Lab Blog

Russia’s continued war in Ukraine has led to persistent calls for a diplomatic settlement from various corners of the policy community, academia, and the extremes of the political spectrum. These calls are each rooted in a limited or constrained understanding of the conflict, the provision of funding and resources, and the logics of peace…

Many authoritarian governments, such as those in Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, now have the capability to surveil their own citizens with technical tools. Many of them were enabled by Chinese technology companies, such as Huawei, Hikvision, Dahua and ZTE, as well as U.S. and Israeli companies that have exported artificial intelligence surveillance technology to…

Technology facilitates the communication and spread of information in ways that can result in public benefit. In particular, information communications technologies, such as social media, can serve as a powerful tool for information dissemination. In fact, they often serve as a platform for governments to communicate with their constituents. However, the information environment is…

United States intelligence agencies have been issuing dire warnings of an impending war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Estimates of upwards of 175,000 soldiers massing at multiple points on the Ukraine-Russian frontier are ominous, yet any battle over Ukraine is likely to include an increasingly potent electronic warfare (EW) dimension that would be…

Technology facilitates the communication and spread of information in ways that can result in public benefit. In particular, information communications technologies, such as social media, can serve as a powerful tool for information dissemination. In fact, they often serve as a platform for governments to communicate with their constituents. However, the information environment is…

In early November, I had the chance to participate in the 72nd Student Conference on U.S. Affairs with two other members of the Virginia Tech community. Hosted annually at West Point, Delegates from prominent universities and colleges across the country are invited to participate in drafting memorandum on a pressing issue to a relevant…

Under the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping, China has risen from a developing country to an economic powerhouse. Although the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has implemented several economic and social reforms, President Xi also emphasizes strengthening China’s image, both domestically and internationally. He has done so, in part, by glorifying the idea of the…

Disinformation has become a much larger problem globally within the past decade, and with the increasing volume of disinformation comes a technological revolution. Automated disinformation has taken over the field, with bots amplifying, spreading, and even creating content autonomously. Many new advancements have allowed individuals as well as state actors to create heretofore unseen…

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…