Human-AI Cognition & Performance
Attention, working memory, decision quality and performance under real cognitive load — and how AI systems can measurably support rather than erode them.
8 topics - 65 subtopics
Explore themeResearching human outcomes
How do people, technology and systems shape human outcomes?
The Human Impact Observatory brings together research questions, study designs, evidence and human-centred narratives to understand what changes for people — where capability grows, where harm emerges, and what needs to be tested next.
A living research catalogue. Evidence status and limitations remain visible.
People · Technology · Systems
Your experience can shape the research
Help us ask better questions about what changes for people.
Suggest a topic, share an experience, try a sample survey, review a research method or explore a partnership with Tech4Humanity.
Find a way to contribute8research themes
489canonical subtopics
516scenario narratives
1,592indexed catalogue records
Explore the research
View all themes Eight connected themes
Start with a human outcome, follow the questions beneath it, and explore the evidence and stories connected to each area.
Child, Family & Development
How children and families develop, learn and stay safe as digital and AI-mediated environments become a permanent part of childhood.
7 topics - 56 subtopics
Explore themeSocial Signal & Information Integrity
How information, misinformation and social signals move through networks, and what keeps a shared, trustworthy information environment intact.
7 topics - 56 subtopics
Explore themeConsent, Identity & Human Agency
Consent, identity and human agency as AI systems mediate more decisions — and how people keep meaningful control over what happens to them.
8 topics - 64 subtopics
Explore themeBiological & Neural Integrity
The biological and neural substrate of human performance and wellbeing, and how neurotechnology and AI interact with it safely.
7 topics - 56 subtopics
Explore themeInstitutional Safety, Governance & Trust
How institutions, regulators and organisations govern AI responsibly — the safety, accountability and trust infrastructure innovation depends on.
9 topics - 72 subtopics
Explore themeCognitive, Creative & Cultural Humanity
Human creativity, culture and cognition in an era of generative and collaborative AI — what is amplified, and what needs protecting.
7 topics - 56 subtopics
Explore themeFuture Resilience & Societal Adaptation
Long-horizon resilience: how people, organisations and societies adapt as AI capability keeps compounding.
8 topics - 64 subtopics
Explore themeHow to use the Observatory
Follow a question to its evidence
Each research area is organised so readers can distinguish the question being asked, the evidence available and the narrative used to make the issue understandable.
Start with a subtopic
Each subtopic defines a specific human-impact question, why it matters, the working hypothesis and the methods proposed to investigate it.
Check what is known
Evidence pages show the current status, methods, measures, limitations and validation gaps. A seeded or partial record is not a validated finding.
See the human context
Stories illustrate the decisions and consequences behind a research question. They are scenario narratives, not empirical findings.
Theme→Topic→Subtopic→Brief / Evidence / Story
Questions being investigated
Explore selected programmes, study questions and the human outcomes they are designed to examine.
Explore research programmesMethods, examples and participation
See sample survey questions, research methods and ways to help shape the work.
Explore examplesLooking for something specific?
Search the catalogue Search the Observatory
Search the Observatory catalogue across themes, topics, briefs, evidence, stories and programmes.