NPR

Computational Propaganda: Bots, Targeting, And The Future

Computational propaganda was invented by people who realized the possibilities emerging from the intersection of new technologies and behaviors they create — and it's frightening, says Adam Frank.
Source: Saul Gravy

A long time ago, when I was working on my Ph.D. research, I learned to use supercomputers to track the complex 3-D motions of gas blown into space by dying stars.

Using big computers in this way was still new to lots of researchers in my field and I was often asked, "How do you know your models are right?"

Now, a few decades later, hyper-large-scale is so common in astrophysics that no one asks me that question anymore. Machines are so fast, and so powerful, that everyone takes it as a given they can be deployed to drive my

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min read
Big Sean: Tiny Desk Concert
The respected lyricist and hip-hop hitmaker comes to the Desk for one of the longest setlists in Tiny Desk history.
NPR9 min readWorld
Fractures In The Grand Alliance Between Black And Jewish Americans
The Grand Alliance between Black and Jewish leaders, known largely for shared work on Civil Rights in the 1960s, has a complicated legacy--and an uncertain future between these communities.
NPR2 min read
Milky Way Black Hole Has 'Strong, Twisted' Magnetic Field In Mesmerizing New Image
The polarized light image gives us a "new view of the monster lurking at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy," according to the European Southern Observatory.

Related Books & Audiobooks