In early November, I had the chance to participate in the 72nd Student Conference on U.S. Affairs with two other members of the Virginia Tech community. Hosted annually at West Point, Delegates from prominent universities and colleges across the country are invited to participate in drafting memorandum on a pressing issue to a relevant U.S. office. After travelling up the Hudson Valley to where the conference was hosted, we were assigned to roundtables on various issues facing the United States. These roundtables ranged from Social Media and the Weaponization of Information to Inequality in an Era of Disruptive Technology. Our delegates were all assigned to the roundtable regarding 21st century vulnerabilities: Critical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity. The United States Military Academy boasts an impressive campus with an almost foreboding sense of history. West Point alumni include multiple U.S. presidents whose statues are prominently displayed over the campus. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were only allowed to interact with a select few cadets. Nevertheless, the legacy of West Point seemed to be one that cadets took seriously.

Under the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping, China has risen from a developing country to an economic powerhouse. Although the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has implemented several economic and social reforms, President Xi also emphasizes strengthening China’s image, both domestically and internationally. He has done so, in part, by glorifying the idea of the “China Dream,” which is a vision adopted by the Chinese public that sees China as a wealthy and developed country that takes the lead in global affairs and whose state ideology appeals to the world. The ultimate goal of the CCP now is to become a powerhouse that has a global influence. To do this China is using state media as well as domestic and global social media sites to increase the push of disinformation, the deliberate posting of false information to influence public opinion. Leaders in Beijing have decided to target areas that they believe are essential to giving the CCP and China the image of a unified and globally powerful nation. The effects of which can be seen in the events and news surrounding Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Disinformation has become a much larger problem globally within the past decade, and with the increasing volume of disinformation comes a technological revolution. Automated disinformation has taken over the field, with bots amplifying, spreading, and even creating content autonomously. Many new advancements have allowed individuals as well as state actors to create heretofore unseen amounts of content and reach larger audiences than ever before. These effects could be seen during the 2016 election in the US, during the present COVID-19 pandemic globally, in Chinese political efforts to undermine Taiwan, and in many other instances around the world.

Deepfakes are videos or photos that have been digitally changed whether by AI or humans to create an image/video that is seemingly realistic. These videos can include alterations in which someone’s face has been digitally imputed to say anything the programmer wants. Deepfakes result in nearly indistinguishable vocal intonations and facial movements from the original person. The creation of deepfakes have and will continue to cause disinformation to be more trustworthy and hard to counter, which makes them extremely dangerous.

In the middle of the night you awake with a sudden stomach pain and you feel like you can’t move you instinctually grab your phone and call 911. An ambulance arrives and rushes you to the hospital where you begin to receive treatment from an emergency room doctor. Now you might not understand everything about that doctor that is treating you, for example, you don’t know where they attended medical school, nor do you know their grade point average upon graduation, but you are certain that the medical field has strict guidelines and procedures and that to treat you that physician must have passed a medical licensing exam. But what if that doctor was replaced with a computer? Would you still feel comfortable? Computers are used in almost every aspect of our daily lives but would you trust one with yours?

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” That the phrase highlights the notable influence of words and their potential power to change the world for the better. However, that same power can make words a far more violent and cruel weapon than a sword. In the case of misinformation, words can damage a countless number of lives and the roots of democracy when wielded maliciously. Kenya has recently fallen victim to a number of disinformation attacks that have manipulated the society and the politics and led to the deaths of thousands of innocent lives.

Over the past few years, the speed at which disinformation is created, distributed, and consumed has become a growing concern for governments, businesses, and citizens. The spread of false information isn’t a new phenomenon, and the terms disinformation and fake news can be traced back to the 1950s. The rise of social media and distribution of information online has allowed people to produce and quickly spread false information through decentralized and distributed networks, vastly increasing its impact. Much of this information is posted with malicious intent and results in a potentially harmful impact on society. The result of this flood of disinformation is a new era of digital and political communication.

Who decides what is right and wrong? As humans we are taught by our parents/guardians the difference between right and wrong and we are taught the morals and values that not only guide our lives but that also serve to make us functioning members of society. That being said morals and values may have minor variations from person to person but can have large differences when it comes to different cultures. For example, in some countries it is considered rude to leave a tip for a meal because excellent service is naturally expected and employees are paid a living wage whereas in other countries tipping is generally accepted as a societal norm and it is considered rude not to leave a tip. As advancements are made in regards to Artificial Intelligence a question arises… what are the repercussions of the decisions made by Artificial Intelligence. Or to rephrase who is going to face the consequences that result from Artificial Intelligence making decisions?

Often when people think of space exploration, the first thing that comes to mind is Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. Although this was a remarkable achievement, space exploration also results in scientific advances that regularly make a positive impact right here on earth. Many of the discoveries we learned about in grade school, products we could not live without, and new careers we hope to work in all have their roots in space exploration. Whether people believe it or not, space exploration is an integral part of bettering human lives.