NSF Government Grants - Raw Data

Receipt Name Grant Amount Start Date Grant Description
III:SMALL: A NOVEL MACHINE LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR COMBATING MISINFORMATION IN REAL LIFE -WIDESPREAD MISINFORMATION HAS BEEN PERSISTENTLY OBSERVED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, RAISING SIGNIFICANT
1 University of Southern $500K 11/1/2022 CHALLENGES TO SOCIETY. MISINFORMATION INVOLVES RAPIDLY EVOLVING TOPICS AND SOPHISTICATED COORDINATION AMONG BAD ACTORS. EXISTING TECHNIQUES TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION HAVE ACHIEVED
California SUCCESS TO A LIMITED EXTENT. THEY STRUGGLE TO ELIMINATE FALSE AND MISLEADING CONTENT IN A TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE MANNER. ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS THE DIFFICULTY OF QUANTIFYING THE IMPACTS OF
MISINFORMATION. IN THIS PROJECT, A NOVEL MACHINE-LEARNING FRAMEWORK WILL BE DEVELOPED BY LEVERAGING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN MACHINE LEARNING. IT WILL ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF
MISINFORMATION PROPAGATION PATTERNS, PRODUCE EFFECTIVE ALGORITHMS FOR MISINFORMATION DETECTION, AND HELP BUILD A SECURE AND TRUSTWORTHY CYBERSPACE. A RANGE OF OUTREACH ACTIVITIES WILL
BE PURSUED TO BROADEN PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING FOR WOMEN AND OTHER UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. TUTORIALS AND COURSES WILL BE PROVIDED TO BROADCAST THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES. THE
PROJECT WILL ADVANCE BOTH MACHINE-LEARNING METHODOLOGIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE INSIGHTS, LEADING TO EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE MISINFORMATION AND MANIPULATION IN A TIMELY, SCALABLE, AND
EFFECTIVE MANNER.THREE RESEARCH THRUSTS WILL BE PURSUED IN THIS PROJECT. THE FIRST THRUST DEVELOPS A REINFORCEMENT-LEARNING-BASED SOLUTION USING NEWS-SOURCE CREDIBILITY ANALYSIS TO
MINIMIZE HUMAN LABELING EFFORTS IN CONSTRUCTING LARGE-SCALE MISINFORMATION DATASETS. THE SECOND THRUST DEVELOPS AN UNSUPERVISED COORDINATION DETECTION METHOD BASED ON KNOWLEDGE-
INFORMED MACHINE-LEARNING MODELS TO IDENTIFY COORDINATED BEHAVIORS AMONG BAD ACTORS. THE THIRD THRUST DEVELOPS NOVEL COUNTERFACTUAL ANALYSIS MODELS TO IDENTIFY CAUSAL FACTORS AND
EVALUATE THE ESTIMATED EFFECTS OF MISINFORMATION. A COLLECTION OF LARGE-SCALE DATASETS OF MISINFORMATION ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS WILL BE SHARED WITH THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. THIS AWARD
REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: CO-DESIGNING FOR TRUST: REIMAGINING ONLINE INFORMATION LITERACIES WITH UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES -MISINFORMATION ? INACCURATE OR MISLEADING
2 University of Washington $2.6 Million 10/1/2022 INFORMATION ? HAS EMERGED AS A GROWING THREAT TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY SINCE IT UNDERMINES CITIZEN TRUST IN PUBLIC INFORMATION AND INSTITUTIONS. IT OFTEN DOES SO BY EXPLOITING PERSONAL
BELIEFS, EMOTIONS, AND IDENTITY, THEREBY TRIGGERING RESPONSES THAT EXPAND SOCIAL DIVIDES AND ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO ACTIVELY RESIST COMPETING CLAIMS. SOLUTIONS MUST NOT ONLY PROVIDE THE
