PEGGY YIN
The Next Generation of Cognitive Security
Defending Humans
PhD student in Social Psychology, Stanford University; Knight-Hennessy Scholar
Director, Cognitive Security Task Force, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI)
Board Member, LearnerStudio
Former social impact technologist, MIT Media Lab, Teach for America, and Ars Electronica
Featured in FastCompany's World Changing Ideas, the Wall Street Journal, SXSW, and the United Nations
Friday
11:30 AM
Operationalizing Cognitive Security in Human-AI Systems
As AI systems grow more capable and more deeply embedded in daily life, their capacity to reshape human cognition is among the least understood vulnerabilities in human-centered AI. This talk identifies emerging cognitive security threats and proposes criteria for evaluating and coordinating scientific study of cognitive factors in the design of human-AI systems. Drawing on recent case studies, we show how generative AI enables personalized stimulus design and interactive, scalable experimental paradigms—and briefly consider the dual-use nature of such study. We then synthesize literature and methods across national security, privacy, computer security, cognitive science, and human-computer interaction to operationalize cognitive security concepts across disciplines and sectors, enabling sustained research and development collaborations among citizens, scientists, public interest groups, governments, and industry.
Peggy Yin is a PhD student and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford, director of the Cognitive Security Task Force, and a board member at LearnerStudio. She designs and studies transformative experiences, particularly in the areas of education and workforce development. She has led the development of social impact technologies at MIT Media Lab, Teach for America, and Ars Electronica, and has been featured in FastCompany’s World Changing Ideas, the Wall Street Journal, SXSW, Carnegie Hall, BBC radio, MIT Museum, and the United Nations. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied computational neuroscience and art history.