Stampede theory : human nature, technology, and runaway social realities / Philip Feldman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Feldman, M. Philip (Maurice Philip), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human behavior.

Technology--Psychological aspects.

Technology.

Technology--Social aspects.

Interpersonal communication.

Truthfulness and falsehood.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (262 pages)

Other Title:

Human nature, technology, and runaway social realities

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Oxford, England ; Cambridge, Massachusetts : Elsevier, [2023]

Summary:

Stampede Theory: Human Nature, Technology, and Runaway Social Realities explores the biological, evolutionary and technological systems that drive troubling patterns of behavior among groups while also proposing actions to combat harm. The book discusses different ways that living beings coordinate and how the emergence of communication technologies has changed behaviors. As the problem of echo chambers and misinformation grows, it is crucial to understand underlying causes and provide solutions—this book does just that by pulling from multiple fields to produce a coherent story about how social realities are created and how they can create resilient communities or reinforce damaging beliefs. This interdisciplinary approach rests on three primary pillars: 1) How information systems affect the distribution of ideas, information, influence and belief; 2. Technology-mediated communication between individuals and groups, from stories pressed into clay tablets to “likes” on social media; 3) The sociology of behavioral bias in groups ranging from teams to nations. Because of its interdisciplinary foundations, the book includes chapters that address behavioral economics, cults, artificial intelligence, and the individual psychology of belief. This will be a valuable resource for a range of readers, from political and social scientists to decision-makers in government and business, scientists in the fields of machine learning and AI, and more.

Contents:

Intro

Title page

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Biography

Philip Feldman, Ph.D.

Preface

References

Chapter One: Introduction

Abstract

Part One: Theory

Chapter Two: From the Serengeti to the Ecclesia

Chapter Three: Deep bias

3.1. Social Dominance Theory

3.2. The deep bias for causing harm

3.3. Morality and reverse dominance

3.4. The egalitarian ethos

Chapter Four: Humans and information

4.1. Phase locking

4.2. Alignment in belief space

4.3. Lists, stories, games, and maps

4.4. Projection and the loss of self

Chapter Five: Human belief spaces

5.1. Dimension reduction

5.2. State

5.3. Orientation

5.4. Speed

5.5. Social influence horizon

Chapter Six: Influence + dominance = attention

6.1. Hansie the Stork

6.2. Influence and attention

6.3. Fashion

6.4. Thinking as groups and populations

6.5. Thinking (with) machines

Chapter Seven: Hierarchies, networks, and technology

7.1. Dominance displays

Part Two: Practice

Chapter Eight: Interview with a biased machine

Chapter Nine: The spacecraft of Babel

9.1. When space has only one dimension

9.2. The overwhelming power of stories

9.3. Narrative drift

9.4. The narratives of science

Chapter Ten: Influence networks and the power of money

Chapter Eleven: Cults, hierarchies, and the doomed voyage of the Pequod

11.1. A charismatic religious social movement

11.2. An apocalyptic ideology

11.3. A form of social organization adequate to maintain solidarity.

11.4. Legitimacy enough among followers to exercise collective social control over the affairs of the community

11.5. Sufficient economic and political viability

11.6. Life within strong social boundaries in cognitive isolation from society at large

Chapter Twelve: Escaping cults, deprogramming, and diversity

Chapter Thirteen: Population-computer interfaces

13.1. The signature of dangerous misinformation

13.2. Diversity injection

13.3. A PSA for the information age

13.4. Example: The Google Doodle

13.5. Example: The DARPA Red Network Challenge

13.6. Trustworthy social information

Chapter Fourteen: Belief geography and cartography

14.1. Belief cartography

14.2. The world in stories

14.3. Worlds in 175 billion parameters

14.4. A world of pure social reality

14.5. The moon landing was a hoax!

14.6. The Flat Earth

14.7. The government is the enemy

14.8. Jews and Puppetmasters

14.9. Princess Diana, greedy companies, and Elvis

14.10. The map and the territory

Chapter Fifteen: Belief stampedes

Chapter Sixteen: Future cartographers

Chapter Seventeen: Epilogue

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Feldman, Philip Stampede Theory

ISBN:

9780443137365

OCLC:

1377817018