UniverCITY Talks: What makes us so easy to manipulate online?

Do you know who your children are talking to online? Could your parents fall for an online scam? And are you as difficult to influence as you think?

From sophisticated scams and misinformation to social media algorithms and AI, our digital environment is constantly competing for our attention and shaping the information we encounter. But why are we susceptible to it – and where does influence end and manipulation begin?

This UniverCITY Talk brings together perspectives from behavioural cybersecurity, media history and media law to explore how people, platforms and technology interact online.

We will look at the psychological techniques scammers use to gain our trust, how algorithms and the attention economy influence what reaches us and what we share, and why concerns about new forms of media and their influence are not as new as they may seem.

Join University of Luxembourg researchers to understand the forces shaping our online lives – and discuss what individuals, platforms and policymakers can do about them.