When Trust Is Not Enough: Source Selection in the Age of AI
Seminar | Online
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Organized by:
School of Government - Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
About the Event
In this online seminar, participants will engage with new evidence on how children and young adults select learning sources in hypothetical scenarios, suggesting that learners may prioritize speed and availability over epistemic cues. The session will present findings on how learners select and evaluate sources through perceived knowledge, trustworthiness, expected learning, and expected enjoyment, followed by a brief discussion. Participants will reflect on what drives learners’ source choices and how these patterns can inform the interpretation of evidence.
Speakers
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Julieta Goldstein | PhD Candidate in Psychology | Julieta Goldstein is a PhD student and lecturer at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She holds a BA in Business with a Minor in Neuroscience. Her research aims to understand self-regulated learning by analyzing how learners select information sources, and the resulting impact on performance. |
Moderators
| Name | Title | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Cecilia I. Calero | Associate Professor | Cecilia I. Calero is an Associate Professor at the School of Government at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT) and a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Neuroscience) from the University of Buenos Aires and then, completed her postdoctoral research where she began studying the development of teaching in childhood. She previously co-led the Neuroscience Lab and served as Head of the Education Department at UTDT. Cecilia currently leads the “Little Teachers” research program, which studies how teaching skills develop across the lifespan and how teaching others shapes one’s own learning, particularly in peer tutoring contexts. Her research is supported by grants from the LEVANTE framework (Jacobs Foundation) and the John Templeton Foundation. |
Summary
Our findings suggest that source selection during self-regulated learning reflects a complex interplay of epistemic and motivational factors. Children aged 8–11 preferred platforms over human sources, though this was stronger for partially-known concepts. Despite choosing platforms more often, children reported greater trust and enjoyment when learning from humans. Exploratory evidence suggests that practical considerations, such as source availability and time constraints, may play a role.
Comparisons with young adults suggest AI may be reshaping selection patterns. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how trust, enjoyment, novelty, and context shape learners' decisions in an increasingly complex information ecosystem.