PUBLIC WITH SKILLS FOR DETERMINING THE TRUTHFULNESS OF CLAIMS, BUT MUST ALSO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR ADDRESSING THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACTS OF MISINFORMATION. THIS REQUIRES A
FUNDAMENTAL REIMAGINING OF OUR APPROACH TO DIGITAL LITERACY, SO THAT IT IS BETTER GROUNDED IN THE EVERYDAY REALITIES OF THE COMMUNITIES MOST IMPACTED BY MISINFORMATION. THIS IS PARTICULARLY
TRUE FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, WHO ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY TARGETED BY MISINFORMATION. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THIS NEED BY CREATING LOCAL SOLUTIONS ALONGSIDE DIGITAL LITERACY
INTERVENTIONISTS ? THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, LIBRARIANS, TEACHERS, AND OTHERS ALREADY FOCUSED ON PROVIDING FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATION TO ADDRESS MISINFORMATION WITHIN THEIR
COMMUNITIES. THE PROJECT WILL BUILD COMMUNITY-ORIENTED INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ENABLES UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES TO DESIGN, COLLABORATE ON, AND SHARE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES THAT ADDRESS
MISINFORMATION. IT WILL LEVERAGE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WITH DIGITAL LITERACY INTERVENTIONISTS TO CREATE LOCALLY-CONTEXTUALIZED DIGITAL LITERACY RESOURCES FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES AND BLACK,
INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC) COMMUNITIES. IT WILL ALSO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PLATFORM THAT SUPPORTS DIGITAL LITERACY INTERVENTIONISTS TO ENGAGE IN THE ONGOING
DESIGN OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AS A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP). THIS PLATFORM WILL ALLOW US TO SCALE AND SUSTAIN THE WORK TO GENERATE AN ENDURING IMPACT ON HOW THE NATION ADDRESSES
MISINFORMATION. ULTIMATELY, THIS PROJECT WILL GENERATE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW PARTICIPATORY DESIGN PROCESSES CAN BE DEVELOPED TO SCALE LOCAL INTERVENTIONS. IT WILL ALSO ADVANCE OUR
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXTS AND KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS CAN SHAPE DIGITAL LITERACY INTERVENTIONS, SO THAT THESE INTERVENTIONS ARE BETTER ABLE TO MOTIVATE AND SUPPORT
DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AS THEY RESIST MISINFORMATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S
INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
EAGER: DEVELOPING DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR NETWORK-SCALE APPLICATIONS DERIVED FROM INTERNET THINKING AND THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES. -THE INTERNET IS A PLATFORM THAT MOVES INFORMATION BETWEEN
3 MIT $300K 10/1/2022 ENDPOINTS. BUT TRANSPORT SERVICE ALONE IS MEANINGLESS TO USERS. IT IS INTERNET APPLICATIONS THAT CONTROL THE CHARACTER OF USER EXPERIENCE: WITHOUT THEM THE INTERNET WOULD BE OF SCANT
VALUE TO MOST. WHILE APPLICATIONS CREATE THE USER EXPERIENCE, THEIR DESIGN IS AN UNDER-STUDIED TOPIC. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EAGER IS TO GAIN DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO BRIDGE THE GAP
