Summary
Jevin West is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. He is the co-founder and the inaugural director of the Center for an Informed Public at UW, aimed at resisting strategic misinformation, promoting an informed society and strengthening democratic discourse. He is also the co-founder of the DataLab at UW, a Data Science Fellow at the eScience Institute, and Affiliate Faculty for the Center for Statistics & Social Sciences. His research and teaching focus on the impact of data and technology on science, with a focus on slowing the spread of misinformation. He is the co-author of the book, “Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World,” which helps non-experts question numbers, data, and statistics without an advanced degree in data science.
Discover Science Lecture | The Rise of Misinformation In and About Science
Science is the greatest of human inventions. Through its norms and procedures, we have improved human health and longevity. But what about the health of science itself? Internally, we see challenges—irreproducible studies, a rise in pseudoscience, and threats from generative AI. Externally, we see attacks on science through disinformation campaigns and political point-scoring. Turning the proverbial microscope on science itself, this talk will explore some of the mechanisms spreading misinformation in and about science and propose interventions to reduce its spread.