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Lamia Zia's new blog post for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy explores the power of public sphere through a reflection on espresso and cafes. Zia discusses coffee's diplomatic power and how it operates as an ambassador of culture in this intriguing read!

As Digital Cultures becomes the dominant term used by many across a variety of intellectual fields to describe the social, aesthetic, and political impact of digital media, it is necessary to provide a reference volume that specifies and defines the bounds of scholarly debates and curricular outlines for an otherwise amorphous interdisciplinary space.

This handbook provides a comprehensive reference for the varied methodologies, historical frames, and theoretical perspectives essential for the study of Digital Cultures today. In outlining these foundations, it serves as a practical guide for educators and students into the broad range of perspectives grouped together for the critical, historical, and social scientific study of digital media.

It also looks into the future and outlines an agenda for future research by examining not only the origins of the concept of Digital Culture, but emerging topics and themes still in development, such as the relation between digital technology and climate change, artificial intelligence and knowledge, sensation and aesthetics, and the rise of new infrastructures reinventing not only the built environment, but the boundaries of nations and sovereignty.

• The first handbook to provide the historical, theoretical, and methodological foundations for the study of Digital Culture
• Contributions by leading scholars in the field
• Discusses emerging themes and areas of research 

With the rapid advancements in technology over the past 2 decades, it has become crucial to understand people’s attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and its associated risks. Given the increasing access to the AI technologies, it is imperative to examine how young people in non-Western societies like Pakistan perceive AI risks and benefits. We conducted an online survey of 435 college students who had used AI technology in the past 6 months. The results of our study indicate that the majority of college students view AI technology positively and perceive it as an opportunity to enhance workplace productivity. In addition, most of the respondents are optimistic about the future applications of AI in their individual lives and society. This research contributes to the literature on how college students in Pakistan perceive AI in their daily lives and offer implications for future scholars interested in studying AI technology use in non-Western countries.