There’s been no shortage of news about how AI language models can influence people’s behaviour, spread misinformation and sow confusion about what’s real and what isn’t. But it can be difficult to picture what those dangers might look like in the real world.
Political scientist Archon Fung and legal scholar Lawrence Lessig paint a chilling scenario of a plausible AI system in the hands of a presidential candidate’s campaign. They describe how the hypothetical campaign messaging machine would be able to target millions of people individually and adjust its approach to each person over the course of the campaign, all with the singular goal of changing your voting behavior – including even convincing you not to vote
at all.
Nigeria’s biggest security threat used to be Boko Haram, whose activities were mostly limited to the northern region of the country. Although the previous administration, under Muhammadu Buhari, claimed to have significantly weakened the insurgent group, security in Nigeria has actually deteriorated. Boko Haram continues to operate in the north and other terror groups as well as bandits have joined the fray. Now, every region of Nigeria is affected by growing insecurity. This is what president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inherited from his predecessor. But Sallek Yaks Musa thinks all is not lost. He argues that the new president needs to address socio-economic factors that contribute to insecurity.
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Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School; Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University
Artificial intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of people individually – but it could be a nightmare for democracy.
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Sallek Yaks Musa, University of Northampton
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherits major security challenges. Job creation, poverty alleviation and inclusive growth may be the solution.
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Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation
Governments and activist groups are bringing environmental issues to international courts. They argue that the impact of climate change and environmental issues affect human rights.
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Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida
Lack of control over its borders and corruption are two of the issues that could complicate Moldova’s bid to join the EU.
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Danny Bradlow, University of Pretoria
Geopolitics is forcing BRICS countries to balance respect for international law, self-determination, sovereignty and peaceful resolution of disputes with their friendly relations with Russia.
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Anna Matveeva, King's College London
The Wagner Group boss is becoming increasingly critical of the way the war is being run.
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Howard Manly, The Conversation
Former enslaved persons have never received a dime for their labor. Nor have their descendants received reparations for the legacy of slavery.
Should the descendants be paid? By whom and how much?
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Susan Rogers Van Katwyk, York University, Canada
Drug-resistant microbes are a serious threat for future pandemics, but the new draft of the WHO’s international pandemic agreement may not include provisions for antimicrobial resistance.
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Andrew Mayers, Bournemouth University
Postnatal depression is thought to affect up to 10% of fathers.
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