When Bodi Vasi, associate professor of sociology and criminology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and CSSI researcher affiliate, was an undergraduate student and recreational skier in Romania 30 years ago, he came across an article predicting that ski resorts could go out of business within a few decades because climate change would significantly reduce seasonal snowpack. 

Reading about how environmental change disrupts lifestyles and communities around the world sparked his interest. Today, Vasi studies how various organizations, such as companies, non-profits, and governmental agencies, work together to tackle societal and environmental problems.

“There's no single organization that is responsible for climate change. In a way, we are all responsible,” he said. “So, one of my research questions is: To what degree do companies accept this responsibility, and if so, what are they doing about it?”

Vasi employs large language models (LLMs), commonly referred to as AI, in a new way: to analyze thousands of corporate social responsibility reports and develop various measures of corporate commitment to addressing environmental issues.

As researchers gain access to increasingly larger amounts of text data, like Vasi, many are beginning to explore how AI tools can advance their work. To inspire others, he will lead an April 22 CSSI workshop titled “Using LLMs to Develop Variables for the Social Sciences,” using his preliminary data. The workshop will show how social scientists can use LLMs to create novel measures that can be used in quantitative research. 

“Companies like IKEA, for instance, have solar panels on pretty much all of their stores. Walmart also has solar panels on many of its stores, as does Target. Amazon is electrifying its fleet of trucks,” Vasi said. “So, instead of researchers conducting content analysis to find out what every company is doing, LLMs could help them do this more efficiently."

Why inter-organizational cooperation matters  

Vasi is currently writing a book that focuses on the forces that are driving the ways that organizations are transitioning to renewable energy sources. 

For example, because few organizations have the resources or capacity to make these large-scale, complex changes on their own, they must collaborate by forming partnerships or joint ventures.

Even very large companies like General Motors, Vasi said, no longer produce everything in-house and need to work with many suppliers to develop new technologies, such as electric vehicles.

He is also looking at why some regions and countries make significant “course corrections” in their energy systems, while others are not.

However, he’s uncovered something new: While researchers typically examine differences between countries and regions, “the main processes that lead to change are happening among organizations within them,” he said.

Through his affiliation with CSSI, Vasi said he is looking forward to the opportunity to identify resources for research and develop collaborations for his many projects.

“I've always been more interdisciplinary,” he said. “I appreciate getting feedback from people who are not part of a narrow circle within one academic discipline.”

Visit our website to learn more about CSSI’s researcher affiliate program. 

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