What people tell each other about new technologies

[September 30, 2021]

New technologies, like genetic engineering, 5G and underground CO2 storage, can play an important role in our ability to rise to the serious challenges that face mankind. Whether or not these new technologies are introduced will to a certain extent depend on public opinion. The more negative this is, the less likely that new technologies will be implemented. Hans Hoeken, professor of Communication and Information Sciences, and Madelijn Strick, a social psychologist, both work at Utrecht University and have done research through experiments to study how people transfer information about new technologies to each other. Hoeken says, ‘A lot goes wrong in the process.’ Their findings were published in the International Journal of Communication today.

Read the entire news post on the website of Utrecht University.