The Tech4Humanity Lab blog is comprised of research and general interests posts from lab students and faculty.
-
AI sentiment analysis and Russia’s war in Ukraine
AI sentiment analysis offers a potential solution to the problem of determining the attitudes of the Russian public towards the war in Ukraine. Traditional polling conducted within an authoritarian state suffers from the limitation of its inability to accurately assess public opinion in the context of being unable to honestly report public opinion which…
-
Issues of Government Surveillance and Spyware use in India
The Indian government’s use of Pegasus spyware demonstrates the need for stronger regulations to protect citizens’ constitutional right to privacy from unlawful government surveillance. The distribution of spyware technology to governments and subsequent infiltration of personal data in the name of national security has resulted in mass human rights abuse. As the right to…
-
The Utility of Spyware in War
The proliferation of spyware has led to revelations of human rights abuses by democratic governments and authoritarian states alike. The latest reporting on the global surveillance-for-hire industry details the utilization of military-equivalent cyber weapons, the likes of NSO Group’s Pegasus and Cytrox’s Predator, in international conflict, specifically the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan.…
-
Conversations with ChatGPT 3.5: Technological Cure of Disease
Can technology cure disease? Frequently the capabilities of innovative technologies are placed on a pedestal for their potential to revolutionize disease treatment and cure. This post poses questions on the future of disease and technology to ChatGPT.
-
SCUSA Experience – Cadet Garland
This past November, I was privileged to represent Virginia Tech at West Point’s Annual Student Conference on U.S. Affairs (SCUSA). The conference started in 1949 and has consistently invited students from across the United States and the globe to have meaningful, guided discussions on how to address chosen topics in American foreign policy. This…
-
CHATGPT vs Bard ON AI COMMON SENSE, RATIONALITY, AND MORALITY
Just as in the post last week comparing the answers of Bard to ChatGPT on the War in Ukraine this post picks up on the previous post examining ChatGPT’s answers on AI Common Sense, Rationality and Morality. As we begin to incorporate Large Language Models (LLMs) into our every day lives in the search…
-
Comparing Bard and ChatGPT on WAR, AND DIPLOMACY
I previously posted an article in which I asked ChatGPT a number of questions on Russia’s war in Ukraine. It wasn’t immediately clear that ChatGPT had a cut off date in 2021. Yet despite the fact that it had a cut off date before the start of the 2022 escalation of Russia’s invasion of…
-
Gaming to combat disinformation
Misinformation poses one of the most prevalent threats to modern political discourse. Its manipulation techniques are unique and ever evolving, present in the media surrounding elections and international politics and reaching more into marketing schemes and public relations as of late. Whether the goal is to gain profit or sow dissention, misinformation is sometimes…
-
ChatGPT Use in the Classroom
Is ChatGPT the greatest thing since sliced bread for education and research or an instrument for cheating? Is it a tool for learning or a way towards ignorance and illiteracy? Is it an indication of progress in contemporary society with endless opportunities for automation or one of the early signs of devaluation for student-acquired knowledge…
-
ChatGPT, War, and Diplomacy
There is a great deal of discussion about the use of AI and Machine Learning in intelligence analysis, war planning, national security policy-making and beyond. Yet before these tools are put in place it behooves us to understand the way in which AI thinks and upon what data sources it builds its “findings” and…