Tag: Climate Change Disinformation

Abstract

Safeguards by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) play a pivotal role in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Over the years, the IAEA’s safeguards system has adapted to technological advancements and changing political landscapes, making it more resilient and flexible. This adaption is not only the result of programmes aiming at preparing and foreseeing future challenges in the nuclear field but also the result of several crises that have occurred over the last decades, including attempts to break non-proliferation commitments and limited access to facilities. The aim of this article is to explore what could be done in an event of unavoidable crises, with a focus on interim nuclear storage facilities where the continuity of knowledge is broken, and a quick and relatively reliable response is needed. We conducted a scenario-based workshop with multidisciplinary experts with different backgrounds working in the area of peace and conflict research. The workshop simulated three scenarios: (1) a terrorist occupation, (2) a flood, and (3) a mismatch of information following a coup d’état. This workshop revealed insights into crisis management strategies, data sampling, and the relevance of formal and informal interpersonal networks.

Abstract

Policymakers and societies are grappling with the question of how to respond to deepfakes, i.e., synthetic audio-visual media which is proliferating in all areas of digital life– from politics to pornography. However, debates and research on deepfakes’ impact and governance largely neglect the technology’s sources, namely the developers of the underlying artificial intelligence (AI), and those who provide code or deepfake creation services to others, making the technology widely accessible. These actors include open-source developers, professionals working in large technology companies and specialized start-ups, and for deepfake apps. They can profoundly impact which underlying AI technologies are developed, whether and how they are made public, and what kind of deepfakes can be created. Therefore, this paper explores which values guide professional deepfake development, how economic and academic pressures and incentives influence developers’ (perception of) agency and ethical views, and how these views do and could impact deepfake design, creation, and dissemination. Thereby, the paper focuses on values derived from debates on AI ethics and on deepfakes’ impact. It is based on ten qualitative in-depth expert interviews with academic and commercial deepfake developers and ethics representatives of synthetic media companies. The paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of AI ethics in relation to audio-visual generative AI. Besides, it empirically informs and enriches the deepfake governance debate by incorporating developers’ voices and highlighting governance measures which directly address deepfake developers and providers and emphasize the potential of ethics to curb the dangers of deepfakes.

Abstract

Recently, there has been a growing trend in using large language models (LLMs) to develop diverse applications suitable for a wide range of tasks. These tasks range from solving programming bugs to helping teach elementary school students how to enhance their writing. Even with all these beneficial use cases, researchers worry about the potential bias these tools could produce and their effect on society. In this research, we compared responses that resulted from prompting two chatbots, namely OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Bard, about the issue of gene editing. Twelve prompts that are part of two subgroups were used to generate responses (text) about the issue of gene editing when the political affiliation (Democrat, Republican, and Communist) or geographical areas (United States, China, and Europe) of the prompter is provided. The Twelve responses were then analyzed semantically using three dictionary-based tools, i.e., Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, the Moral Foundation Theory and Biblical Ethics dictionary, and Google’s Perspective API, to test and analyze the semantic and linguistic differences (measured via the Mann–Whitney U test) in the responses returned from the two chatbots. The results suggest that there are semantic and linguistic differences in responses per chatbots and prompts.

Abstract

Polarization around climate change viewpoints — including climate change concern and commitment to action — continues to be a persistent challenge to collective action in the United States, and across the globe. Multiple studies have found that K-12 science teacher perceptions of climate change reflect that of the general population, raising concerns that education may be replicating among students the polarization found among adults. However, few have examined how approaches to teaching climate change may be linked to climate change concern and behavior among students. We began to address this gap with a pre/post-survey of 354 middle school students from eight science classrooms across North Carolina and their teachers. We measured changes in climate change concern and behavior among students, student-reported frequency of discussing climate change in class, and teacher-reported approach to teaching climate change as consistent with the scientific consensus (climate change is attributed to human activity, 13.2% of students in these classes); mixed messages (scientists think climate change is attributed to both human and natural causes, 53.2% of students); denial (scientists think climate change is attributed to natural causes, none of students); and avoidance (not discussing causes of climate change, 33.5% of students). We also controlled for socioeconomic status (Title I) and location (rural versus urban) of the school. We detected gains in both concern and behavior across all teaching approaches. We also found frequency of school-based discussion about climate change was the most predictive of gains in concern, but no measured factors predicted gains in behavior. Baseline concern and behavior levels did vary across the different treatment approaches, with lower baseline concern and levels found among teachers who take avoidance and mixed messages approaches. Together, these results suggest that cultural contexts may be the drivers of both teaching approaches and student climate change concern and behavior, but variations in teaching approaches are not polarizing forces themselves. Instead, encouraging classroom-based conservations about climate may boost concern levels, even in cultural contexts that do not prioritize scientific consensus about climate change drivers. These findings may provide guidance for teaching climate change as well as other politically fraught topics.

