'Human vs Algorithm': Associate Professor from the Department of Media Speaks at Intercontinental Congress in Cuba
Elena Kudriavtseva, Associate Professor of the Department of Media at HSE University-St Petersburg, spoke at the Intercontinental Psychological Congress HOMINIS-2026 in Cuba. Her report focused on the correlation between the difficulty of a user's text and their ability not to give in to the patterns imposed by the Internet.
The University of Havana (the Republic of Cuba) hosted the 10th Intercontinental Psychological Congress HOMINIS-2026. It brought together more than 650 participants from South and North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The centre of attention was the up-to-date challenges of modern psychology: digital environment and cyber psychology, mental well-being, inclusion, intercultural cooperation and transformation of education.
At the Congress, Russia was represented by 18 researchers from universities in different cities, among them was Elena Kudriavtseva, Associate Professor of the Department of Media at HSE University-St Petersburg.
The expert's report focused on the modern human's struggle against the tough settings of digital platforms, which impose certain behaviour patterns. The author of the research is developing a psychological approach to text analysis and trying to prove that syntax is not just the rules of placing commas but a complex cognitive mechanism. In the digital environment, where social networks and messengers impose fragmentarity and simplification, the detailed structure of writing becomes an act of intellectual resistance and a way to keep the authorship of your own life.
Elena Kudriavtseva
Associate Professor of the Department of Media
'We are used to thinking that a text is just a means of transmitting information. But our research demonstrates: syntax is an intellectual framework of personality. When a person builds up a sentence, they hierarchize the world, split off the main and the secondary, and recognise themselves as an initiator of the actions. In the digital environment, we see a dangerous tendency towards simplification: the platform algorithms push us to short, hackneyed reactions. Delegating the right to structure the text to an algorithm or prompt system, we also hand the system a part of our ability to analyse and make decisions on our own without even realising it', highlighted Elena Kudriavtseva.
The point of such an approach is that, using the text structure, it is possible to identify with mathematical precision the level of a person's subjectivity—their readiness to be an active participant in events, not just a 'registrar' of reality. It helps to take a fresh look at the habitual activity in the digital space as an ability to think independently in a world ruled by platforms.
'We distinguished four types of syntax: from a simple record of facts to creating complicated texts that allow a person to unfold and structure the content, keeping control over the logic of their reasoning. Today, this skill turns into a certain secret code—a resource for those who maintain the ability to think deeply and independently in the world of ready-made digital patterns', summed up the expert.
