Critical Transformers: Psychological perspectives on the human-technology partnership and its impacts on society
We are proud to announce the upcoming symposium titled "Critical Transformers: Psychological Perspectives on the Human-Technology Partnership and Its Impacts on Society". This event has been organized by Dr. Cornelia Sindermann (IRIS3D Research Group Leader), Jun.-Prof. Dr. Maria Wirzberger (Speaker for SRF IRIS), and Solange Vega (IRIS3D Researcher). The symposium will feature contributions from early career IRIS researchers Laurène Vaugrante, Solange Vega, and Tabea Bereberena as well as external collaborators from ZEN-MRI. This event is part of the 53rd Congress of the German Psychological Society, which will take place in Vienna from 16 to 19 September 2024. It promises to offer valuable insights into the evolving relationship between humans and technology, and its profound effects on society.
Symposium Abstract:
Technological developments are ubiquitous in today’s society. They range from algorithms shaping online experiences to robots being integrated into physical spaces. As such, technological developments fundamentally transform how we receive information, interact, and in general perceive and navigate the world. The purpose of this symposium is to critically reflect on how various technological developments impact individuals and society. Further, with this symposium, we seek to present how individuals perceive different technologies in various contexts. For this, the symposium covers a range of psychological disciplines and methods. The symposium will start with a reflection on technologies that impact our daily lives in an often-unrecognizable manner. Two separate presentations will investigate and reflect on online algorithms and their impact on political opinion formation, with a focus on polarization. Further, chatbots become increasingly integrated into our online experience. Accordingly, one presentation will explore when human-chatbot interactions lead to trust and trusting behavior. Another presentation will discuss how the perceived education levels of users influence the reasoning performance of large language models and its implications for human-technology partnerships. Moving from online to offline spaces, technological developments in the form of robots are increasingly found in public spaces. One presentation will discuss the balance between annoyance and safety of robots in a virtual-reality study design, specifically regarding auditory interaction design. The final presentation of the symposium will explore the perspective of people with visual impairments on the integration of robots in public spaces, focusing among others on their individual needs, desires, and hopes.
