aiqbench analysis
VIRENA is a novel research platform enabling controlled experiments on human-AI interaction within realistic social media replicas using LLM-powered agents. By allowing researchers to configure complex scenarios without coding, it addresses critical gaps in studying deliberation and moderation dynamics that are difficult to observe in real-world environments. This tool significantly advances the methodology for evaluating AI impacts on public discourse and group behavior.
VIRENA: Virtual Arena for Research, Education, and Democratic Innovation
arXiv:2602.12207v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Digital platforms shape how people communicate, deliberate, and form opinions. Studying these dynamics has become harder because of restricted data access, ethical limits on real-world experiments, and the technical demands of existing research tools. VIRENA (Virtual Arena) is a platform for controlled experiments in realistic social media environments. Several participants can interact at the same time in replicas of feed-based platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, X) and messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger). AI agents powered by large language models (LLMs) join the participants with configurable personas and human-like timing. Researchers set up experiments in a visual interface without programming: they define conditions, schedule stimulus content, add moderation rules, assign participants randomly to conditions, and export the data. VIRENA supports designs that were hard to run before, such as studying human--AI interaction in realistic social settings, comparing moderation interventions, and observing group deliberation as it unfolds. Participants and data stay within institutional control, and the platform links to survey and recruitment tools. This paper describes how VIRENA works and how to use it.
Abstract:Digital platforms shape how people communicate, deliberate, and form opinions. Studying these dynamics has become harder because of restricted data access, ethical limits on real-world experiments, and the technical demands of existing research tools. VIRENA (Virtual Arena) is a platform for controlled experiments in realistic social media environments. Several participants can interact at the same time in replicas of feed-based platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, X) and messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger). AI agents powered by large language models (LLMs) join the participants with configurable personas and human-like timing. Researchers set up experiments in a visual interface without programming: they define conditions, schedule stimulus content, add moderation rules, assign participants randomly to conditions, and export the data. VIRENA supports designs that were hard to run before, such as studying human--AI interaction in realistic social settings, comparing moderation interventions, and observing group deliberation as it unfolds. Participants and data stay within institutional control, and the platform links to survey and recruitment tools. This paper describes how VIRENA works and how to use it.
VIRENA is under active development and currently in use at the University of Zurich. This preprint will be updated as new features are released. For the latest version and to inquire about demos or pilot collaborations, contact the authors
Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
arXiv:2602.12207 [cs.HC]
(or arXiv:2602.12207v3 [cs.HC] for this version)
From: Emma Hoes Dr. [view email] [v1] Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:46:52 UTC (102 KB) [v2] Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:55:37 UTC (102 KB) [v3] Sat, 3 Oct 2026 10:22:02 UTC (2,394 KB)
Full text under the publisher's open licence · 261 words
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