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NEWSRELEASE-PROJECTINFORMATIONLITERACY(PIL)
MARCH29,2019
NationalStudyonInformationLiteracyamongCollegeStudentsintheAgeofAlgorithms
SupportfromtheKnightFoundationandHarvardGraduateSchoolofEducation
SantaRosa,Calif.–ProjectInformationLiteracy(PIL),anonprofitresearchinstitute,ismarkingits10thanniversarybylaunchinganationalstudylookingatthefutureofinformationliteracyamongcollegestudents.Theresearch,conductedbyAlisonHeadandBarbaraFister,willexaminetoday’sinformationenvironmentandtheimpactofoneofitsmostdefiningfeatures—algorithms—theendlesslinesofopaquecodingthatmakelightening-fastcalculationsanddecisionsforandaboutusthataffectthecourseofoureverydaylivesinbothhelpfulandunhelpfulways.
GroundedinknowledgegainedfromPIL’sdecadeoflarge-scalestudiesonhowcollegestudentsfindanduseinformationforcourseworkandintheirpersonallives,andmorerecently,ontheinterplayofjournalism,newplatforms,andtrustinmedia,aspecialresearchreportwillsummoneducatorstoembracethechallengeofunderstandingnewformsandchannelsofinformationbeyondacademia.Asetofrecommendationswillbeofferedforthreegroups—librarians,educators,andjournalists—thatworkwhereinformationandyoungadultsintersect.
“Whenlibrariansandeducatorsfirstadoptedinformationliteracyasanessentialeducationaloutcome,algorithm-drivenplatformslikeGoogle,Facebook,andYouTubedidnotexist,”saidDr.AlisonJ.Head,thedirectorofPILandaninformationscientistandaseniorresearcheratthemetaLABatHarvard.“Nowcolossalonlineplatformswiththeirinvisibleswitchesandfiltershavetremendouspotentialtoinfluenceouropportunities,whatweseeandlearn,whatwethink,andultimately,whoweare.”
TheJohnS.andJamesL.KnightFoundationandHarvardGraduateSchoolofEducationaresupportingPIL’slatestresearcheffort,theeleventhstudyfortheinfluentialPILproject.Newdatafrominterviewswithmorethan100studentsandfacultyonsixdifferentcollegecampusesacrossthecountrywillbeincluded.Datawillbecollectedaboutfacultyandstudentawarenessofblack-boxalgorithmsthataredramaticallyinfluencingtheinformationtheyencounterandimpactingtheirabilitytodistinguishfactsfromfalsehoodsinthenewsandinformationtheymayreceive.
Concernsaboutthehiddenpowerofalgorithmshavecontinuedtomountinrecentmonthsforusersofpopularplatforms.Earlylastyear,abreakingnewsstoryrevealedCambridgeAnalyticausedpowerfulalgorithmstotrawlthroughmillionsofFacebookprofilesanddevelopatargetedcampaigntoswayusers’votinghabits.Morerecently,PinterestandYouTubearewrestlingwithdecisionsaboutcontentmoderationinthefaceofmisinformationaboutvaccinesandthelightning-fastspreadofextremistpropaganda.Evenplatformsthatcontrolthecomplexproprietarycodethatdetermineswhatweseecanbecaughtunpreparedwhenthesystemstheydesignedtopersuadeshoppersareusedtospreadnoxiousideologies.Studentsneedtolearnhowalgorithmsaffecttheinformationthatstreamsatthemconstantlythroughoutthedayinordertobetrulyinformationliterateinthe21stcentury.
“Weareraisingcriticalquestionsatatimewhenhighereducationneedstopaymoreattentiontohowprofoundlyourinformationlandscapeischanging,”saidHead.“OurreportwillsummarizekeyfindingsfromadecadeofPIL’sstudiesofmorethan22,000U.S.studentswhileaskingsomedeeperquestionsaboutpreparingtoday’sstudentstoparticipateinsharingandcreatinginformationresponsiblyascitizensinachangingandchallengedworld.”
Theopenaccessreport,dueoutinmid-December,willshedlightontheseandotherimportantissuesandmakerecommendationsforawayforwardintheageofalgorithms.
Contact:Dr.AlisonJ.Head,Director,ProjectInformationLiteracy,http://[email protected],707-800-7590
