Virtual Library

Our virtual library is an online repository of all of the reports, papers, and briefings that IST has produced, as well as works that have influenced our thinking.

Submit your Content

Podcasts

TechnologIST Talks: Looking Back and Looking Ahead: Deep Dive on the New Cybersecurity Executive Order

Carole House, Megan Stifel, and Steve Kelly

view

Podcasts

TechnologIST Talks: The Offense-Defense Balance

Philip Reiner and Heather Adkins

view

Reports

The Generative Identity Initiative: Exploring Generative AI’s Impact on Cognition, Society, and the Future

Gabrielle Tran, Eric Davis

viewpdf

Podcasts

TechnologIST Talks: A Transatlantic Perspective on Quantum Tech

Megan Stifel and Markus Pflitsch

view

Podcasts

TechnologIST Talks: The Future is Quantum

Megan Stifel and Stefan Leichenauer

view

Reports

Navigating AI Compliance, Part 1: Tracing Failure Patterns in History

Mariami Tkeshelashvili, Tiffany Saade

viewpdf

Podcasts

TechnologIST Talks: The Cleantech Boom

Steve Kelly and Dr. Alex Gagnon

view

Contribute to our Library!

We also welcome additional suggestions from readers, and will consider adding further resources as so much of our work has come through crowd-sourced collaboration already. If, for any chance you are an author whose work is listed here and you do not wish it to be listed in our repository, please, let us know.

SUBMIT CONTENT

Shortcutting Critical Thinking

Leah Walker and Zoë Brammer

SUMMARY

What effects do digital technologies have on critical thinking? The DCDI coalition and IST researchers came to five major conclusions:

  1. The scale, accuracy, and speed of digital technologies make them particularly effective at activating the very emotions that influence and undermine critical thinking. Not only do digital technologies have the ability to inflame those emotions, but they often are designed to do so, as those very emotions drive engagement, use, and consumer spending.
  2. Digital technologies are affecting the cognitive processes that comprise critical thinking, including memory, attention, and reasoning.
  3. Digital technologies make it easier for people to confirm their existing beliefs, with little incentive to go through the often arduous processes of thinking critically. The most prolific online spaces are designed to validate beliefs, rather than challenge them. This constant reinforcement, in turn, makes people more confident in and vocal about their beliefs.
  4. Overconfidence in beliefs makes people more vulnerable to disinformation and less likely to take in contrary arguments. 
  1. Compounding the problem, there is little financial incentive for tech companies to design products that encourage people to think critically, especially if that involves helping people slow down by building friction into systems optimized for speed.
download pdf