Last Wednesday, Dr. Douglas A. Parry presented at our seminar series Artificial Intelligence, Human Behaviour, and Societal Challenges to share his recent research on digital behaviour, agency, and goals.

Many of us feel that technology makes it harder to focus or switch off, but studies of its effects on attention have found small and inconsistent results. Doug discussed what we can learn from the gap between how people estimate their media use and what usage logs record. He also explored what lab tests tell us about our ability to focus and how we might study where people direct their attention in everyday life.

It was a really interesting talk! Thanks to Doug and everyone who joined the discussion. We are looking forward to exploring ways to work together, from studying everyday digital habits to designing and testing interventions that support people’s goals!