evidence aggregation

Stochastic search algorithms can tell us who to trust (and why)

Relying on information from other people (social testimony) is essential for efficiently learning and reasoning about the world. However, determining who to trust is often challenging. In this paper, we argue that trust in social agents (i.e., those …

Sensitivity to online consensus effects within individuals and claim types

When reasoning about a claim, it makes sense to be more persuaded if lots of other people agree. But, there are many factors that make weighing the evidence behind a consensus complicated. For example, a consensus might be more or less informative …