When we go online, our minds are subject to a variety of mechanisms, influencing our browsing behaviours, emotions, and beliefs. Search engine optimization, misinformation, echo chambers, filter bubbles, recommendation systems, and other algorithmically generated choice architectures nudge us to follow specific epistemic paths. Some of these mechanisms are perhaps unintended, whereas others are intended and exist because of financial, political, or ideological reasons. Our interactions with the online world shape who we are, what we feel, and what we think. This symposium aims to better understand the effects of the online world on our minds and to evaluate these effects. We focus on the following questions:

• What is the nature of online belief-forming mechanisms?
• What is the nature of online decision-making processes?
• How do online mechanisms influence our autonomy and freedom?
• What are the epistemic, affective, moral, and political harms caused by online mechanisms? 

This two-day, hybrid symposium—part on-site at the campus of Tilburg University, part online—brings together scholars from a range of disciplines, including Philosophy, Culture Studies, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cultural, Literary and Media Studies, Communication and Information Sciences, and Cognitive Science, to engage in a cross-disciplinary dialogue on these matters.

With this event, we aim to answer the above questions from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. We invite speakers to present on a broad range of topics including, but not limited to, the cognitive (e.g., studies of processes of beliefs and affects), arts and media (e.g., the aesthetics or cultural practices of manipulation, AI-generated art, deepfakes), philosophical (e.g., analyses of the epistemic nature of online beliefs and moral undesirability of online manipulation), artificial Intelligence (e.g., the nature and properties of algorithms, possible role of artificial intelligence tools in facilitating/preventing manipulation online) and communication and information studies (e.g., online misinformation and social media). Submitted papers should feature digital humanities methods or include reflections on digital media and technologies.

This two-day (June 15th and 16th), hybrid symposium—part on-site at MindLabs, part online—brings together scholars from a range of disciplines, including Philosophy, Culture Studies, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cultural, Literary and Media Studies, Communication and Information Sciences, and Cognitive Science, to engage in a cross-disciplinary dialogue on these matters. The event includes keynotes, a range of talks, and poster presentations on Digital Humanities research.

Keynote speakers: 
Danielle Arets (Fontys University of Applied Sciences) 
Sacha Altay (Oxford University) 
Don Fallis (Northeastern University) 
Marc Cheong (University of Melbourne)

For more information, to view the full program or to register please visit the website.