Prof Alexander J. Stewart

Professor

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 3705
Email: ajs50@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

My research is focused on developing mathematical and computational models to study the dynamics of social learning in online information ecosystems. I study a wide range of problems from simple replicator dynamics to complex collective decisions, with projects spanning Mathematical Biology and Computational Social Science. Much of my recent work has focused on how the cultural evolution of human behaviour interacts with algorithms to produce problems such as misinformation, polarization and echochambers. I am also interested in the cultural evolution of cooperation and social behaviour more broadly, in particular the role of cognitive capacity in shaping the evolution of social interactions. The tools I use are mostly drawn from game theory and mathematical models of population dynamics. My personal website can be found here: http://alexanderjstewart.org. My Google Scholar page is here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Z3-RzE0AAAAJ&hl=en

PhD supervision

Leon Klingborg
Lorna Jamieson

Selected publications

Information gerrymandering and undemocratic decisions
Stewart, A. J., Mosleh, M., Diakonova, M., Arechar, A. A., Rand, D. G. & Plotkin, J. B., 4 Sept 2019, In: Nature. 573, 7772, p. 117-121 5 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
The coercive logic of fake news
Stewart, A. J., Arechar, A. A., Rand, D. G. & Plotkin, J. B., 31 Aug 2021, (Submitted) New York, NY: arXiv, 46 p.
Research output: Working paper › Preprint
From extortion to generosity, evolution in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma
Stewart, A. J. & Plotkin, J. B., 17 Sept 2013, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110, 38, p. 15348-53 6 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Inequality, identity, and partisanship: how redistribution can stem the tide of mass polarization
Stewart, A. J., Plotkin, J. & McCarty, N., 14 Dec 2021, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118, 50, 9 p., e2102140118.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Polarization under rising inequality and economic decline
Stewart, A. J., McCarty, N. & Bryson, J. J., 11 Dec 2020, In: Science Advances. 6, 50, 9 p., eabd4201.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Collapse of cooperation in evolving games
Stewart, A. J. & Plotkin, J. B., 9 Dec 2014, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111, 49, p. 17558-63 6 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Evolutionary consequences of behavioral diversity
Stewart, A. J., Parsons, T. L. & Plotkin, J. B., 8 Nov 2016, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113, 45, p. E7003-E7009
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

The natural selection of good science
Stewart, A. J. & Plotkin, J. B., 17 May 2021, In: Nature Human Behaviour. 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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