Workshop 3 — Interpreting Evidence & Responsible Communication

Workshop 3 — Interpreting Evidence & Responsible Communication

Workshop 3 — Interpreting Evidence & Responsible Communication

Calendar 6 October 2026, 14:30 UTC
Laptop Online (Zoom) | ⏱ ~120 minutes
Earth Globe Europe-Africa Open to AISS scholars and the wider research community


Overview

This workshop focuses on how to interpret scientific evidence and communicate research findings responsibly in a fast-moving and uncertain field. It complements the ethics-focused workshops by concentrating on evidence standards, uncertainty, and responsible public communication.
Participants will engage with key challenges at the intersection of science, media, and governance, and develop practical tools to navigate ambiguity, avoid misinterpretation, and communicate responsibly.


Overall Objective

To provide participants with practical frameworks to interpret evidence and communicate scientific findings responsibly, particularly in contexts where scientific understanding is evolving and uncertainty is high.


Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
  • Assess the strength and limitations of scientific evidence
  • Distinguish between empirical findings, interpretations, and speculative claims
  • Communicate uncertainty without oversimplification, hype, or false precision
  • Understand how scientific claims interact with public discourse and governance
  • Reflect on the societal implications of presenting emerging research


Format

  • Introduction (5 min)Framing the challenge of interpreting and communicating evidence in the field
  • Expert Talks (3 × 30 min = 90 min) (15 min talk + 15 min interactive exercise)
  • Evaluating Evidence & Scientific Uncertainty — Eric Schwitzgebel
  • Definitions: consciousness (phenomenal vs access) and sentience
  • Computational functionalism (examples of theories, including GWT and HOT; mentioning recurrence)
  • Biological naturalism and their critique of computational functionalism
  • Contrast both approaches with the Turing Test
  • Responsible Scientific Communication — Melanie Mitchell
  • Communicating limits of understanding
  • Avoiding oversimplification, hype, and false precision
  • Explaining uncertainty to diverse audiences
  • Evidence, Governance & Societal Impact — Henry Shevlin
  • How scientific claims influence policy and governance
  • Responsibility at the science–policy interface
  • Moderated Panel Discussion & Q&A (20 min) — Megan PetersDiscussion based on participant contributions
  • Closing (5 min)


Speakers/Facilitators

  •  Eric Schwitzgebel  – UC Riverside
  •  Melanie Mitchell  – Santa Fe Institute
  •  Henry Shevlin  – Google DeepMind, University of Cambridge
  •  Megan Peters  – University College London, Neuromatch


Pre-reading

A quick note ahead of the workshop: For the first interactive exercise, we’ll discuss an op-ed by Anil Seth in small groups. If you have time, we encourage you to read the article ahead of the workshop so that you can move more quickly into the discussion during the session. The article will also be shared again at the start of the exercise.

PDF document 124KB
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Slides

Melanie Mitchell has kindly shared her slides from the workshop:

PDF document 850KB
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Eric Schwitzgebel has kindly shared his slides from the workshop:

PDF document 221KB
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