The paper maps the nascent social‑science literature on large language models (LLMs) by analysing 198 curated papers and 47,719 field‑scale papers. It identifies three main domains—LLM as Social Minds, LLM Societies, and LLM‑Human Interactions—each containing 13 subcategories such as reasoning, bias, collective intelligence, and trust. The taxonomy is validated through clustering stability, author classification agreement, and topic mapping, revealing differing prominence across conference and journal venues.
By Yi Yang, Xiao Jia, Zeyun Dong, Chenzhang Wang, Zhanzhan Zhao
arXiv:2411.08881v3 Announce Type: replace-cross
Abstract: AI-based systems, including Large Language Models (LLMs), impact millions by supporting diverse tasks but face issues like misinformation, bi...
By Jos\'e Antonio Siqueira de Cerqueira, Mamia Agbese, Rebekah Rousi, Nannan Xi, Juho Hamari, Pekka Abrahamsson
arXiv:2606. 11217v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The proliferation of large language models (LLMs) and autonomous AI agents has given rise to a rapidly growing methodological paradigm: "in silico" behavioral experiments.
By Michelle Vaccaro
arXiv:2606. 05256v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: This study analyzes a publicly released dataset from a discontinued field experiment on Reddit's r/ChangeMyView.
By Kokil Jaidka, Saifuddin Ahmed
How can humans make sense of the rapid takeoff of artificial intelligence (AI)? We studied the sensemaking dynamics of AI through an open-ended, mixed-methods study with computational text analysis of...
arXiv:2603. 00048v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed in sensitive applications including psychological support, healthcare, and high-stakes decision-making.
By Erica Coppolillo, Emilio Ferrara
arXiv:2608.24748v1 Announce Type: cross
Abstract: How can humans make sense of the rapid takeoff of artificial intelligence (AI)? We studied the sensemaking dynamics of AI through an open-ended, mixe...
By Jacy Reese Anthis, Erik Brynjolfsson, James Evans
The paper proposes a new interdisciplinary field called Cognitive Infrastructure Studies (CIS) to examine how AI systems act as invisible, foundational cognitive infrastructures that shape what people can know and do in digital societies. It argues that these infrastructures, through anticipatory personalization and adaptive invisibility, automate relevance judgments and shift epistemic agency to non‑human systems. CIS offers methodological tools, such as infrastructure breakdown experiments, to uncover the hidden cognitive dependencies created by AI preprocessing across individual, collective, and societal levels.
By Giuseppe Riva
arXiv:2510. 05743v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We review the historical development and current trends of artificially intelligent agents (agentic AI) in the social and behavioral sciences: from the first programmable computers, and social simulations soon thereafter, to today's experiments with large language models.
By Petter Holme, Milena Tsvetkova
The study audits 576 LLM-based social simulations from 350 papers using the PIMMUR framework, which evaluates agent profile, interaction, memory, minimal control, unawareness, and realism. Results show that PIMMUR principles are met more often than minimal control, unawareness, and realism, with frontier LLMs correctly identifying the underlying experiment in 65.2% of cases and half of prompts pre‑determining outcomes. Reproducing five experiments revealed that many reported collective phenomena disappear or reverse when PIMMUR principles are enforced, suggesting that apparent emergent behaviors may be methodological artifacts rather than genuine social dynamics.
By Jiaxu Zhou, Jen-tse Huang, Xuhui Zhou, Man Ho Lam, Xintao Wang, Hao Zhu, Wenxuan Wang, Maarten Sap
arXiv:2607. 01248v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models are increasingly used for knowledge acquisition, code generation, academic writing, and agent-based automation.
By Yang Zhao, Yingshuo Li, Zeyu Zhang
arXiv:2506. 17467v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) have shown significant potential to change how we write, communicate, and create, leading to rapid adoption across society.
By Weixin Liang