The integration of AI technologies in all domains of life raises ethical debates. Children and young people are not exempt from these discussions since AI is also an increasing part of their lives. This study explores teenagers’ (aged 13 to 16 years) views on AI with a focus on ethical thinking. This is a retrospective empirical study in which data from three cases involving young people in technology learning activities have been analysed to answer the following research questions: (i) What ethical challenges around AI do young people reflect upon and (ii) what ethical dimensions do these reflections connect to? We have adapted an existing framework outlining dimensions of ethical thinking to identify young people’s ethical reflections on AI in various learning activities. Our findings show how young people reflect on AI ethics, even without dedicated teaching on it and are able to consider various dimensions and make connections to everyday uses of AI raising ethical issues. Based on our findings, we advocate for an integrated approach of AI and ethics in learning activities about technology. We believe the framework presented in this study can be a valuable tool to inform further research and practice.

Abstract This article provides a scoping review of 25 years of research on the notion of cognitive authority (CA), examining its conceptualization and empirical examination. The review follows the PRISMA statement and its extension for scoping reviews. Peer‐reviewed journal articles on CA were identified through database searching with the specific search term “cognitive authorit*” in the title or abstract and covering work published in 2022 or earlier. In total, 235 unique references were identified, and their abstracts and then selected full texts were screened according to predetermined exclusion criteria. In total, 40 articles were included in the review, extracted, and analyzed with qualitative content analysis focusing on the conceptualization of CA, the methodological approach taken to examine it, and the different spheres of knowledge and levels of activity the research addressed. Based on this analysis, four parallel lines of research were identified including studies conceptualizing CA: (1) as an indicator of information source quality, (2) as discursively constructed, (3) as situated in social mechanisms and settings, and (4) as institutional legitimacy of science and professions. This body of research has extended Wilson's (1983; Second‐hand knowledge: An inquiry into cognitive authority. Greenwood Press) original work contributing to our understanding of CA at individual, communal, and societal levels.

Abstract In this conceptual article, we argue that artificial intelligence (AI) systems are contributing to the generation of an environment of affordances for everyday information practices through which they exert influence on people and the planet in ways that often are left unrecognized. We illustrate our insights by focusing on the practices of information seeking in everyday life, suggesting that the affordances of AI systems integrated into search engines, social media platforms, streaming services, and media generation, shape such practices in ways that may, paradoxically, result both in the increase and reduction of diversity of and access to information. We discuss the potential implications of these developments in terms of the sustainability of information ecosystems and suggest solutions for addressing them through regulation and education. Drawing from the fields of library and information science and science and technology studies and research on affordances, everyday information practices, and sustainability, the article seeks to respond to the need for more nuanced theoretical insights on the impact and implications of AI on information practices and to develop conceptual tools with which to examine the co‐evolution of humans and information systems from a systemic perspective.

Abstract Information behavior and practices (IBP) research has been repeatedly criticized for having little impact on information systems development (ISD). Claiming that there is a complete disconnect would be an exaggeration but it is apparent that it is not always easy to translate findings of IBP research to workable design recommendations. Based on a reading of earlier literature and a closer investigation of three illustrative example contexts, this article underlines that the value of IBP research for ISD lies in its capability to inform ISD of the variety of ways people deal with information beyond individual systems, their own wants and designers' assumptions. Moreover, it highlights that the implications of information systems go beyond their primary users. Instead of overemphasizing the contextuality of findings, a part of IBP research would benefit from an increased focus on explicating its epistemological extents and limits and identifying, which findings are transferable, what distinguishes specific contexts, what are their defining constraints and priorities, and what aspects of their uniqueness are assumptions and simple clichés.

This study augments the transtheoretical model (TTM) of behavior change with the concepts of information behavior and employs this framework to understand young men's needs for and practices of obtaining and avoiding information on physical activity and exercise in relation to their readiness to change exercise behavior. The results, based on statistical analyses of a population‐based survey (N = 616) conducted in Finland, indicate that health information behavior is influenced by an individual′s stage of change in the context of physical activity and exercise. In pre‐action stages (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation) where individuals do not exercise regularly and are uninformed or lack motivation, commitment, or skills to change behaviors, information is most often encountered through the passive practice of nondirected monitoring. In the action stage, where individuals have recently changed their exercise behaviors, information is obtained most frequently by active seeking. In the maintenance stage, where individuals maintain earlier adopted behaviors, information is habitually obtained through active scanning. These results support the TTM in its postulation that individuals may benefit from stage‐tailored health‐communication strategies. The limitations of this study include self‐reported behaviors, cross‐sectional study design, and a possibly biased sample. Further research is needed to explore the role of information behavior in the process of behavior change in greater detail.