Examining Trust and Reliance in Collaborations between Humans and Automated Agents

Human trust and reliance in artificial agents is critical to effective collaboration in mixed human computer teams. Understanding the conditions under which humans trust and rely upon automated agent recommendations is important as trust is one of the mechanisms that allow people to interact effectively with a variety of teammates. We conducted exploratory research to investigate how personality characteristics and uncertainty conditions affect human-machine interactions. Participants were asked to determine if two images depicted the same or different people, while simultaneously considering the recommendation of an automated agent. Results of this effort demonstrated a correlation between judgements of agent expertise and user trust. In addition, we found that in conditions of high and low uncertainty, the decision outcomes of participants moved significantly in the direction of the agent’s recommendation. Differences in reported trust in the agent were observed in individuals with low and high levels of extraversion

Anger from Within: The Role of Emotions in Disengagement from Violent Extremism

There is growing recognition about the similarities between generic criminality and violent extremism. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 40 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as previous studies of criminal desistance, we examine the emotional valence that characterizes actors\u27 descriptions of the disengagement process. More specifically, results suggest that negative emotions (i.e., anger and frustration) directed toward the extremist group and oneself function as a catalyst for disengagement. Negative emotions become a source of motivation in re-evaluating the relative importance of the group as it relates to the individual. Ultimately, the reevaluation of the group is essential to the decision to disengage from violent extremism

Do Machines Replicate Humans? Toward a Unified Understanding of Radicalizing Content on the Open Social Web

The advent of the Internet inadvertently augmented the functioning and success of violent extremist organizations. Terrorist organizations like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) use the Internet to project their message to a global audience. The majority of research and practice on web‐based terrorist propaganda uses human coders to classify content, raising serious concerns such as burnout, mental stress, and reliability of the coded data. More recently, technology platforms and researchers have started to examine the online content using automated classification procedures. However, there are questions about the robustness of automated procedures, given insufficient research comparing and contextualizing the difference between human and machine coding. This article compares output of three text analytics packages with that of human coders on a sample of one hundred nonindexed web pages associated with ISIS. We find that prevalent topics (e.g., holy war) are accurately detected by the three packages whereas nuanced concepts (Lone Wolf attacks) are generally missed. Our findings suggest that naïve approaches of standard applications do not approximate human understanding, and therefore consumption, of radicalizing content. Before radicalizing content can be automatically detected, we need a closer approximation to human understanding

Equifinality and the Key Role it Plays in Understanding the Future of Leadership

As organizations continue to increase in diversity across a range of demographic, value-based, and attitudinal variables, there can be a natural tension around differing styles and approaches to leading. We offer that these differences need not necessarily serve as a source of conflict if organizations are able to embrace the principle of equifinality. Equifinality, applied to leadership, represents the notion that there is more than one pathway to leading successfully. By focusing on equifinality as a core principle, stylistic differences can add to the fabric of organizational life rather than being a source of tension in it. We offer an example of an equifinality based approach to leading, the charismatic, ideological, and pragmatic (CIP) model to illustrate equifinality successfully applied as a core principle. We conclude by offering practical guidance on how to effectively apply an equifinality approach to leadership in organizations

Should START Researchers Embrace the Brain?

What, if anything, can neuroscience offer us as scholars interested in extremist behavior? Some observers claim that we have learned more about the brain in the past decade than all previous decades combined (National Institute of Health, 2012). Despite what are sometimes breathtaking new insights regarding the internal connections and functioning of the brain, there is reason for caution with extending beyond what neuroscience findings can actually tell us. Part of the need for this caution involves a variety of methodological and statistical issues that have not yet been resolved, while other concerns involve ethical and policy implications related to the use of neuroimaging data

Come one, come all: Individual-level diversity among anti-fascists

The present study examined the individual differences of radical anti-fascist sympathizers who were federally charged for crimes committed in Portland, Oregon, between May and October of 2020. Anti-fascist sympathizers were also compared to other types of individual extremists on demographics (age, gender, and ethnicity). The anti-fascist sympathizers examined in this study were on average 28 years old, male, and white. The most frequent federal charges were assault on a federal officer, failure to obey a lawful order, and civil disorder. Using Bruce Hoffman’s criteria for defining terrorism, these data show that this sample of radical anti-fascists’ targeting and tactics do indeed warrant examination from terrorist scholars. Given that radical anti-fascist sympathizers have waged a sustained campaign of prolonged violence, more research is needed on the antecedents to their joining such movements and the efficacy of policy recommendations to diffuse them

Organizational [Dis]trust: Comparing Disengagement Among Former Left-Wing and Right-Wing Violent Extremists

In order to move beyond the existing push/pull framework to understand disengagement, we apply a systematic coding scheme derived from Mayer and colleagues\u27 integrative model of organizational trust to examine why people leave extremist groups. In doing so, we also rely on in-depth life history interviews with twenty former left- and right-wing extremists to examine whether antecedents of distrust vary between the two groups. Findings suggest substantial similarities and important differences between left- and right-wing extremists\u27 decision to leave. In particular, perceptions of poor planning and organization, low-quality personnel and vindictive behavior generate perceptions of organizational distrust and disillusionment. Although findings from the current study are based on a relatively small sample, notable similarities were identified between both groups regarding sources of distrust (e.g., leaders, group members). We also identified differences regarding the role of violence in weakening solidarity and nurturing disillusionment with extremist activities. We conclude this article with suggestions for future research that extend the study of terrorism and that may have significance for how practitioners address countering violent extremism initiatives

Lethal Brands: How VEOs Build Reputations

ISIS has run the most effective social media marketing campaign in history. In fact, violent extremist organizations (VEOs) market their ideology and organizations to a global audience in ways that rival even the savviest of conventional organizations. However, applying marketing theory and methodology to study VEOs has not been done to date for the security community. Thus, the goal of the present effort is to use a novel lens used to apply the marketing strategies of conventional, for-profit organizations to examine the impact of VEO reputation and legitimacy on VEO performance. We coded tactics used by VEOs such as ISIS to establish a strong brand reputation, and examined the relationship between branding strategies and markers of performance (e.g., recruitment and fundraising) using a sample of 60 historically notable VEOs spanning a variety of ideologies, cultures, and periods of peak performance. The primary contribution of studying such a diverse sample of VEOs is the identification of how branding strategies can predict recruitment of talented personnel, financial sources, and organizational capacity for violence. Two key findings discussed are (1) VEOs market and differentiate themselves via malevolently innovative attacks, and (2) even negatively-toned media coverage is related to their long-term fundraising viability