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CSI Talk #23

Dr Robert Thomson.png

Robert Thomson

In this talk, Dr. Thomson reviews a cognitive model that integrates a homophily-based trust/authority process with instance-based learning theory to show the computational underpinnings of the weaponization of critical thinking. This model can be used to evaluate how different information foraging and memory rehearsal strategies impact decision-making. Preliminary simulations will be presented that quantify how much agreement is required in a conversation to begin influence a person under varying degrees of polarization in a given belief. He also presents some ongoing work which identifies the mechanisms by which improper rehearsal strategies during critical thinking may exacerbate existing confirmation bias, which can lead to polarization.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Robert Thomson is an Associate Professor in the Engineering Psychology Program at the United States Military Academy, is a Cognitive Science Researcher at the Army Cyber Institute, and currently serves as the Dean's Fellow for Research. 
Additional Work:
Dr. Thomson has over 12 years of post-graduate research experience and over 75 invited and refereed academic publications in the domains of computational modeling, intelligence analysis, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. He has been selected and supported more than $25M in reimbursable research from IARPA, DARPA, NIH, the Office of Naval Research, and several Army organizations.
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