Abstract

This article aims to explore the main topics in business ethics in Indonesia by reviewing manuscripts and conducting focus discussion groups. We adopt Harzing’s PoP application to review 995 manuscripts and VOS Viewer to draw a bibliometric figure, followed by a series of focus discussion groups. This article explores the main topics in business ethics in Indonesia by reviewing manuscripts and conducting focus discussion groups. The results show that the primary business ethics literature in Indonesia focuses on four topics: (1) ethics in the financial market, (2) ethics in education, (3) ethics in the workplace, and (4) Sharia ethics. These key trends of business ethics literature are different from the global literature. The main reason may come from the cultural gap, in which the local cultural diversity provides various terminologies and key recurring concepts. The results present the central local wisdom that comes from the significant ethnicity in this country. In addition, this report also provides future ethical topics at the intersection between business and political ethics by involving digital technological turbulence. In addition, future ethical topics need to address the intersection between business and political ethics by involving digital technological turbulence to explain how Indonesian tech companies strive to integrate ethical practices and strengthen data protection, especially in the gig economy and e-commerce sectors. Hence, the business ethics curriculum should encourage responsible consumers and producers by promoting awareness of false information, cyberbullying, and political manipulation.

Abstract

Climate change has become one of the most pressing problems that can threaten the existence and development of humans around the globe. Almost all climate scientists have agreed that climate change is happening and is caused mainly by greenhouse gas emissions induced by anthropogenic activities. However, some groups still deny this fact or do not believe that climate change results from human activities. This article examines climate change denialism and its skeptical arguments, as well as the roles of scientists and science communication in addressing the issues. Through this article, we call for the active participation of scientists in science communication activities with the public, the initiation of new science communication sectors specified for climate change, and more attention to social sciences and humanities in addressing climate change issues.

Abstract

The world is about to be swamped by an unprecedented wave of AI-generated content. We need reliable ways of identifying such content, to supplement the many existing social institutions that enable trust between people and organisations and ensure social resilience. In this paper, we begin by highlighting an important new development: providers of AI content generators have new obligations to support the creation of reliable detectors for the content they generate. These new obligations arise mainly from the EU’s newly finalised AI Act, but they are enhanced by the US President’s recent Executive Order on AI, and by several considerations of self-interest. These new steps towards reliable detection mechanisms are by no means a panacea—but we argue they will usher in a new adversarial landscape, in which reliable methods for identifying AI-generated content are commonly available. In this landscape, many new questions arise for policymakers. Firstly, if reliable AI-content detection mechanisms are available, who should be required to use them? And how should they be used? We argue that new duties arise for media and Web search companies arise for media companies, and for Web search companies, in the deployment of AI-content detectors. Secondly, what broader regulation of the tech ecosystem will maximise the likelihood of reliable AI-content detectors? We argue for a range of new duties, relating to provenance-authentication protocols, open-source AI generators, and support for research and enforcement. Along the way, we consider how the production of AI-generated content relates to ‘free expression’, and discuss the important case of content that is generated jointly by humans and AIs.

Abstract

This study examines the phenomena of complex threat syndrome (CTS) in the Sahel from the standpoint of the increasing dysfunctionality of the states in this area. The study posits that the CTS in the Sahel reflects the logic of a conflict-crime-terror conundrum in the context of rising state fragility. The crisis of legitimacy and governability in the Sahel, instantiated by the weaknesses of the states to facilitate governance, security, and development effectively and sustainably, has brought about conditions that exacerbate anti-state militantism and extremism. The inability of governments to demonstrate requisite competencies in the face of these threats bolsters and reproduces widespread criminal indulgence, impunity, and opportunism. Critical indicators of this include rising jihadist insurgencies, banditry, communal conflicts, and other forms of violence. The consequence has been a complex threat situation where violent conflicts and crimes reinforce each other to engender an enduring climate of insecurity and crisis. Mitigating such a complex security scenario requires a deliberate effort by the authorities in the Sahel to optimize statecraft through effective state-building, security governance reforms, and functional state-society synergy.

Abstract

Realising behavioural change in long invested environmental practices is often difficult to achieve, especially when scientific understanding of the issues is still unfolding. Having confidence in one’s action requires knowledge that actions will be effective in improving environmental outcomes. Currently, we know little about the role of social trust in mediating complex and uncertain knowledge of environmental problems and the required actions needed to address them. In this quantitative study, we surveyed 472 users of endangered kauri forests in New Zealand to better explore the role of trust in relation to pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) designed to mitigate effects of the devastating plant disease, kauri dieback. Findings show uncertainty about the scientific knowledge of the issue, recommended actions and efficacy of proposed solutions significantly influenced PEB for both residents and visitors of forests; however, this relationship was partially mediated by trust, particularly among locals residing within 5 km of infected forest areas. These findings indicate the need for closer engagement with local residents to develop institutional and scientific trust in kauri dieback interventions. We outline activities that may help build trust and recommend new areas of research to support higher compliance with environmental protection initiatives.