Abstract
Digital systems increasingly shape how people connect, communicate, and form trust. From social networks to artificial intelligence, algorithmic design now mediates both personal relationships and public discourse.
For University of Virginia students, an app-based roommate matching application was developed with which users may create profiles, specify lifestyle preferences, and receive ranked recommendations using a Tinder-style interface. Its purpose is to improve student housing outcomes by simplifying search, minimizing social problems, and increasing satisfaction among matches. The project employed an iterative development process using a full stack architecture with a React frontend and Python backend, connected to a Firebase database. Early prototype testing showed that preference weighting and interface simplicity most strongly affected user engagement. Future work will focus on recommendation refinements and integration with university housing data to enhance scalability and reliability.
Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI frame themselves as responsible actors in the governance of AI-generated misinformation. Through voluntary frameworks and lobbying, these companies consolidate regulatory influence, shaping the rules that are meant to restrain them. Using documentary analysis, the study evaluates how corporate self-regulation and limited government oversight together redefine accountability. The findings suggest that public trust is being privatized, as the ability to define truth increasingly resides in corporate infrastructure rather than democratic institutions. Understanding this dynamic highlights the ethical responsibility of engineers and policymakers alike to design systems, whether for roommate matching or information governance, that strengthen, rather than substitute, for human trust.
