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White House Summit on Standards for Critical and Emerging Technology
In a White House summit, representatives of government agencies, industry and standards development organizations discussed the U.S. Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET). This strategy promotes technologically sound standards that help American industry compete internationally on a level playing field and is intended to support and complement existing private sector-led standards activities.
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Despite Security Concerns, TikTok Still Plays Key Role in 2024 Race
Despite national security concerns about TikTok – and its ties to China – the popular short-form video app is playing an important role on the campaign trail for both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. The reason, experts say, is because the platform remains a crucial tool for candidates to reach young voters.
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How Deepfakes Are Being Used
Digital tools can alter images of ourselves and others in ways that are more convincing and harder to detect than ever before. They can create spectacular special effects in movies. But they also are used with the images or voices of people without their consent, or to create propaganda with the intent to fool people.
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AI-Powered Massive Deepfake Detector to Safeguard Elections from Deepfake Threats
Israeli startup Revealense has introduced its illuminator Massive Deepfake Detector, an AI-powered solution designed to combat the growing threat of deepfakes in electoral processes. Dov Donin, CEO of Revealense, said: “Our system is already used by several governments globally.”
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Potential Terrorists Can Be Identified from Social Media Posts
Researchers have identified signals in social media posts that can predict when someone posting on far-right forums is likely to go on to commit a terrorist act.
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Can Florida’s Orange Growers Survive Another Hurricane Season?
Oranges are synonymous with Florida, but a perfect storm of hurricanes, diseases, and water scarcity threatens to wipe out the state’s famed citrus industry.
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Reviving the Los Angeles River: Engineering Alongside Nature and Society
Reviving the LA River is a prime example of a large-scale infrastructure project that requires engineers to work alongside nature and society. A revived LA River can again serve as habitat for native vegetation and wildlife, improve water quality, aid water management, and contribute to cultural renewal.
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Biden Administration Gives Up on Texas Border Suit, Ordered to Finish Wall
Texas has won another lawsuit against the Biden administration, this time one that requires it to finish building the border wall. The ruling was issued May 29, with a 60-day window for appeal. Because the Biden administration didn’t appeal by July 29, the court’s order remains in full effect.
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China’s High Stakes and Deepfakes in the Philippines
A covert social media campaign operated by the Chinese government appears to be spreading a deepfake video seeking to undermine support for Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. China is conducting the campaign amid a high-stakes standoff with the Philippines over claims in the South China Sea.
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Worried About Violence, Threats as Election Nears? Just Say No.
Political violence has been increasing in the U.S. from the recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump to the 10-fold surge in threats against members of Congress in the past decade. And experts see serious risk of more incidents as the election nears. Key is for leaders, voters to stand in solidarity against it, political scientists say.
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How America's Elites May Hold the Key to Lowering Murder Rates
New crime laws, police funding and similar efforts may have some effect on homicide rates in the United States – but the biggest impact will come from the actions of our political and economic elites, historian and author of American Homicide writes in new report.
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Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of a Petrostate
Venezuela’s ongoing descent into economic and political chaos is a cautionary tale of the dangerous influence that resource wealth can have on developing countries.
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Texas Water Board Details How It Will Spend $1 Billion for Water Infrastructure Projects
About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base.
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Alarmism about Terrorism Is Risky and Unjustified
The annual chance of being murdered in an attack committed by a foreign-born terrorist is about one in 4.5 million—about 323 times lower than the chance of being murdered in a normal homicide during that 1975–2023 timeframe. The U.S. ought to be more realistic about the foreign-born terrorist threat. Alarmism in the face of small and manageable risks that probably haven’t arisen is a tremendous vice that policymakers should avoid.
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“Jewish Problem” Conference in Kentucky Brings Together Antisemites, Extremists Across Political Spectrum
On June 30, 2024, some well-known antisemites from across the political and ideological spectrum gathered in Somerset, Kentucky, at the “JP” (or Jewish Problem) Conference. The event promoted anti-Jewish hate; speakers espoused disturbing rhetoric about Jews and proposed “solutions” to help fight against the “Jewish problem.”
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The long view
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”