The CTS//circle.responsibleComputing is hosting our next brown bag talk on Perception vs. Reality: The Illusion of Security – Why We (Erroneously) Trust Technologies in the Age of AI Revolution with Rafael Vrecar.
Please join us in person or online in Zoom.
About the speaker
Rafael Vrecar is an interdisciplinary HCI researcher with 3 years of post-master degree experience in Human-Computer Interaction, Usable Security, and additionally over five years of practical experience in Software Engineering.
During his studies, Rafael Vrecar worked as a teaching assistant in over ten different lectures within six years, while serving as head of tutors in three of them.
Rafael Vrecar has been awarded a prestigious 2024 DOC Fellowship by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). This fellowship secures a two-year position as a Project Assistant with the Research Unit Human Computer Interaction at TU Wien, supporting his ongoing dissertation research.
Seminar details
- Perception vs. Reality: The Illusion of Security – Why We (Erroneously) Trust Technologies in the Age of AI Revolution
- Project Ass. Dipl.-Ing. Rafael Vrecar, BSc
- 29 April 2025 12:00 - 13:00
- TU Wien: Gußhausstraße 27 - 29, 1040 Wien (Room: CA0335) and online (Zoom)
Abstract: The pace of innovation has been remarkable in the past. These innovations can be difficult to keep up with, even for expert users, let alone lay people. In addition to the possibility that the lack of knowledge itself can lead to a feeling of discomfort and insecurity, the innovations affect almost everyone directly or at least indirectly with regard to their privacy, i.e., their data. Various technologies and measures have been developed to protect people from privacy threats. However, they are often not perceived as easy to use by everyone. In addition to developing technologies that protect people from said threats (such as implementing email encryption and using add-ons that enforce a strict cookie policy by default), knowledge of these technologies strongly influences how safely we can interact with them. This understanding may also play a role in our sense of security when interacting with these technologies, ultimately influencing our perceived level of security. It is important to note that our perceived security may not always match the actual security of the application. This can be particularly dangerous if we feel safe when we are exposed to some significant risk. If we experience a false sense of security, it could influence our decisions about consenting to certain data uses or responding to what we believe to be a legitimate email, potentially leading us into a phishing trap. Therefore, there is merit in attempting to measure the perceived level of security to some extent and then compare it to the actual security as well as the rationality behind a particular application or data use.