• How AI Could Take Over Elections – and Undermine Democracy

    Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? In his 16 May 2023 testimony in a Senate hearings on artificial intelligence OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that he was concerned that some people might use language models to manipulate, persuade and engage in one-on-one interactions with voters. What would an AI-manipulated election look like?

  • Amid Fears of Chinese Influence, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States Has Grown More Powerful

    The Committee on Foreign Investment, a U.S. government interagency committee established in 1975 by President Gerald Ford, is tasked with studying and coordinating the implementation of policy on foreign investment in America.The primary objective of the committee is to review selected foreign investments and some real estate transactions by foreigners in the U.S. for their national security implications.

  • Extremist NFTs Across Blockchains

    While tech companies, politics, and civil society continue to discuss how to regulate social networks, a new age of the internet is dawning: the Web3. Julia Handle and Louis Jarvers write that with the technological advancements of Web3, it is critical to examine their application to extremism.

  • Facing Up to Democratic Distrust

    A new study finds that false assumptions about election malfeasance could create a “death spiral” for democracy: By believing their political opponents wish to curtail democracy, some partisans will then justify the erosion of democratic norms by their own side. The study also provides some hope for bipartisan repair.

  • Can Democracies Navigate Political Warfare’s New Landscape?

    As Twitter limits access to a tool to analyze conversations on the platform, researchers will be deprived of information that sheds light on political hate speech and incitement to violence. That will have real-world implications for tracking election meddling, disinformation campaigns and human rights abuses.

  • How Can Congress Regulate AI? Erect Guardrails, Ensure Accountability and Address Monopolistic Power

    A new federal agency to regulate AI sounds helpful but could become unduly influenced by the tech industry — instead, Congress can legislate accountability.Instead of licensing companies to release advanced AI technologies, the government could license auditors and push for companies to set up institutional review boards. The government hasn’t had great success in curbing technology monopolies, but disclosure requirements and data privacy laws could help check corporate power.

  • Allowing Financial Trading in California's Wholesale Electricity Market Significantly Reduces Volatility: Study

    Allowing trading in California’s electricity market led to a reduction in the implicit cost of trading day-ahead/real-time price differences, the volatility of these price differences, and the volatility of real-time prices. In addition, operating costs and fuel use fell on days after the introduction of purely financial participation.

  • Open Questions, Legal Hurdles for Biden’s New Border Rule

    The Biden administration announced on May 16 a new border rule that creates new pathways for lawful entry and limits access to asylum for unauthorized entrants. Shalini Bhargava Ray writes that the rule takes important steps to create alternatives to unauthorized entry for those seeking refuge, but serious questions remain about the viability and practical accessibility of those pathways.

  • Two Oath Keepers Leaders Sent to Jail for Seditious Conspiracy, Other Charges Related to Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol

    Two leaders of the extremist group Oath Keepers were sentenced Thursday for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress which was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the November 2020 presidential election.

  • Behind the Oath Keepers Charged with Sedition Are Many More Who Have Been Trained by the U.S. Military

    Experts on violent extremism believe it isn’t only the number of Oath Keepers that is a problem, it is their makeup. A significant number of their members are veterans – both female and male – who bring military skills to the group and also serve as recruiters for other active and former armed service personnel.

  • Track 2 of the Remote Identity Validation Tech Demo Challenge

    DHS S&T announces the launch of Track 2 of the Remote Identity Validation Technology Demonstration (RIVTD). RIVTD is a series of technology challenges to evaluate the ability of systems to authenticate identity documents, assess the “liveness” of selfie photos, and evaluate identity verification using images taken with smartphones and similar devices.

  • State-Sponsored Chinese Hackers Targeting U.S., Western Critical Infrastructure: Microsoft

    Microsoft says that Chinese government-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon has been attacking critical infrastructure targets in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK, and possibly many more countries. The affected targets span various sectors, including communications, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education. The attacks began in mid-2021 and appear to be aimed at undermining the US in the event of a regional conflict.

  • U.S. Reliance on Chinese Drones: A Sector for the Next CHIPS Act?

    More and more lawmakers from both parties are beginning to pay attention to the issue of drones and national security. Different bills seek to regulate federal agency procurement and use of certain foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), or drones. Annie I. Antón and Olivia C. Mauger write that “Building on the bipartisan consensus to enact the 2022 Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science (CHIPS) Act, there is a compelling case that UASs should be a next sector for similar action.”

  • DHS Issues New Domestic Threat Warning

    Simmering grievances, political divides, a steady proliferation of online neo-Nazi propaganda, and the approach of the 2024 presidential election are keeping the United States stuck in a “heightened threat environment,” according to the latest warning from DHS.

  • 2023 Nakba Day Events Marked by Antisemitic Rhetoric and Themes

    Every year on May 15, Palestinians and their supporters mark Nakba Day (“catastrophe” in Arabic) as a day of mourning the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. Historically, there have been numerous instances of inflammatory and antisemitic language espoused by anti-Israel activists at Nakba Day events. The 2023 events were no exception.