Held on 4 and 5 July 2024 at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin

More than 4 billion people around the world are heading to the polls in 2024, at a time when AI-generated “deepfakes” are proliferating and populist politicians routinely undermine well-established science with disinformation. Valuable goods such as health and democracy are at stake. At the same time, major online platforms are retreating from their responsibilities by reducing the number of content moderators and dissolving teams devoted to election integrity. How can these challenges be met?

Schedule and copies of presentations

Thursday 4th July, 12:30-17:30

Reclaiming individual autonomy and democratic discourse online

The "Reclaiming Individual Autonomy and Democratic Discourse Online” project is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation from 2021 to 2025 as part of their "AI and Society of the Future" initiative. Our aim is to scrutinize the interactions and possible clashes between online information architectures and human cognitive capacities. We seek to offer cognitively and technologically robust solutions to mitigate the negative impact of online information on public discourse and decision-making. Our teams are based at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, the University of Bristol in the UK, and Northeastern University in Boston, USA.

Over the past three years, our focus has revolved around three pivotal areas of inquiry:

We surveyed public attitudes towards critical aspects of online algorithmic architecture, including personalization algorithms and content moderation. Our particular interest was in understanding how individuals navigate moral dilemmas that arise between freedom of expression and the presence of harmful content online, a notable point of contention in content moderation.
We conducted a comprehensive investigation into how the utilization of online platforms influences political behavior and, consequently, democracies worldwide. Our findings have uncovered several alarming correlations, such as the declining trust in institutions and the rise of populism.
We showed that AI-generated information can exploit people’s personal vulnerabilities, and we formulated and tested interventions against online manipulation tactics like such as microtargeting, which have significantly enhanced individuals' capacity to identify such strategies.

In conjunction with global experts, we have created an online toolbox of interventions against misinformation, a resource for researchers, policymakers, and the general public.

In our current work we are illuminating the underlying motives that drive the sharing of true and false information on social media, while also broadening our research on content moderation across Europe.

Further information about our work, publications and ongoing activities can be found here.

Friday 5 July 2024, 08:45-16:00

Presentations - Friday 5 July 2024

Friday 5 July: Speakers and Schedule

How healthcare professionals can address vaccine misconceptions fuelled by misinformation

The JITSUVAX project is funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 scheme from 2021 to 2025. Our aim is to develop tools based on understanding of the psychological roots underlying the causes of vaccine hesitancy to help health care professionals address vaccine hesitancy in conversations with patients.

Our research teams are based in the UK, Germany, France, Finland, Portugal as well as in Canada, Slovenia, and Romania.

We measured how vaccine hesitancy affects the recommendation of vaccines among European healthcare professionals. Understanding clinicians’ and nurses’ attitudes to vaccination is critical for the development of educational or policy-based interventions to enhance vaccine uptake.
We developed a comprehensive classification of anti-vaccination arguments based on the deep underlying attitude “roots” that drive people’s surface opinions. Identification and understanding of these roots can support productive conversations with patients.
We developed and tested a novel intervention, the Empathetic Refutational Interview (ERI) to promote vaccine uptake. The ERI is based on affirmation of a patient’s deeply held beliefs followed by the refutation of misconceptions based on tailored messages.

We designed an online learning resource to support the Empathetic Refutational Interview. This website, jitsuvax.info, is so far available in five languages. Training and use of the Empathetic Refutational Interview has been field tested across several countries. We are now working to finalise procedures and supporting material for training courses to be rolled out across Europe and worldwide over the next year.

Further information about our work and publications can be found here