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When scientists acknowledge the limits of their knowledge, people trust them more and are more likely to follow scientific recommendations.

An international team led by the University of Pittsburgh and with the participation of the University of Vienna has investigated mechanisms of trust in science. Using surveys and online experiments, they were ultimately able to show that “intellectual modesty” plays a central role. By this, the authors of the study mean, for example, the willingness of scientists to acknowledge the limits of their own knowledge and adapt to new, potentially contradictory findings. According to the new study, this modesty increases the trustworthiness of scientists in society. The results were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Human Behavior.

What mechanisms create such trust? The international team of psychologists, including Nina Vaupotič from the University of Vienna, investigated this question.

To this end, 2,000 participants in the USA were surveyed and involved in online experiments. In a survey, the psychologists tested various characteristics in relation to trust in science and identified “intellectual modesty” as a key mechanism. Several experiments were conducted to test this thesis.

The respondents were presented with scientific texts that were formulated either with “high intellectual modesty”, “low intellectual modesty” or without any special style (control group). For “high intellectual modesty”, formulations such as “Dr. Moore is not afraid to admit when she doesn't yet know something” or “Dr. Moore changes her position when opposing evidence arises” were used. The participants then assessed the trustworthiness of the scientists in the text, whether they trust the research results and whether they would follow recommendations based on them.

“Our experiments have shown that participants who read texts that were formulated with 'high intellectual modesty' also rated the scientists and their findings as more trustworthy and were more willing to follow the scientific recommendations or search for further information on the respective topic,” explains psychologist Nina Vaupotič from the University of Vienna. “Admitting the personal knowledge limits of scientists proved to be the most effective.”

Such “modesty” had a positive effect across various scientific fields such as medicine, climate and psychology. There was also a positive effect in every case for scientists of different genders and ethnic backgrounds.

At the closing event on 21 November 2024 in the ballroom of the Studentenwerk Oberfranken (Kolpinghaus), all the ideas and contributions will be compiled and recorded in a resolution. This will bring together stakeholders from the region to discuss important climate, environmental protection and mobility issues. Prominent keynote speakers and representatives from politics and business will discuss this on a podium and provide impetus on how to proceed in regional climate protection.

All information will be published promptly on the event website www.regiocop.de (in German language). There you can also look back at the results of RegioCOP2023 and recommendations for action and download the final report.

Dr Stefan Brandt, Director of Futurium, accepted the award in person at the Klimahaus Bremerhaven. Brandt: ‘We are delighted to receive this award, which recognises our dedicated educational work in the field of sustainable development. The Futurium sees itself as a place of lively learning, where scientific findings and concrete implementation options are communicated in a realistic way. We also highlight controversial positions and conflicting approaches and encourage our audience to engage in open dialogue. Above all, our aim is to strengthen the futures literacies of our visitors - in other words, their ability to use their imagination to visualise different future scenarios and help shape a sustainable future with confidence.’ (translated from German) Since the Futurium opened, more than 2 million people have visited the museum and millions more have used the digital offerings.

The Futurium in Berlin is an innovative museum that focuses on the question ‘How do we want to live?’. It opened on 5 September 2019 and is one of the five most visited museums in Berlin. This year it is celebrating its fifth anniversary. The Futurium sees itself as a place for reflection and exchange on the major challenges and opportunities for our future. The permanent exhibition is divided into three main areas: People, Nature and Technology. This year's main theme of the museum, ‘Treasures of the Future’, focuses on raw materials and their utilisation. In addition to exhibitions with lively scenarios, a lab to try out and a forum for collaborative dialogue, there is a wide range of digital formats as well as the Mobile Futurium for schoolchildren throughout Germany.

The topic of artificial intelligence is attracting more and more public attention. And this will increase when ZDF and 3sat take on the topic from mid-September – with a six-part fictional series (‘Concordia – Tödliche Utopie’), which will be available in the ZDFmediathek from Saturday, 14 September 2024, 10 a.m.

‘Life in Concordia is free, fair and familiar, monitored by cameras and an AI. When a resident is murdered and hackers infiltrate the system, the community threatens to break apart.’ (Source: ZDF, translated from German)

Here, in a nutshell, is the most important information:

Representative survey

ZDF has also commissioned a representative survey of 1,000 young adults on the subject of AI, which, according to the broadcaster, will also be included in contributions to the programme focus. ZDF has also already announced the first results: When asked ‘Would you be willing to be completely monitored by an AI if you were guaranteed personal security and data protection in return?’, 35.8 per cent of respondents agreed somewhat or even completely. And 43.9 per cent could imagine having a chip implanted that would monitor their health in real time and have the data analysed by an AI.

