Lived experience over liked algorithms: The enduring primacy of human agency in peacebuilding

I was invited by the Social Research Institute at Chulalongkorn University (Thailand's top university, and very highly ranked globally) to deliver a presentation on artificial intelligence, and peacebuilding on the sidelines of the 3rd UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics that was also held in Bangkok. The organisers wanted something written to include in what's … Continue reading Lived experience over liked algorithms: The enduring primacy of human agency in peacebuilding →

The perils of AI utopianism: A critique of AI’s role in challenging authoritarianism

ificial intelligence as a potent tool for democracy advocates worldwide. Drawing on ideas from Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei's consequential October 2024 essay Machines of Loving Grace, Prior explains how AI systems programmed with democratic values could function as digital advisers for activists, essentially creating a "ChatMLK" that synthesises wisdom from nonviolent resistance literature. Prior warns … Continue reading The perils of AI utopianism: A critique of AI’s role in challenging authoritarianism →

From English to Sinhala, and Tamil: The potential of Google NotebookLM’s intellectual capital redistribution

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" is the most famous of the late science fiction doyen Arthur C Clarke's three laws. That, in a nutshell, is what Google's NotebookLM was, and it's now even more magical. As of 29 April, NotebookLM, including the podcast generation, is available in 50 languages, including Sinhala, and … Continue reading From English to Sinhala, and Tamil: The potential of Google NotebookLM’s intellectual capital redistribution →

ICODR podcast: Sanjana Hattotuwa on technology, disinformation, and peace

Screenshot The ICODR Podcast, from the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution (icodr.org), covers the rapidly growing field of online dispute resolution. Hosted by Ian Macduff, the podcast interviews ODR experts from around the world to discuss the latest developments in the field, with an eye to ethics, culture, security, and impartiality. I joined the … Continue reading ICODR podcast: Sanjana Hattotuwa on technology, disinformation, and peace →

Sri Lanka’s 2022 Aragalaya studied through social media lenses

Delivered a lecture on 6 March 2023 over a Twitter Space, moderated by Priyanga Hettiarachi, on my study of Sri Lanka's Aragalaya over 2022. Download the complete slidedeck here or as a PDF here. You'll need to have the Powerpoint open to follow along with the lecture. Note that the Powerpoint version has video, and … Continue reading Sri Lanka’s 2022 Aragalaya studied through social media lenses →

The nature and nurture of disinformation

First published on the ICT4Peace Foundation website. ### For us the land is matrix and destroyer,Resentful, darkly knownBy sunset omens, low words heard in branches.— Poem in the Matukituki Valley, James K. Baxter “In the woods we return to reason and faith.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson Aotearoa New Zealand’s inaugural hui on countering terrorism and violent extremism, He … Continue reading The nature and nurture of disinformation →

Addressing the Infodemic

First published on ICT4Peace Foundation website. Meaningful policymaking to fight the swelling seed, spread and supremacy of misinformation benefits from data and evidence alive to socio-political realities. A new report from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Classification Office does precisely this. ‘The Edge of the Infodemic’ presents a snapshot of the country’s media and information ecologies in … Continue reading Addressing the Infodemic →

Roles of media in peacebuilding & conflict generation

Was invited by Associate Professor SungYong Lee at NCPACS to deliver a guest lecture to his 2021 MA class on media's role in peacebuilding violent conflict generation. Speaking first around the nature of my doctoral research over three years at the Centre, I covered the specific geographic, socio-political focus of my research and at a … Continue reading Roles of media in peacebuilding & conflict generation →