Is your angry tweet a precursor of aggressive behavior?

Time and again I stumble upon technologies that, even though very noble in their goals, are also used for malicious purposes – and with much greater success. Even though I haven’t yet found any troubling uses for the technology outlined below, the potential for misuse – especially in authoritarian states – is definitely huge. So ...

Time and again I stumble upon technologies that, even though very noble in their goals, are also used for malicious purposes - and with much greater success. Even though I haven't yet found any troubling uses for the technology outlined below, the potential for misuse - especially in authoritarian states - is definitely huge. So here is an initiative co-sponsored by a project at the University of Massachusets at Amherst:

Time and again I stumble upon technologies that, even though very noble in their goals, are also used for malicious purposes – and with much greater success. Even though I haven’t yet found any troubling uses for the technology outlined below, the potential for misuse – especially in authoritarian states – is definitely huge. So here is an initiative co-sponsored by a project at the University of Massachusets at Amherst:

We are compiling a list of oaths, dirty words, racist and sexual derogatory and other offensive terms to build new language models and software tools. The notable increase in public and private threats communicated via the Internet to Congress and the White House makes it important to do basic research that identifies the precursors of aggressive or violent  behavior. Adding your uniquely offensive contribution to the list, with an associated rating from 1-7, with 1 representing a mildly offensive term and 7 representing the most foul term, will advance this work.

The site then lets you input a word/phrase and rate it on a scale from 1 to 7, 1 being the least offensive. In essence, this is crowdsourcing the gathering of foul/offensive terms so that computers can better detect them. This is probably done for worthy causes: Public Comment Analysis Toolkit [pdf], another tool from the same project at UMA aims at "enabling government officials to listen to and engage with the American public about regulations that impact their lives and businesses" (via regulations.gov).

I can only imagine how useful such technology could be for identifying the next generation of dissidents in China or Iran. It’s a funny world we live in: every tweet is potentially a "precursor of aggressive behavior"…

Evgeny Morozov is a fellow at the Open Society Institute and sits on the board of OSI's Information Program. He writes the Net Effect blog on ForeignPolicy.com

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.