynamics has become both a scientific and societal challenge.

This research theme examines how information evolves when humans and AI systems communicate and interact. I am interested in generative AI not merely as a technological artefact, but as part of a broader information ecosystem that shapes how knowledge is produced, circulated, interpreted, and transformed.

My current work investigates semantic dynamics in recursive human–AI communication using tools from topology, geometry, and network science. By analysing trajectories of meaning across multimodal AI systems and large-scale knowledge networks, I seek to develop quantitative diagnostics for semantic drift, information flow, and knowledge integrity. Ultimately, this research aims to identify structural signatures that distinguish resilient knowledge ecosystems from those vulnerable to fragmentation, misinformation, or epistemic degradation, providing foundations for more trustworthy and responsible human–AI collaboration.

Relevant publications

Below is a list of publications connected to my work on human–AI interaction, communication, feedback, adaptation, and information dynamics.

Snapshot image for IEEE SMC 2025

Semantic topologies in the recursive application of generative AI models

Authors: Ben Swift, Sungyeon Hong
Year: 2026
Conference: 2025 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC)

Generative AI systems increasingly communicate not only with humans but also with other AI systems. This study investigates what happens when information is repeatedly translated between text and images by different generative models. Using clustering and topological data analysis, we show how semantic meaning drifts, stabilises, or transforms through recursive AI-mediated communication, offering new ways to study information dynamics in complex AI ecosystems.

Snapshot image for ICMI 2025

A scenario-based design pack for exploring multimodal human–GenAI relations

Authors: Josh Andres, Chris Danta, Andrea Bianchi, Sahar Farzanfar, Gloria Milena Fernandez-Nieto, Alexa Becker, Tara Capel, Frances Liddell, Shelby Hagemann, Ned Cooper, Sungyeon Hong, Li Lin, Eduardo Benitez Sandoval, Anna Brynskov, Hubert Dariusz Zając, Zhuying Li, Tianyi Zhang, Arngeir Berge
Year: 2025
Publisher: Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Multimodal Interaction

As generative AI becomes embedded in everyday life, understanding its broader social and relational impacts becomes increasingly important. This work introduces a practical design toolkit that helps researchers, designers, and students explore future human–AI relationships through scenario-building and critical reflection. The resulting framework encourages more responsible and context-aware approaches to emerging AI technologies.

Snapshot image for DIS 2024

Understanding and shaping human-technology assemblages in the age of generative AI

Authors: Josh Andres, Chris Danta, Andrea Bianchi, Sungyeon Hong, Zhuying Li, Eduardo Benitez Sandoval, Charles Patrick Martin, Ned Cooper
Year: 2024
Conference: 2024 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference

Generative AI should be understood not merely as a tool, but as part of larger human–technology–environment systems. Bringing together researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines, the project explored methods for imagining and shaping possible futures of human–AI interaction. It laid the conceptual foundations for subsequent work on Human–GenAI relations and sociotechnical design.