MIT398-0: AI, Deepfakes and Disinformation

Course Description

This course endeavors to impart a critical understanding and awareness of contemporary disinformation tactics within the digital sphere, with a particular focus on the roles and impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfakes. Students will explore the evolution and differentiation of propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation, alongside the technological advancements that have shaped modern surveillance and information control. In an era increasingly characterized by discussions surrounding fake news and media manipulation, this course provides a critical framework for students to discern the nuances and intentions behind the communication strategies of various entities, including think tanks, governments, and media outlets. The course aims to equip students with practical skills and insights, such as methods for analyzing the origins and biases of different information sources by examining their authors, funding, and political affiliations. Through a combination of essays and presentations, students will be encouraged to engage with a variety of materials, ranging from parliamentary reports to documentaries and think tank analyses, applying a provided template to deconstruct and critically evaluate these sources. This course also integrates discussions on the lingering effects of post-colonialism and how political alliances, global power dynamics, have contributed to the burgeoning field of the information-industrial complex, thereby shaping the landscape of digital disinformation. 

Reflection

With recent spikes in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create content, especially for politically or economically profitable ends, I was able to experience this course at the right time in both global AI trends as well as my own research journey with regards to the certificate. Under the guidance of the instructor and subject expert Professor Marc Jones, this course was an unparalleled opportunity to understand how AI can be harnessed by various actors in order to produce propaganda and influence public opinion at the national, transnational and international levels, among so much more, giving rise to an environment of digital authoritarianism powered by disinformation.

I was particularly intrigued by the segment of the course that introduced us to the effects of AI on politics and society. It was also in this segment that I presented three articles that explored the use of AI as a coercion and scare tactic targeting women in various popular fields, including politics and a number of creative industries. Using AI to create defamatory content in these cases only adds to the dehumanization and objectification of the targets, which could in turn cause possibly irreparable damage to their interpersonal, social and professional relationships. Cases like this served to highlight the importance of understanding the full potential of AI - that it can be used for “good” and “bad” ends alike.

In conclusion, the lessons I took away from this course have been crucial to my CMAP research project, specifically with regards to the use of social media and the spread of propaganda materials, which was explored at length over the duration of the course. This is, of course, in addition to the wealth of new knowledge I was able to gain through class discussions and engagements with a wide range of course materials.