Lance Wilhelm

Weijun Jin, Lance Wilhelm

State-of-the-art image and text classification models, such as Convolutional Neural Networks and Transformers, have long been able to classify their respective unimodal reasoning satisfactorily with accuracy close to or exceeding human accuracy. However, images embedded with text, such as hateful memes, are hard to classify using unimodal reasoning when difficult examples, such as benign confounders, are incorporated into the data set. We attempt to generate more labeled memes in addition to the Hateful Memes data set from Facebook AI, based on the framework of a winning team from the Hateful Meme Challenge. To increase the number of labeled memes, we explore semi-supervised learning using pseudo-labels for newly introduced, unlabeled memes gathered from the Memotion Dataset 7K. We find that the semi-supervised learning task on unlabeled data required human intervention and filtering and that adding a limited amount of new data yields no extra classification performance.

Lance T. Wilhelm, Xiaohan Ding, Kirk McInnis Knutsen et al.

Effective workplace communication is essential for managerial success, yet many managers lack access to tailored and sustained training. Although AI-assisted communication systems may offer scalable training solutions, little is known about how managers envision the role of AI in helping them improve their communication skills. To investigate this, we designed a conversational role-play system, CommCoach, as a functional probe to understand how managers anticipate using AI to practice their communication skills. Through semi-structured interviews, participants emphasized the value of adaptive, low-risk simulations for practicing difficult workplace conversations. They also highlighted opportunities, including human-AI teaming, transparent and context-aware feedback, and greater control over AI-generated personas. AI-assisted communication training should balance personalization, structured learning objectives, and adaptability to different user styles and contexts. However, achieving this requires carefully navigating tensions between adaptive and consistent AI feedback, realism and potential bias, and the open-ended nature of AI conversations versus structured workplace discourse.