Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Bias: An Attractive Opportunity for the Far-Right

Nov 26, 2024 - CTInsight

By Daniel E. Levenson

With the rapid integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology into everyday life, the appeal of AI-powered apps and algorithms to violent extremists, including those on the far-right, is not hard to imagine.

Addressing potential malicious use of this technology requires an understanding that it is both the potential for creation and dissemination of extremist material at scale that is worrisome, as well as the ways in which cognitive biases on the receiving end among social media consumers play a role in the “stickiness” of this material.

Whether these customers would go on to become hard-core white supremacists was perhaps somewhat beside the point – if the leaders in the movement could fill a room, offer a tool for in-group social cohesion, and implicitly help to normalize their extremist views, it was likely a win for them.

Pushing back against violent extremist exploitation of any technology is not easy, and at first glance, an honest appraisal of the situation leads to the conclusion that it is highly unlikely we will ever be able to fully prevent violent extremists from leveraging any kind of emerging technology, including AI. Furthermore, on the receiving end, far too many people around the globe seem to have made the consumption of far-right digital sophistry a regular habit, with reckless insouciance. The net result is a self-perpetuating cycle of normalization of the fringe, and it appears to be quite entrenched at this point.

To continue reading please click here.