RAND Cyber and Data Sciences Policy Updates July 12, 2022

 

POLICY UPDATE Cyber and Data Sciences July 12, 2022

Photo by Reuters TV

The Threat of Deepfakes Various AI technologies are ripe for use in disinformation campaigns. Deepfake videos represent an obvious threat, but voice cloning, deepfake images, and generative text also merit concern. And websites now offer access to deepfake services. Read more »

 Reports and Journal Articles

Images by A1C Ariel Owings/U.S. Air Force and Jamesteohart/Adobe Stock; Design by Carol Ponce/RAND Corporation Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence is anticipated to be a key capability for enabling the U.S. military to maintain its dominance. How do software engineers and other technical staff in the industry view the defense community? Are they willing to contribute to AI-related projects for military use? Read more »

Image by Anton Balazh/Adobe Stock Russia's Information Warfare with the West Popular portrayals of the Russian disinformation machine imply an organized and well-resourced operation, but evidence suggests that it is neither. Nonetheless, Russian social media activity can be harmful to U.S. interests and is likely to evolve. Read more »

Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters Giving Drug Policy Decisionmakers the Data They Need Better data and analysis can help improve federal drug policy responses. With the appropriate funding, the United States could enhance its drug data infrastructure and ensure that drug policy is based on high-quality information. Read more »

Photo by gorodenkoff/Getty Images Comparing the Organizational Cultures of the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley The U.S. Department of Defense seeks to work more effectively with Silicon Valley in order to better leverage artificial intelligence technology. What cultural differences might complicate DoD-Silicon Valley collaboration? And in what areas is there common ground? Read more »

Blog Posts

Photo by Shannon Fagan/Getty Images How to Avoid Extremism on Social Media Extremist groups have been trolling the internet for decades, and they have learned to temper their words and disguise their intentions. A new scorecard can help users—or parents, or advertisers, or the social media companies themselves—understand when they might be interacting with extremist content. Read more »

Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters The Metaverse: What It Is and Is Not The metaverse is quickly expanding, but its meaning remains unclear. Until an agreement on a definition of “metaverse” is reached, efforts to manage the technology development and related public policy could be muddled at best. Read more »

Photo by Morsa Images/Getty Images When IT Meets Medical Innovation: Regulatory and Policy Challenges for Software as a Medical Device The demand for using software to improve health care, including software as a medical device (SaMD), is on the rise. Realizing the potential benefits of the growing demand for SaMD may require clearer and more-consistent regulation of patient safety and medical effectiveness. Read more »

Multimedia

Art by V+J Russia's Propaganda Model RAND artists-in-residence Juan Delcan and Valentina Izaguirre, known as V+J, created a powerful animated video to show how Russian propaganda spreads—and how it can influence its audience by entertaining, confusing, and overwhelming them. Read more »

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