AI at the University of Bayreuth

At the University of Bayreuth, which is a member of the international AI Alliance for the development and promotion of open technologies for artificial intelligence software, models and tools, the topic of artificial intelligence is also becoming increasingly important. The university recently launched a new research infrastructure - the Research Centre for AI in Science & Society (RAIS2). This central platform for sharing AI expertise at UBT connects researchers, developers and users of AI methods across all faculties. Here, experts jointly address the current social, economic, ecological and technological challenges and opportunities that AI brings with it.

Specifically, the research centre is based on these pillars, which are to be further expanded in the future:

AI Technology (Lead: Prof. Dr. Anton Schiela) – The theoretical and methodological basis for RAIS2's research and teaching activities is bundled here.

AI for Life Sciences (Lead: Prof. Dr. Jörg Müller) – This pillar brings together expertise in the identification and development of AI methods for answering questions in the life sciences, as well as the acquisition of knowledge in the life sciences using artificial intelligence methods.

AI for Materials (Lead: Prof. Dr. Johannes Margraf) – The combination of AI in materials science and experimental materials research illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of the Bayreuth campus. A unique selling point with national and international visibility is expected.

AI for Business and Industry (Lead: Prof. Dr. Agnes Koschmider) – The importance and volume of data is also continuously increasing in business and industry, which is increasing the demand for methods to analyse data efficiently and use artificial intelligence effectively. This pillar is specifically dedicated to these applications, also in close cooperation with the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Bayreuth.

AI in Society (Lead: Prof. Dr. Lena Kästner) – Modern AI systems are increasingly permeating our everyday lives. Against this backdrop, this pillar poses the question: What impact does the widespread use of AI have on modern society?

AI for Environmental Sciences (Lead: Prof. Dr. Lisa Hülsmann) – The aim is to utilise the increasing wealth of data to gain knowledge and make predictions on environmental issues and to develop solutions for current problems such as climate change, environmental pollution, habitat loss and species extinction.

The professionalisation and further development of science communication is picking up speed across Germany. The limitation: the speed and dynamics of realising these goals vary from state to state. This is the result of a study by the so-called ‘Transfer Unit’, a joint project of Wissenschaft im Dialog gGmbH and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. According to the Transfer Unit, the federal states have different priorities: 

• Science communication in the sense of technology transfer has been more firmly established to date, but the social dimension of science communication is gaining importance.
• Some federal states focus more on knowledge transfer and the application of scientific knowledge, e.g. in industry and business, other federal states have a more normative perspective on science communication as a social task with a broader public as the target group.
• Science communication in the sense of technology transfer is more firmly established, but the social dimension of science communication is gaining in importance. Despite the differences in terminology and priorities, the overarching objectives are very similar, e.g. creating legitimacy for science, increasing competitiveness, shaping a cultural change within science and providing services for the common good (e.g. scientific education, counteracting misinformation and disinformation).
• Above all, the federal states create structural incentives so that primarily universities, but also foundations, academies, museums and other local stakeholders can realise the envisaged goals in practice.
   

Below you will find a link to the Transfer Unit website. There you can download both the comparative study on science communication in Germany ‘Status Quo in the Länder’ and the in-depth study on Bavaria.

The ‘forum1.5’, writes the city in a press release, ‘is a platform for all those in Bayreuth and the region who are dedicated to a climate-friendly future and want to play an active role in shaping the path to a sustainable future.’ It is based on an initiative of the Chair of Urban and Regional Development at the University of Bayreuth under the direction of Professor Dr Manfred Miosga. ‘The forum has developed from a university research project into a recognised platform for the discussion of climate protection and climate adaptation issues,’ said Mayor Ebersberger. It stands for an open and constructive exchange between science, civil society, business and politics. It is therefore also an excellent example of how worthwhile it is to bring scientific findings into urban society. Science communication has an impact! The city's environmental and nature conservation prize is awarded every two years and is endowed with 2,500 euros. This is the 22nd time that the ‘forum1.5’ has been honoured with the Environment and Nature Conservation Prize. A list of all previous award winners can be found on the city's website at: