2 May 2023 — NUS Computing Assistant Professor Sun Chenshuo has won New York University (NYU)’s University-wide Outstanding Dissertation Award for his doctoral dissertation, “Emerging Technologies and the Digital Future.” Each NYU school is invited to nominate a total of three candidates every year. Candidates are screened vigorously for the rigor, clarity, and impact of their research work on the academic field and society. Nine awardees are selected in AY23 across all the NYU schools, and Dr. Sun is among the three awardees under the Social Science category.
Dr. Sun’s dissertation examines the impact of emerging digital technologies at the individual, business, and societal levels in his dissertation. It comprises three essays that investigate the influence of omnichannel journal prediction and the value of data, voice-activated shopping devices, and digital infrastructure on consumer behavior and market dynamics. The first essay is the first study to use omnichannel data to predict consumers’ journey and to assess the economic significance of omnichannel data. The second essay is the first paper showing how and why voice AI has impacted product sales in the world’s largest e-commerce platform. The findings have significant implications for both e-commerce companies and businesses that harness voice-assisted shopping. Lastly, the third essay is the first empirical analysis of how and why the development of new digital infrastructure shapes the mobile app market.
These research papers have also received many awards, notably the JP Morgan AI Ph.D. Fellowship Award 2021, and the ISS Nunamaker-Chen Dissertation Award Runner-Up in 2022, as well as many best paper awards at multiple academic conferences.
“I am truly humbled and honored to receive the prestigious recognition, which can be viewed as a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion I have invested in my research. I am deeply grateful for the support and guidance of my committee chair Professor Anindya Ghose, committee members (NYU Professors Alexander Tuzhilin and Hanna Halaburda, and CMU Professor Beibei Li), peers, and the entire academic community at NYU and our field,” stated Dr. Sun on his award.
Dr. Sun is currently working on a few projects with Associate Professor Goh Khim Yong and co-advised Ph.D. students, Jinya and Xinyi on exploring ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the e-commerce and labor market landscape. Beyond the academic sphere, he has also published two opinion pieces in local media on the implications of AI, potential opportunities, and challenges ahead.
Article 1: “Integrating AI and education for good”
Article 2: “连乔、孙辰朔：从货币与就业逻辑看AI革”