BETWEEN DATA TRANSPORT AND USER GOALS?AND HOW ALTERNATIVE DESIGN DECISIONS MIGHT BETTER SERVE USERS. TO BETTER SUPPORT APPLICATIONS THERE MUST BE A MORE METHODICAL CONSIDERATION OF
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. SOME REQUIREMENTS ARE FULLY TECHNICAL: IMPROVING PERFORMANCE AND RESILIENCE OR ENSURING GREATER SECURITY OF DATA TRANSPORT. HOWEVER, THE MOST IMPORTANT AND
LEAST WELL-UNDERSTOOD ARE THOSE THAT DERIVE FROM THEIR ROLE IN SHAPING THE QUALITY OF INTERNET EXPERIENCE. ONE LINE OF INQUIRY MUST BEGIN ?TOP DOWN?, SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND THE WAYS IN
WHICH DESIGN CHOICES IMPACT BEHAVIOR. CURRENT INTERNET APPLICATIONS BRING GREAT BENEFIT TO SOCIETY, BUT THEY ALSO ENABLE GREAT HARMS (E.G., EROSION OF PRIVACY, THE FAST AND WIDE SPREAD OF
DISINFORMATION, IDENTITY THEFT, THE BALKANIZATION OF SOCIETY INTO DISCONNECTED, MUTUALLY HOSTILE CAMPS, ETC.) THIS EAGER PROPOSES TO FOCUS ON THIS QUESTION: CAN WE IDENTIFY DESIGN
APPROACHES THAT REDUCE THE POTENTIAL FOR HARM AND CREATE A MORE BENIGN INTERNET EXPERIENCE? WHAT WOULD THESE ALTERNATE DESIGN PRINCIPLES IMPLY FOR APPLICATION SUPPORT, AND EVEN FOR
CORE FEATURES OF THE NETWORK? THIS RESEARCH IS TIMELY, BECAUSE THE INTERNET AND SOCIETY SIT AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE. GOVERNMENTS ARE MOVING TO IMPOSE A RANGE OF REGULATIONS ON INTERNET
SERVICE PROVIDERS OR APPLICATION PROVIDERS (AKA THE BIG TECH PLAYERS). HISTORICAL REGULATORY STRATEGIES (E.G., ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT) MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE IN THIS CONTEXT. THEY MAY HAVE
ONLY A LIMITED OR INDIRECT IMPACT ON APPLICATION DESIGN. IF REGULATION IS TO MITIGATE THE HARMS LISTED ABOVE, IT MUST BE BASED ON A GRASP OF HOW DECISIONS MADE DURING APPLICATION DESIGN SHAPE
USER BEHAVIOR. REGULATORS NEED A TOOLBOX CONTAINING INSIGHTS AND PRACTICAL STRATEGIES TO BE EFFECTIVE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INSPIRE THE CREATION OF SUCH A TOOLBOX. THE
CHALLENGE IS ONLY PARTIALLY SHAPED BY TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS. ONLINE BEHAVIOR IS, ABOVE ALL, A MANIFESTATION OF INNATELY HUMAN MOTIVES AND BEHAVIOR PATTERNS. THUS, THE STRATEGY TO
ADDRESS THE HUMAN ASPECTS OF THE REQUIREMENTS INCLUDES A CAREFUL SCAN OF RESEARCH RESULTS FROM THE BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE COMPUTER SCIENCES. THE OUTPUT WILL BE A
FRAMEWORK THAT EXPLORES THE WAYS IN WHICH HUMAN BEHAVIOR EMERGES UNDER DIFFERENT DESIGN CONDITIONS. THE RESULTS FROM THESE INQUIRIES WILL OFFER FRESH INSIGHTS AND OPTIONS FOR ACTION
THAT WILL, IN TURN, LEAD TO A MORE BENIGN ONLINE EXPERIENCE FOR ALL. TASKS INCLUDED IN THE EAGER INCLUDE: O SUMMARIZING A BODY OF RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE: O AS AN INITIAL CASE STUDY OF SOCIETAL
HARMS, FOCUSING ON DISINFORMATION; BASED ON INSIGHTS FROM THAT TOPIC, GENERATING TO OTHER EXAMPLES WHERE THE INSIGHTS ARE APPLICABLE; O DEVELOPING A SERIES OF PROPOSED DESIGN PRINCIPLES
TO FOSTER PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR ONLINE. THESE WILL SPECIFY THE APPLICATION SUPPORT SERVICES ASSOCIATED WITH SELECT REQUIREMENTS, AND - IF POSSIBLE - PROPOSALS FOR CHANGES TO THE INTERNET
ITSELF; AND FINALLY; O TRANSLATING THE SUMMARY INTO A FORM MORE ACCESSIBLE (E.G., COMPREHENSIBLE) TO THE TECHNICAL COMMUNITY. WITH THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW GENERATION OF INTERACTIVE
