The normalization of climate change

Despite escalating climate disasters, climate change remains low on voters’ priority lists, and policy responses remain tepid. Why does it persist as a background issue, and what can we do about it? In this talk, Dr. Dubey will adapt a cognitive science lens and share his lab’s research on the cognitive mechanisms that drive the “normalization” of climate change, along with strategies that can potentially disrupt this process. He will then outline ongoing work using AI-mediated deliberation systems to help diverse groups find common ground on climate policies. Time permitting, Dr. Dubey will also discuss ongoing work on an analogous phenomenon: the normalization of AI use and the cognitive consequences of over-reliance on AI.

Rachit Dubey, UCLA

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