When misinformation spreads faster than a hurricane, who is responsible for teaching the public to recognize it?
Jegason Diviant is a Ph.D. student at The University of New Mexico's College of Population Health. He joined the program in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began.
He began as a Ph.D. student trying to understand the difference between good and bad COVID-related digital information and has grown into a skilled researcher documenting how AI-driven misinformation affects public health.
His journey from the pandemic's onset to becoming an expert in AI literacy and health information shows a sense of adaptability and drive to serve the public health sector.
"Schools are acknowledging the value and demand for students to be AI fluent for the jobs of today and tomorrow by incorporating use of AI across disciplines and departments. This is happening in the country at all educational levels."
– Jegason Diviant, Ph.D. student, UNM College of Population Health
Diviant's story took a personal turn when he was diagnosed as autistic at age 40. This helped him understand his unique learning style and way of thinking and sparked his passion for helping others, especially neurodiverse individuals, improve their information processing.
His research focuses on the idea that AI literacy should be considered a social determinant of health. He suggests that knowing how to use AI tools ethically and transparently may affect employment eligibility and opportunities, which directly impacts mental and physical health outcomes.
"Schools are acknowledging the value and demand for students to be AI fluent for the jobs of today and tomorrow by incorporating use of AI across disciplines and departments." Diviant said. "This is happening in the country at all educational levels."
He successfully defended his MPH Professional Paper last November, earning his Master of Public Health with an epidemiology concentration while continuing his doctoral work exploring the intersections between AI and educational technologies. He builds strategies through the lens of developmental psychology, which he refers to as "synthetic developmental psychology."
In 2024, Hurricane Helene provided Jegason with a real-world case study that illustrated his research concerns. During the disaster, he watched as misinformation about the hurricane's path, political responses, and FEMA actions spread rapidly through social media, mixed with deepfake images and videos.
In a creative move, Diviant analyzed sources from the White House, state governments, FEMA, and the Surgeon General's Advisory about Confronting Health Misinformation, as well as reliable news sources like The Associated Press, PBS, and NPR. He then used Google's NotebookLM to create a podcast breaking down the misinformation crisis for different audiences.
This work highlighted a concern: people had been engaging with AI bots on social media without realizing these weren't real humans manipulating their perceptions.
Diviant advocates for embracing AI use responsibly.
"Most of the academic concerns that I hear are centered around ways incorporating AI use into teaching and learning environments disrupts the learning process" he said. "AI is now embedded everywhere from operating systems and web browsers to entire suites of office tools, making it hard to expect students won't use these resources."
"UNM can join as a leader and innovator in this transformative educational shift," Diviant emphasized. "I encourage policies that support AI literacy, competency and fluency."
"I think conversations need to explore the integration of new teaching and assessment strategies that fit emerging technologies and expectations of job markets. This can happen by teaching students how to make use of AI in ways that simultaneously augment learning and productivity."
– Jegason Diviant
Before ChatGPT's release in November 2022, Diviant was guest lecturer for UNM's "PH 501 Determinants and Equity in Public Health" class. He covered how AI algorithms were generating and amplifying health misinformation on social media.
When ChatGPT launched, he says the "infodemic" of misinformation exploded. AI tools made it easier than ever to create fake videos, voices, music and websites that manipulate public opinion for political or economic gain.
"I think conversations need to explore the integration of new teaching and assessment strategies that fit emerging technologies and expectations of job markets," Diviant said.
"This can happen by teaching students how to make use of AI in ways that simultaneously augment learning and productivity."
His work describes how tools can spread misinformation and create deepfakes, but also how they help with medical research, imaging, diagnoses, and drug discovery. These factors make education more interactive and engaging across disciplines.
Diviant's story demonstrates how UNM fosters an environment where students can explore innovative research paths and tackle emerging health challenges, while his unique approaches serve both academic advancement and the direct needs of the population.
As AI continues to reshape daily life, Diviant's work is a reminder that some of the most urgent public health challenges of tomorrow may not emerge only from a lab or a clinic but from a screen. For Diviant, preparing people to navigate that reality is not just an academic pursuit, it is a public health goal.
