Stewardship of global collective behavior

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A cohort of research and knowledge exchange networks are co-hosting a journal club discussion on the proposal that the science of collective human behavior should be considered a "crisis discipline." Read the paper and join us for the conversation.

Journal Club Discussion

Wednesday, September 22, 2021
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
Location: Zoom
RSVP: Below

Paper for discussion 🔗

Joseph B. Bak-Coleman, Mark Alfano, Wolfram Barfuss, Carl T. Bergstrom, Miguel A. Centeno, Iain D. Couzin, Jonathan F. Donges, Mirta Galesic, Andrew S. Gersick, Jennifer Jacquet, Albert B. Kao, Rachel E. Moran, Pawel Romanczuk, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Kaia J. Tombak, Jay J. Van Bavel, Elke U. Weber. (2021). Stewardship of global collective behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2021, 118 (27) e2025764118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2025764118

Convening Networks

Invitations to participate in this discussion are circulated through the following institutes, centres, labs and networks:

Abstract 🔗

Collective behavior provides a framework for understanding how the actions and properties of groups emerge from the way individuals generate and share information. In humans, information flows were initially shaped by natural selection yet are increasingly structured by emerging communication technologies. Our larger, more complex social networks now transfer high-fidelity information over vast distances at low cost. The digital age and the rise of social media have accelerated changes to our social systems, with poorly understood functional consequences. This gap in our knowledge represents a principal challenge to scientific progress, democracy, and actions to address global crises. We argue that the study of collective behavior must rise to a “crisis discipline” just as medicine, conservation, and climate science have, with a focus on providing actionable insight to policymakers and regulators for the stewardship of social systems.

Registration

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