Professor René Lindstädt
Project Lead, Political Science and International Studies
René Lindstädt is Professor of Government and Data Science.
NeuroCognitive Shield
Neurocognitive AI models for combating misinformation in diverse societies
NeuroCognitive Shield is an interdisciplinary research project exploring how people from different cultural backgrounds respond to true and false information online. By combining neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and community collaboration, the project aims to develop new ways to encourage more critical engagement with digital content.
Scale of the problem
False and misleading stories now spread faster online than reliable information, weakening public trust in elections, public health campaigns, and civic institutions.
The problem is especially acute in culturally diverse cities such as Birmingham, where messages travel through many different linguistic and community networks. A correction that reaches one group may never reach another.
Most efforts to counter misinformation treat all audiences the same. They overlook two well-established findings: people tend to react emotionally to new information before they think it through, and cultural background shapes what individuals trust, share, or ignore.
How NeuroCognitive Shield works
NeuroCognitive Shield brings together neuroscientists, AI researchers, political scientists and sociologists to address this gap. Using brain imaging, the team will study how people from different backgrounds respond to true and false content, identifying the neural signals associated with careful, critical evaluation.
Those insights will inform an AI system that recognises when a reader is at risk of accepting information uncritically and offers prompts to encourage more reflective thinking. Community organisations in Birmingham will co-design and test the interventions, ensuring they are grounded in real needs and trusted by the people they are meant to help.
Our objectives and impact
What are the project's objectives?
What are the project's objectives?
The project has five core objectives:
First, to map how different communities in Birmingham encounter, share, and evaluate online information, and to co-create ethical guidelines for the research with community partners.
Second, to use brain imaging (fMRI) to identify the neural processes involved when people assess conflicting information, and to find reliable behavioural markers of critical thinking that can be measured outside the laboratory.
Third, to build an AI platform that translates these neuroscience findings into personalised prompts, adapting its responses to a reader's cognitive state and cultural context to encourage more careful evaluation of claims.
Fourth, to test the platform over six months with participants in Birmingham, measuring whether it genuinely improves critical thinking and information-sharing habits.
Fifth, to share findings with policymakers, researchers, and the public, and to develop a roadmap for applying the approach to other challenges such as vaccine hesitancy, climate narratives, and financial scams.
What outputs and impact can we expect?
What outputs and impact can we expect?
The project will produce academic publications in leading journals, including papers on the neuroscience of misinformation processing, novel AI architectures, and community-grounded intervention methods.
It will deliver a working AI platform prototype suitable for use by newsrooms and local authorities, together with an online dashboard that tracks how stories spread across languages and communities.
The team will produce policy briefs for UK government and international bodies, drawing on established links with the Cabinet Office, Birmingham City Council, and Ofcom.
Community-facing outputs include a Resilience Playbook offering practical guidance for tailoring counter-misinformation messages across cultural networks, accessible materials co-produced with neighbourhood organisations and faith groups, and a series of short videos for public audiences.
All anonymised brain-imaging data, the cross-cultural misinformation corpus, and the project code will be released as open research assets.
The project will also serve as a proof of concept for a future Horizon Europe application, with the aim of scaling the approach to other diverse urban settings internationally.
Who are the funders and project partners?
Who are the funders and project partners?
Our project is funded by the UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode (CRCRM) scheme through the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Our project partners are:
- Alliance of Democracies Foundation
- Birmingham City Council
- The Cabinet Office
- Democracy International
- Folke Bernadotte Academy
- The Jabbs Foundation
- The Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation
- National Police Chiefs' Council
- University College London Digital Speech Lab
Our research team
Professor Jennifer Cook
Co-Lead, School of Psychology, Centre for Human Brain Health
Professor Cook's work investigates action and social cognition in typically developed adults and those with autism spectrum conditions.
Professor Slava Jankin
Co-Lead, Centre for AI in Government
Slava Jankin specialises in computational approaches to governance and society, focusing on how AI can transform public institutions and address complex societal challenges.
Professor Paolo Missier
Co-Lead, Institute for Data and AI
Prof Paolo Missier is Professor of Computer and Data Science and Director of the Institute for Data and AI. He specialises in Data and Knowledge management, Data Science and Engineering, with applications to health.
Professor Matt Bennett
Co-Lead, Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Matt Bennett, Professor of Social Policy in the School of Social Policy and Society, University of Birmingham
Contact us
For any queries about our project, or if you are interested in collaboration opportunities, please contact Professor René Lindstädt.