Tuesday 12th October 11:00 – 12:30

Join us online for presentations from Anna De Liddo and Tracie Farrell plus facilitated discussion with Special Interest Group lead, Rebecca Ferguson.

Contested Collective Intelligence: Harnessing the power of coming together, even when we disagree. 
Anna De Liddo

Abstract:
Technology has brought the world closer together than ever before. However, today it is often blamed for sewing social division. We can’t overlook the internet’s role in fanning the flames of division. Fake news and social media bubbles filter our reality and have the power to entrench us on one side of the argument and prevent us from understanding others’ views. However, my research also finds that technology can be a powerful tool to help us find common ground, even in cases when it appears we couldn’t be farther apart.

In this talk I will present intuitive online technologies to help people think critically, make sense and build consensus, even when they disagree. I will then discuss research results from real-life applications of such tools to bridging divides in political communication, healing divisions in post-war situations, and crowdsourcing community capabilities toward learning at scale.

Mis(sing) Information: Investigating the Role of Values, Ideologies and Events on How We Become Misinformed
Tracie Farrell

Abstract:
Misinformation is everywhere on social media. It spreads faster and deeper than other forms of information because it surprises us, triggers our fears, and raises strong emotions within us. Computational research tends to focus on identifying and removing misinformation, reducing its presence on social media. In my research, we are trying to use the opportunity we have to explore misinformation at scale to study how misinformation and corrective information is spreading, by whom, and under which circumstances, so that we can begin to understand what lies behind the fear and insecurity that makes misinformation so attractive.

In this talk I will discuss three approaches we have taken to investigate misinformation and fact-checking from a values perspective. I will discuss how the integration of values helps to shape the discourse around misinformation in more nuanced and helpful ways. I will share insights from several studies we have conducted with this framework in mind and how we plan to take this research forward.

Please contact openTEL for an invite. All are welcome!