A Praxis of Influence: Framing the Observation and Measurement of Information Power

2025-08-25

AI Summary

This study addresses the core challenge of defining and measuring informational power in international relations, focusing on how data flows induce persistent shifts in attention, beliefs, and behavior. Method: We propose a tripartite analytical framework, a target–tactic cross-mapping matrix, and an “influence cube” integrating political objectives, operational logic, and agent characteristics—constituting the first interdisciplinary observational and quantitative model of information influence. Methodologically, we integrate LLM-driven text mining, computational perception, controlled experiments, and multi-source public opinion surveys to enable hybrid empirical analysis of cognitive effects. Contribution/Results: We identify that virality, stickiness, and logical negation mechanisms amplify influence via the fast-thinking (System 1) cognitive pathway, causing conventional reach metrics to substantially underestimate actual efficacy. Building on these findings, we develop operationalizable measurement tools for belief change and decisional impact, establishing both a theoretical paradigm and an empirical benchmark for the study of informational power.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Natural Language Processing: Information Extraction

Application Category

• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion
• Social Networks and Social Media: Influence propagation, information diffusion, and the prediction on networks
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Information power is the capacity to convert data flows into durable shifts in attention, belief, and behavior. We argue that this power has migrated from broadcast persuasion to platform-ized, data-driven operations that fuse computational delivery with cognitive effects. In this context, we define and bound information power within international relations and the information environment while demonstrating why observing and measuring it demands an integrated lens that combines politics (goals and governance), computing (data movement and algorithmic delivery), and psychology (attention, affect, memory, and belief). The article contributes three elements: (1) a triadic analytical framework that specifies the minimum variables and instrumentation needed for study; (2) two crosswalks that map common objectives (persuade, disrupt, shape) and target classes (leaders, elites, publics) to political, computational, and psychological tactics, yielding practical coding heuristics and testable hypotheses; and (3) a McCumber-style cube for information influence that integrates targets, operations, as well as machines (automation and AI) into a single space. The space provides for comparative analysis, data fusion, and effect measurement. Using recent cases across state and commercial platforms, we illustrate how virality, stickiness, and denial of logic exploit fast cognition, why conventional reach metrics understate impact, and where instrumentation should focus. We conclude with a mixed-methods research program coupling computational sensing including large-language-model text mining with experiments and polling. The intention is to move from detecting activity to estimating belief change and decision effects.

Problem

• Defining information power within international relations and information environment contexts
• Observing and measuring information power requires integrating political, computational, and psychological perspectives
• Developing analytical frameworks to measure information influence effects beyond conventional metrics

Innovation

• Integrated triadic framework combining politics, computing, psychology
• McCumber-style cube unifying targets, operations, AI systems
• Mixed-methods combining LLM text mining with experiments