Keynote speakers - abstracts and short bio

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Title

"Risk management and communication in an era of postfactual irritations"

Abstract

In an era of post-truth claims and fake news, scientific input to risk management and risk communication seems to be more required than ever. However, the nature of what risk analysis can and should offer to risk managers has been under severe scrutiny by science philosophers and sociologists of knowledge. Are the results of risk analysis neutral and impartial to the various interests that like to use scientific insights for legitimizing their positions? How universal is scientific risk knowledge and how much is it dependent on context and situational conditions and constraints? These questions are particularly pertinent for complex challenges such as systemic risks. The lecture will provide an analysis of how science, policymaking and society deal with these issues in the presence of fake news and post-truth claims.

Short Bio

Ortwin Renn is Scientific Director at the Institute for Transformative Sustainability Research (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, IASS) in Potsdam and Professor of Environmental and Sociology of Technology at the University of Stuttgart. He also heads the DIALOGIK research institute. His main research fields are risk analysis (governance, perception and communication), theory and practice of citizen participation in public projects, transformation research as well as social and technical change towards sustainable development.
 

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Title

"The citizens’ perspective on inverse panopticon, devices that can protect privacy"

Abstract

The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Usually, we think of a panopticon as embodying an oppressive, top-down system of observation and control. It is not that well known that Bentham distinguished between four different types of panopticon. One of the types is the constitutional panopticon also referred to as the inverse panopticon, a bottom-up surveillance through which governing functionaries are monitored through panoptic methods. What is the citizens opinion about devices that can inform them about surveillance? A smart speaker is a device that is listening to you and others that are in the vicinity of the speaker. We recruited participants from a national panel in Norway and presented an ultrasonic jammer that prevents smart speakers from recording human speech. In this talk, key findings from studies on the ultrasonic as well as on a device that can detect cameras in the persons vicinity are presented. Furthermore, I will present data from national surveys on how the cognitive reflection test can be used to measure risk propensity concerning the sharing of nude pictures and sharing of personal data as examples of risk behaviour.

Short Bio

Ingvar Tjostheim, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Norwegian Computing Center. He has been working in a number of contract research projects with national or international funding and is recognized for his expertise in human factor studies, telepresence and digital experiences, privacy, sharing of personal data, experimental methods and tools for surveys and data-collection. He has approximately 150 publications and has in recent years focused on interdisciplinary research with experts in computer science, psychology and decision science.  
 

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Title

"Correcting alluring misconceptions about climate change: results from science communication survey experiments in the U.S." 

Abstract

Communicating environmental risk science generally requires some kind of simplification, but not all simplifications are equal. Some cognitive simplifications may lead people astray regarding how best to address global environmental problems. For example, thinking that slowing or stopping  emissions means that greenhouse gas concentrations will fall rapidly allows for a wait-and-see attitude. Thinking that greenhouse gases are equivalent to common air pollution (i.e., smog, particulate matter) also implies a similar rapid  resolution. To address these climate change misconceptions, we develop two communication approaches based on the types of simplifications and mental models found in prior studies. In pre-registered survey experiments, conducted with adults in the U.S in spring 2022, we find that these communication approaches influence reported beliefs and even some attitudes. As found in prior studies, political orientation is strongly associated with beliefs and attitudes toward climate change and climate change mitigation strategies. Results also suggest that effects of such communication strategies vary by participant characteristics, such as political orientation

Short Bio

Ann Bostrom is the Weyerhaeuser endowed Professor in Environmental Policy in the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, Seattle.  She studies risk perceptions, risk communication, and mental models of hazardous processes—that is, how people understand and make decisions under uncertainty about environmental, health, and technological hazards such as climate change, extreme weather, and earthquakes.  She co-directs the NSF-funded Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hazards Research Hub (cascadiacopeshub.org/), co-leads risk communication research for the NSF AI Institute for Research on Trustworthy AI in Weather, Climate, and Coastal Oceanography AI2ES (ai2es.org/), and serves on the editorial board of the international journal Risk Analysis. A fellow and former President of the Society for Risk Analysis and fellow and elected Board member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as well as of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, Ann holds a Ph.D. in policy analysis from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.B.A. from Western Washington University, and a B.A. in English from the University of Washington.