APPLICATIONS (E.G., ENHANCED AND /OR VIRTUAL REALITY), THERE WILL BE UNFORESEEN CHALLENGES IN THE ARENAS OF AUTHENTICITY, QUALITY, AND DYNAMICS OF ONLINE EXPERIENCE. BY INTERWEAVING
COMPUTER, BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, WORK UNDER THIS EAGER GRANT WILL GO BEYOND THE STUDY OF DISINFORMATION TO IDENTIFY PRACTICAL STEPS APPLICABLE TO A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS
AND THEIR USES TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF AN OPEN, CIVIL SOCIETY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE
FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EAGER: CROSS-PLATFORM ELECTION ADVERTISING TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE -NEARLY $2 BILLION WAS SPENT ON DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION IN 2020,
4 Bowdoin College $20K 10/1/2022 AND ONLINE ADVERTISING IS ONLY EXPECTED TO GROW. CAMPAIGNS? RAPID SHIFT TO DIGITAL, HOWEVER, HAS CAUSED HEADACHES FOR THOSE WHO TRACK POLITICAL ADVERTISING. THE DATA PROVIDED BY ONLINE
PLATFORMS, SUCH AS FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE, COME IN DIFFERENT FORMATS, CONTAIN DIFFERENT COLLECTIONS THAT ARE NOT IMMEDIATELY COMPARABLE, AND LACK METADATA NECESSARY TO FIND ALL ADS
RELATED TO A SPECIFIC CAMPAIGN FOR OFFICE, ALL ADS FEATURING A SPECIFIC CANDIDATE, OR ALL ADS WITHIN EITHER SET THAT DISCUSS A SPECIFIC ISSUE. THE SHEER VOLUME OF CONTENT REQUIRES THE USE OF
COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO EXTRACT THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO ANSWER EVEN BASIC DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS SUCH AS HOW MUCH MONEY WAS SPENT ONLINE IN A PARTICULAR RACE OR ACROSS ALL
FEDERAL RACES. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES THE INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY TO ANSWER CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY, INCLUDING THE EXTENT TO WHICH
?DARK MONEY? DOMINATES CAMPAIGNS, AND THE SPREAD AND REACH OF MISINFORMATION IN CAMPAIGNS. THE PROJECT TEAM IS BUILDING EXPANDABLE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ACQUIRE, PROCESS, INTEGRATE, LABEL,
AND DISTRIBUTE DIGITAL ELECTION ADVERTISING DATA FROM TWO LARGE ONLINE PLATFORMS. THE RESULT IS A CENTRALIZED REPOSITORY THAT PROVIDES ROBUST DOCUMENTATION OF ALL PROCEDURES AND CODE
SUCH THAT THEY CAN BE MODIFIED TO APPLY TO OTHER PLATFORMS AND CONTEXTS FOR EXPANSION. CROSS-PLATFORM INTEGRATION AND STANDARDIZATION OF DIGITAL ELECTION ADVERTISING DATA THROUGH
HUMAN AND STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTATIONAL METHODS REDUCES COSTS TO INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS, PROVIDES PARALLEL PROCEDURES ALREADY IN PLACE FOR ANALYZING TV ADVERTISING (AND THUS
MAXIMIZING COMPARABILITY TO EXISTING DATA), PROVIDES LINKAGE INFORMATION TO OTHER DATA SOURCES, AND PRODUCES ACCESSIBLE DATA TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY. ACCOMPLISHING THIS AIM IS A HIGH RISK-
HIGH REWARD ENDEAVOR. FOR INSTANCE, NEW APPROACHES OR METHODS ARE NEEDED TO CAPTURE AND LABEL RELEVANT ADVERTISING BY FOCUS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE TRUE SPONSOR IS UNCLEAR OR DISGUISED.
THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
5 Washington State University $20K 10/1/2022 AND ONLINE ADVERTISING IS ONLY EXPECTED TO GROW. CAMPAIGNS? RAPID SHIFT TO DIGITAL, HOWEVER, HAS CAUSED HEADACHES FOR THOSE WHO TRACK POLITICAL ADVERTISING. THE DATA PROVIDED BY ONLINE
6 Wesleyan University $260K 10/1/2022 AND ONLINE ADVERTISING IS ONLY EXPECTED TO GROW. CAMPAIGNS? RAPID SHIFT TO DIGITAL, HOWEVER, HAS CAUSED HEADACHES FOR THOSE WHO TRACK POLITICAL ADVERTISING. THE DATA PROVIDED BY ONLINE
SATC: CORE: SMALL: WHEN AND FROM WHOM REMINDER-BASED CORRECTIONS OF EVERYDAY MISINFORMATION IMPROVE MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY -MISINFORMATION SHARED VIA NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA
7 University of North Carolina $450K 10/1/2022 PLATFORMS HAS NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. FOR EXAMPLE, MISINFORMATION ABOUT SAFE AND EFFECTIVE COVID VACCINES HAS REDUCED INTENT TO RECEIVE THEM. WEBSITES HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO COUNTERACT
Chapel Hill MISINFORMATION BY INDICATING CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION. BUT THIS APPROACH MAY NOT ALWAYS BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE REMINDING PEOPLE OF MISINFORMATION CAN MAKE IT MORE BELIEVABLE. THE PROJECT
TEAM IS EVALUATING A REMINDING TECHNIQUE THAT RECENTLY IMPROVED MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY IN INTERNET NEWS HEADLINES IN COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WERE IMMEDIATELY TESTED. THE PROJECT
ADVANCES AREAS OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES BY REVEALING THE MENTAL PROCESSES THAT IMPROVE MEMORY AND BELIEF ACCURACY FOR EVERYDAY NEWS. THIS COULD BENEFIT PUBLIC HEALTH AND
NATIONAL DEFENSE BY ESTABLISHING WHETHER THIS IMPLEMENTABLE METHOD COUNTERACTS HEALTH-BASED AND OTHER MISINFORMATION THAT CAN BE PROPAGATED BY FOREIGN SOURCES. THIS PROJECT
SUPPORTS THE EDUCATION OF A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY BY BEING CONDUCTED AT A UNIVERSITY THAT EMPHASIZES STUDENT RESEARCH TRAINING AND ATTRACTS STUDENTS FROM MANY BACKGROUNDS. BOTH
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS ARE TRAINING IN THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR STEM CAREERS. THE CURRENT PROJECT IS
EXAMINING WHETHER BENEFITS OF MISINFORMATION REMINDERS GENERALIZE TO VARIOUS SITUATION IN REPRESENTATIVE US SAMPLES. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT IS TESTING IF THE BENEFITS EXTEND FROM:
PRESENTATION AND TEST DELAYS OF MINUTES TO DAYS, NEWS HEADLINES WITH TEXT AND IMAGES TO PODCASTS AND NEWS VIDEOS, AND PARTISAN-NEUTRAL TO PARTISAN-SPECIFIC INFORMATION SOURCES VARYING IN
PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY. PARTICIPANTS ARE FIRST BEING EXPOSED TO REAL AND FAKE INTERNET NEWS STORY HEADLINES AND THEN LEARNING REAL NEWS CORRECTIONS THAT SOMETIMES APPEAR AFTER
PARTICIPANTS ARE REMINDED OF FAKE NEWS. PARTICIPANTS? RECALL ACCURACY AND BELIEFS IN RECALLED DETAILS ARE THEN BEING TESTED. THE FINDINGS WILL ILLUMINATE WHEN, HOW, AND FROM WHOM
