Weaponized storytelling: How AI is helping researchers sniff out disinformation campaigns

Disinformation campaigns are using AI to tell false but compelling stories. AI tools are also helping counter the campaigns by detecting incongruities in usernames, cultural references and timelines.

Azwad Anjum Islam, Ph.D. Student in Computing and Information Sciences, Florida International University • conversation
May 29, 2025 • ~10 min

FDA will approve COVID-19 vaccine only for older adults and high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

The FDA’s new framework for COVID-19 vaccines breaks from established procedure for how the government establishes vaccine guidelines.

Libby Richards, Professor of Nursing, Purdue University • conversation
May 21, 2025 • ~10 min

FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

The FDA’s new framework for COVID-19 vaccines breaks from established procedure for how the government establishes vaccine guidelines.

Libby Richards, Professor of Nursing, Purdue University • conversation
May 21, 2025 • ~10 min

COVID-19 is the latest epidemic to show biomedical breakthroughs aren’t enough to eliminate a disease

Scientific discoveries are necessary to eliminate epidemic diseases. But addressing socioeconomic factors is just as essential in the fight against diseases such as syphilis, AIDS and TB.

Powel H. Kazanjian, Professor of Infectious Diseases and of History, University of Michigan • conversation
March 5, 2025 • ~9 min

Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections

As technology has advanced, AI-generated deepfakes have become more convincing.

Eileen Culloty, Assistant Professor, School of Communications, Dublin City University • conversation
March 19, 2024 • ~7 min

6 ways AI can make political campaigns more deceptive than ever

Politicians and their campaigns use a lot of methods, including manipulation and deception, to persuade you to vote for them and give them money. AI promises to make those attempts more effective.

David E. Clementson, Assistant Professor, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia • conversation
July 21, 2023 • ~11 min

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

Artificial intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of people individually – but it could be a nightmare for democracy.

Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University • conversation
June 2, 2023 • ~12 min

'Got polio?' messaging underscores a vaccine campaign's success but creates false sense of security as memories of the disease fade in US

Polio vaccines have been a massive public health victory in the US. But purely celebratory messaging overlooks the ongoing threat if vaccination rates fall.

Katherine A. Foss, Professor of Media Studies, Middle Tennessee State University • conversation
April 27, 2023 • ~10 min

War in Ukraine accelerates global drive toward killer robots

The technology exists to build autonomous weapons. How well they would work and whether they could be adequately controlled are unknown. The Ukraine war has only turned up the pressure.

James Dawes, Professor of English, Macalester College • conversation
Feb. 21, 2023 • ~8 min

What killer robots mean for the future of war

AI enabled weapons (LAWs) are still in their adolescence, which means we still have a chance to influence their development. But we need to act now.

Miranda Mowbray, Lecturer in Interactive AI, University of Bristol • conversation
Jan. 10, 2023 • ~8 min

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