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.

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Reports

Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3): A Primer on Strategic Warning, Decision Support, and Adaptive Targeting Subsystems 

Alice Saltini, Sylvia Mishra, Philip Reiner

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Reports

Securing the Signal: Mitigation Strategies to Strengthen Crisis Communication Channels

Christian Steins

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Reports

Strengthening Nuclear Crisis Communications: Steps to Implement Mesh Networks to Enhance Resilience & Security

Christian Steins

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Reports

Enhancing Cyber Resilience through Insurance: Revisiting Anti-Bundling Regulation

Sophia Mauro and Taylor Grossman

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Op-ed

ROOST Reminds Us Why Open Source Tools Matter

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Reports

Navigating AI Compliance, Part 2: Risk Mitigation Strategies for Safeguarding Against Future Failures

Mariami Tkeshelashvili, Tiffany Saade

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Reports

Deterring the Abuse of U.S. IaaS Products: Recommendations for a Consortium Approach

Steve Kelly, Tiffany Saade

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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.

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Rewired: How digital technologies shape cognition and democracy

Leah Walker

SUMMARY

This analytical report takes an escalating three-tiered approach: examining how effects of digital technologies on cognitive processes then affect the individual and society. At Tier 1, the most basic cognitive level, we hone in on the processes of memory, attention, and reasoning. At Tier 2, taking into consideration the combinatorial implications for individuals, we focus on critical thinking, trust, and emotions. Finally, at Tier 3, the analysis delves into how these insights drive societal-level issues, namely the susceptibility to disinformation and affective polarization. We attribute these negative effects to two forms of digital technologies: 1) those that affect and manipulate cognition, and 2) those that outsource cognitive functions.

To develop a model for understanding these effects, we propose a Framework on Techno-Cognitive Risks that identifies the precise elements of digital technologies that may lead to areas of concern or vulnerability from the fundamental cognitive level up to the societal level. This framework identifies 12 risks that emerge from 4 main features of technology in our increasingly digital world: 1) Design and Gamification; 2) Unnaturally Immersive and Easy Experience; 3) Lack of Friction; and 4) Information Overload. It is through the identification of these specific risks within these technology-driven domains that focused efforts can work to mitigate the threats to democracy we see today.

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