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Thoughts on Deepfakes
Deepfakes are videos or photos that have been digitally changed whether by AI or humans to create an image/video that is seemingly realistic. These videos can include alterations in which someone’s face has been digitally imputed to say anything the programmer wants. Deepfakes result in nearly indistinguishable vocal intonations and facial movements from the…
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iDoctor: Some Preliminary Thoughts on AI Liability in Health Environments
In the middle of the night you awake with a sudden stomach pain and you feel like you can’t move you instinctually grab your phone and call 911. An ambulance arrives and rushes you to the hospital where you begin to receive treatment from an emergency room doctor. Now you might not understand everything…
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The Impact of Disinformation on Kenyan Elections and Politics
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” That the phrase highlights the notable influence of words and their potential power to change the world for the better. However, that same power can make words a far more violent and cruel weapon than a sword. In the case of misinformation, words can damage a countless…
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The Nomenclature of Disinformation
Over the past few years, the speed at which disinformation is created, distributed, and consumed has become a growing concern for governments, businesses, and citizens. The spread of false information isn’t a new phenomenon, and the terms disinformation and fake news can be traced back to the 1950s. The rise of social media and…
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Robot Radiologists? Not So Fast…
Doctor Lewis Zimmerman looks real, he treats patients, moves in a physical space, answers questions, and would pass the Turing and Lovelace tests, but he is an AI doctor on the science fiction show Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Yet as the show opens Benjamin Sisko, captain of the space station expresses doubts about…
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Ethics in Artificial Intelligence
Who decides what is right and wrong? As humans we are taught by our parents/guardians the difference between right and wrong and we are taught the morals and values that not only guide our lives but that also serve to make us functioning members of society. That being said morals and values may have…
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Space Technology and the Human Condition
Often when people think of space exploration, the first thing that comes to mind is Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. Although this was a remarkable achievement, space exploration also results in scientific advances that regularly make a positive impact right here on earth. Many of the discoveries we learned about in grade…
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A Diseased Cyberspace and How to Treat It
Grateful Dead Lyricist John Perry Barlow once wrote in “A Declaration of the Independence for Cyberspace” of a potential place free from state intervention where a new social contract might arise in the absence of privilege and prejudice, economic power, military force, and station of birth. Regrettably, Barlow’s vision has not come to pass.…
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Patient Centric Cybersecurity – Excerpt
Over the last several decades there has been a shift in standard models of healthcare both in the United States and globally. Patient centric approaches in health care reorient the power relationships of physicians and patients. This shift elevates the needs and challenges of the patients and builds a more robust and communicative relationship…
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Which Countries Visit the Most Hidden Services Sites?
This week, my new article with Eric Jardine and Gareth Owenson, “The potential harms of the Tor anonymity network cluster disproportionately in free countries,” came out in PNAS. Using a global sample of Tor users, we show that a higher percentage of Tor clients in politically free countries go to hidden services sites than…