Weaponized Synthetic Intimacy and the Fourth Wave of Digital Disinfromation

Since the advent of digital diplomacy, states and diplomats have struggled to contain malign actors from leveraging technology for nefarious ends. There were three distinct waves of digital disinfromation. The early 2010s were defined by coordinated disinformation campaigns. State-managed accounts and "fake news" sites flooded social feeds with malicious content, warping reality and intensifying political... Continue Reading →

AI Companions: The New Frontier of Disinformation

Last week, The Economist published a review of the burgeoning AI companion industry. The companion industry is gaining momentum globally, with individuals either customizing existing platforms like ChatGPT into romantic partners, with specified ages, professions (such as tech executive), and personality traits encompassing wit, dry humour, and an appreciation for romantic comedies. Others turn to... Continue Reading →

AI and the Decline of Reality in Public Diplomacy

By Giles Strachan and Ilan Manor In 1957, the physicist Hugh Everett proposed the Many-worlds Interpretation of reality. Quantum physicists had discovered that fundamental information about particles was unknowable until the particles were observed. At this point, reality re-asserts itself, as in the famous example of Schrödinger’s cat, which is both alive and dead until... Continue Reading →

Quantum Mechanics, AI and the Future of Diplomacy

Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is considered the cornerstone of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg famously argued that quantum particles are subject to unpredictable fluctuations, making them impossible to track precisely. The position and momentum of an electron, for example, are subject to unpredictable fluctuations and as such cannot be measured exactly. Even more complex is the understating... Continue Reading →

Monday’s Digital Diplomacy Must Read List

Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- Iran-linked Website Leaks Secret Israeli Data (Haaretz Newspaper) The Technology Powering Taylor Swift, Netflix and the Sphere (Bloomberg) AI scientist : "We will expand intelligence a millionfold by 2045"| (The Guardian)... Continue Reading →

Monday’s Must Read List

Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- What the future holds for driverless cars (BBC News) Resistance Is Futile, But Maybe Not With AI (Bloomberg) It’s Time to Give Up on Ending Social Media’s Misinformation Problem (The Atlantic)... Continue Reading →

Monday’s Must Read List

Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- White House will fight deepfakes with cryptographic verification (Cyber News) Russia using Elon Musk’s Starlink on Ukraine front line, says Kyiv (Financial Times) France uncovers a vast Russian disinformation campaign in... Continue Reading →

Diplomacy in the Age of Post-Reality

Last week, the Financial Times published an AI generated image of Presidents Putin and Trump kissing. The headline read “Fakes in the Post-Truth Era”. The term post-truth was first coined in 2016 by The Economist Magazine. The Economist was referring to the impact of social media on politics in general, and American politics in particular.... Continue Reading →

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