US Govt Funds AI-Surveillance Program for Covid-Era Social Media Emotions.

The⁤ National Science Foundation Funds ⁤AI-Based Database on COVID-19 ​Discussions

The National Science Foundation’s Division of Social and Economic Sciences has awarded $196,890 to Mississippi State University for the creation of an AI-based database analyzing how people used social media to discuss Covid-19.

The program, titled “RAPID:⁢ Analyses of Emotions Expressed in Social Media and Forums During the COVID-19⁢ Pandemic,” aims to establish⁤ a database that records emotions linked to virtual threats⁣ and investigates the connection between negative ​emotions during the pandemic and regional variation and socioeconomic status.

NSF Award Search_ Award # 2… by The Federalist

“The data will permit⁤ analyses of risks such as sharing of more personal information ​online, misinformation‌ initiation and spread, relaxed security preferences, and insider threat,” reads the award’s abstract.

The program aims ​to advance science by providing ⁢insights for‌ community response and policymaking during pandemics, focusing on the link between emotions and local and regional social and⁤ geographic factors.

Using artificial intelligence and data science techniques, the researchers⁢ processed and analyzed nearly​ 15,000,000 social⁤ media posts collected from 10-15 platforms from December 2019 to December 2020.

The platforms included mainstream sites like ⁢YouTube, Reddit, ⁣Tumblr, pre-Musk Twitter, and‌ Flickr, as well as⁣ Parler, Gab, 8kun, 4chan, and Mastadon.

[READ:‍[READ:Big Tech Oligarchs Collude To ​Ban ⁢Parler⁤ From Internet​ And Phones]

According to the grant’s project outcomes report, the researchers‍ found that emotions ⁢were associated with pandemic events and varied based on social institutions such as churches, hospitals, and ⁤schools. They were able to identify⁤ clusters​ of negative emotions‌ and the influence of misinformation on perceptions of vaccinations and the Covid-19 virus.

The report emphasizes the importance of examining social media platforms’ role in shaping information sharing, storytelling, and the presence of misinformation and counter-misinformation.

Researchers‌ also utilized data from the U.S. Census,‌ county-level voting patterns, public health intervention data, and Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index to build⁢ a comprehensive database on emotions related to Covid-19.

Missouri State University did not provide a comment at the time of publication.

Starting in 2019, the National Science Foundation also funded ‍YR Media,⁣ a nonprofit based in Oakland, California, to teach “underrepresented”‌ and “underserved” youth how to integrate⁣ critical theory with artificial intelligence technologies.

[READ:[READ:U.S. Government ‌Spent Millions​ Teaching ‘Underrepresented Youth’ To Integrate ​AI With Critical Theory]

Samuel Mangold-Lenett is a staff ⁤editor ⁣at The Federalist. His ⁤writing‌ has been featured in the Daily ⁤Wire, ‌Townhall, The American Spectator, and other outlets. He​ is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. Follow him on Twitter @smlenett.