REMINDERS OF EVERYDAY INTERNET-BASED MISINFORMATION EFFECTIVELY PROMOTE ACCURATE MEMORY AND BELIEFS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
CIF: SMALL: MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND CONTROL OF CONTAGION PROCESSES IN NETWORKS -CONTAGION PROCESSES SUCH AS PROPAGATION OF INFLUENCE, INFORMATION, AND VIRUSES CAN HAVE DRAMATIC IMPACTS
8 Carnegie Mellon University $600K 10/1/2022 ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THE SOCIETY. THIS PROJECT WILL REVEAL HOW CONTAGIONS ARE AFFECTED BY VARIOUS FACTORS AND PARAMETERS, SOME OF WHICH CAN BE CONTROLLED BY PUBLIC-POLICY
MEASURES AND BY ADJUSTING INDIVIDUALS? BEHAVIORS. THUS, THE PROJECT CAN HELP IN DEVELOPING EFFICIENT MECHANISMS FOR MITIGATING LARGE-SCALE CONTAGIONS INCLUDING INFECTIOUS-DISEASE
PANDEMICS AND MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS. THE PROJECT CAN ALSO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON NATIONAL SECURITY BY PROVIDING AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE IN SHAPING
POPULAR OPINION AND ACTIONS, AND THEREBY AN IMPROVED CAPABILITY TO PREDICT AND CONTROL SPREAD OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR. THE TEAM OF RESEARCHERS WILL INCORPORATE PROJECT RESULTS IN
TEACHING AND DISSEMINATE THEM BROADLY IN ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL VENUES. THE PROJECT WILL INVOLVE WOMEN AND MINORITY STUDENTS AND WILL INCLUDE EXTENSIVE OUTREACH TO K-12 STUDENTS AND
TEACHERS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP NEW APPROACHES IN MODELING, ANALYSIS, AND CONTROL OF SIMPLE (E.G., SPREAD OF INFORMATION AND DISEASES) AND COMPLEX CONTAGIONS (E.G., SPREAD OF
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS) OVER NETWORKS. FIRST, A NOVEL COMPLEX CONTAGION MODEL WILL BE USED TO STUDY THE SIMULTANEOUS SPREAD OF MULTIPLE CORRELATED OPINIONS. UTILIZING THIS MODEL, THE TEAM
OF RESEARCHERS WILL I) DERIVE FUNDAMENTAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE NETWORK TOPOLOGY, THE CORRELATIONS AMONG OPINIONS, AND THE PROPAGATION DYNAMICS INCLUDING FINAL FRACTION OF INDIVIDUALS
SUPPORTING EACH OPINION; II) REVEAL THE IMPACT OF CORRELATED OPINION PROPAGATION ON THE POLARIZATION IN THE POPULATION; AND III) DEVELOP ALGORITHMS TO EFFICIENTLY CONTROL THE SPREAD OF AN
OPINION WITH CONSTRAINTS ON OTHER OPINIONS AND/OR POLARIZATION. FOR SIMPLE CONTAGIONS, THE TEAM OF RESEARCHERS WILL ANALYZE NOVEL MODELS OF BOTH INFORMATION AND VIRAL SPREAD AND REVEAL
THE IMPACT OF I) MUTATIONS IN THE SPREADING ITEM; AND II) THE HETEROGENEITY IN THE POPULATION, E.G., DUE TO DIFFERENT MASK-WEARING BEHAVIOR, VACCINATION STATUS, OR SOCIO-CULTURAL DIVERSITY, ON
THE CONTAGION DYNAMICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER
IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
SATC: CORE: SMALL: COMBATING AI SYNTHESIZED MEDIA BEYOND DETECTION -RECENT YEARS HAVE SEEN A STARTLING AND TROUBLING RISE OF ONLINE DISINFORMATION. ONE DISCONCERTING FORM OF
