Taming the Crazy: Mitigating Infodemics with the Science of Mental Immunity - Andrew Norman

 

Andrew Norman is Director of Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University and founder of the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative (CIRCE)

A discussion of epidemics of cognitive contagion which present an existential threat in a globalised world. Propagandists weaponise social media to radicalize the disaffected. Conspiracy theories spread online, leaving billions untethered from reality. Ideologies poison public discourse, distrust of public institutions has skyrocketed, and science denial leaves us unprepared to tackle climate change. So how did we get here? More importantly, what can we do about the “infodemic" problem? First, we need to understand the mind’s immune system: why some develop resistance to unreliable and manipulative information and others grow more susceptible to it. This is the premise of cognitive immunology, the emerging science of mental immunity. Building on 60 years of empirical evidence, this science identifies root causes and points to real solutions—high-leverage strategies for disrupting the worst forms of cognitive contagion. The Infodemic Solutions Alliance aims to apply this science and build a world where peak mental immune function (think next level critical thinking) frees us all from destructive outbreaks of unreason.

This NAEC seminar also profiles the ongoing work in NAEC’s Neuroscience-Inspired Policy Initiative.