Wide range of researchers warn social media, other poorly understood new tech could endanger democracy, health

In a newly published paper, 17 researchers from widely different fields say academics should study the impact of new technology—like social media—on society as a "crisis discipline" tantamount to the way scientists try to protect endangered species or stop global warming. 

"The paper argues that our lack of understanding about the collective behavioral effects of new technology is a danger to democracy and scientific progress," Shirin Ghaffary reports for Vox. "For example, the paper says that tech companies have 'fumbled their way through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, unable to stem the 'infodemic' of misinformation' that has hindered widespread acceptance of masks and vaccines. The authors warn that if left misunderstood and unchecked, we could see unintended consequences of new technology contributing to phenomena such as 'election tampering, disease, violent extremism, famine, racism, and war.'"

One of the authors, Carl Bergstrom, studies infectious disease epidemiology. "My sense is that social media in particular — as well as a broader range of internet technologies, including algorithmically driven search and click-based advertising — have changed the way that people get information and form opinions about the world," he told Ghaffary. The paper, he said, is "a call to arms. It’s saying, 'Hey, we’ve got to solve this problem, and we don’t have a lot of time.'"