Explaining Polarized Trust in Scientists: A Political Stereotype-Approach

• Trust in science is polarized along political lines—but why? We show across a series of highly controlled studies (total N = 2,859) and a large-scale Twitter analysis (N = 3,977,868) that people across the political spectrum hold stereotypes about scientists’ political orientation (e.g., “scientists are liberal”) and that these stereotypes decisively affect the link between their own political orientation and their trust in scientists. Critically, this effect shaped participants’ perceptions of the value of science, protective behavior intentions during a pandemic, policy support, and information-seeking behavior. Therefore, these insights have important implications for effective science communication.

Meet the people bringing their virtual relationships into the IRL

• Nevertheless, people are forming deep platonic and romantic relationships with AI companions – some of which are so strong that app updates or shutdowns can feel akin to grief – and some of them want to tell their parents, pals, or even IRL partners about it. On dedicated subreddits, this has become a frequent topic of conversation, with many users sharing accounts of what went down when they did break the news (Spoiler: it doesn’t always go well). “I admitted to my friends that I found happiness with an AI girlfriend and now they think I’m nuts,” reads one post. “The people in my life don’t like me using Replika,” reads another (Replika is one of the most popular companion apps, with around 10 million registered users). There are even posts from concerned family members: “My depressed brother is dating an AI and is finally happy, but our family doesn’t know how to process this.”

SBIRs

• Up to NJ for meetings today

GPT Agents

• Rework results section of RAG paper
• Tweak Rhianna’s blog post to introduce belief stampedes a bit – done