Ertan
Ağaoğlu

Researcher / Educator / AI Enthusiast

I am a communication researcher exploring how people perceive, trust, and are persuaded by artificial intelligence. I believe technology should serve the public good, so I investigate ways to make it more efficient, transparent, and easy for the public to understand. I also research who benefits from AI, who is left behind, and what biases it carries. I also study who benefits from AI, who gets left behind, and how bias is built into these systems.

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Ertan Ağaoğlu
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About

At the intersection of
communication & AI

My research examines how people interpret and respond to AI systems and AI-generated content, with particular attention to trust, persuasion, message acceptance, and behavioral intentions in strategic and health communication. I am especially interested in the design cues that make AI communication more persuasive and trustworthy, including agency, transparency, and socioemotional cues. I also investigate AI's broader impacts on society, including digital divide and algorithmic bias.

I bring broad methodological experience across experiments, surveys, qualitative methods, biometric tools, computational methods, and social media analytics, applied in both academic research and client-facing projects.

Professional Experience

Where I Work

Instructor of Record, Graduate Assistant

School of Journalism & Mass Communications

Teaching undergraduate and graduate courses including International Mass Communications (JOUR 312/504) and Theories of Mass Communications (JOUR 306) at USC.

Lab Coordinator

USC Biometrics & User Experience Lab

Eye tracking, GSR, EEG, EMG. Training researchers in biometric methods and supporting campaign effectiveness testing.

Social Media Analyst

USC Social Media Insights Lab

Running audience and social media analytics with Sprinklr, enhancing reporting workflows with Python pipelines. Contributor to the stats and codebase behind College Sports Social Pulse, featured in Sports Business Journal.

Research and Teaching Assistant · 2019 – 2022

College of Communication, Hacettepe University

Assisted courses on communication law, quantitative methods, research methods and publication ethics, new media, and gender and media.

Skills

  • SPSSStatistics
  • RStudioStatistics
  • JamoviStatistics
  • DedooseQualitative
  • PythonProgramming
  • HTMLProgramming
  • VurveyAI
  • LLMs with OllamaAI
  • iMotionsBiometrics
  • Eye TrackingBiometrics
  • GSRBiometrics
  • EEGBiometrics
  • EMGBiometrics
  • Netbase QuidSocial Listening
  • BrandWatchSocial Listening
  • SprinklrSocial Listening
  • ViralMomentSocial Listening
  • TableauVisualization
  • CanvaVisualization
  • Adobe Creative SuiteVisualization
  • Microsoft OfficeVisualization
Selected Work

Recent Publications

2026 Perceptions of AI-generated profile pictures: Effects on quality, attractiveness, and trustworthiness Cyberpsychology → 2025 Artificial intelligence in advertising: Unveiling challenges and opportunities via the consumer's lens Handbook of Innovations in Strategic Communication → 2026 The AI divide: How gender shapes attitudes and skills toward generative AI AEJMC Conference →
All Publications →

Awards & Grants

2026

Bryce Rucker Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award

In recognition of research work conducted as a graduate student

2026

USC Libraries Data Visualization Award — First Place

In recognition of excellence in data visualization

2026

International Student Excellence Scholarship

Academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership

2025

SJMC Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award

Outstanding teaching contributions

2024

Internal Funding Program — Principal Investigator

Student-track grant for research on artificial intelligence

2024

Internal Funding Program — Co-Investigator

Faculty-track grant for research on artificial intelligence

Interested in collaborating?

I'm always open to research collaborations, teaching opportunities, and conversations about AI and communication.

eagaoglu@email.sc.edu