9 State University of New York $500K 10/1/2022 DISINFORMATION IS THE MANIPULATION OF IMAGES/AUDIOS/VIDEOS TO IMPERSONATE SOMEONE ELSE. REALISTIC MANIPULATIONS CAN BE GENERATED BY ADVANCED AI TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FORM OF DEEP NEURAL
NETWORKS, AND COMMONLY KNOWN AS DEEPFAKES. DEEPFAKES CAN BE WEAPONIZED TO CAUSE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES. ALTHOUGH DETECTION METHODS HAVE DEMONSTRATED PROMISING PERFORMANCE ON
BENCHMARK DATASETS, THEY ARE NOT ADEQUATE AND HAVE SEVERAL LIMITATIONS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO COMBAT DEEPFAKES MORE EFFECTIVELY AND BEYOND DETECTION WITH ACTIVE AND PROACTIVE
APPROACHES TO ROOT OUT DEEPFAKES AND PROTECT INDIVIDUALS FROM DEEPFAKE ATTACKS. THE ACTIVE AND PROACTIVE APPROACHES TAKE EFFECT BEFORE THE DEEPFAKE IS GENERATED. THE ACTIVE APPROACH
DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE TRAINING OR GENERATION OF DEEPFAKE, WHEREAS THE PROACTIVE APPROACH AIMS TO DISRUPT THESE PROCESSES TO PREVENT THE DEEPFAKE. THIS PROJECT WORK PROVIDES
TIMELY AND NEEDED TECHNOLOGIES TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF DEEPFAKES IN CYBERSPACE AND SOCIETY AT LARGE. THIS PROJECT INCLUDES FOUR MAIN RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. THE FIRST IS TO
STRENGTHEN THE DEFENSE OF CURRENT DEEPFAKE DETECTION METHODS AGAINST ANTI-FORENSIC ATTACKS. THE APPROACH TAKEN HERE IS TO USE RANDOM ENSEMBLE MODELS THAT PROCESS INPUT WITH A
RANDOMLY CHOSEN MEMBER FROM AN INFINITE ENSEMBLE OF CLASSIFICATION MODELS. THE SECOND ACTIVITY AIMS TO ATTRIBUTE A DEEPFAKE TO ITS GENERATION MODEL, I.E., RECOVER THE SPECIFIC MEANS THAT A
DEEPFAKE IS CREATED. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT TRACING A DEEPFAKE'S ORIGIN AND AUTHOR. IN THE THIRD ACTIVITY, THE RESEARCH EFFORT IS FOCUSED ON THE METHODS THAT ACTIVELY ADD TRACES TO
SYNTHESIZED DEEPFAKES BY CONTAMINATING THE TRAINING DATA. THE FOURTH ACTIVITY OF THIS PROJECT FURTHER STUDIES METHODS THAT CAN OBSTRUCT DEEPFAKE GENERATION BY USING DATA POISONING TO
SABOTAGE THE TRAINING PROCESS. THE POISONED DATA WILL LEAD TO REDUCED EFFICIENCY AND LOW-QUALITY DEEPFAKES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: COURSE CORRECT: PRECISION GUIDANCE AGAINST MISINFORMATION -THE NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR SUPPORTS USE-INSPIRED, TEAM-BASED, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
10 University of Wisconsin $2.4 Million 9/15/2022 EFFORTS THAT ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE AND WILL PRODUCE DELIVERABLES OF VALUE TO SOCIETY IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THIS PROJECT, COURSE CORRECT?PRECISION GUIDANCE AGAINST
MISINFORMATION, IS A FLEXIBLE AND DYNAMIC DIGITAL DASHBOARD THAT WILL HELP END USERS SUCH AS JOURNALISTS TO (1) IDENTIFY TRENDING MISINFORMATION NETWORKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE
TWITTER, FACEBOOK, AND TIKTOK, (2) STRATEGICALLY CORRECT MISINFORMATION WITHIN THE FLOW OF WHERE IT IS MOST PREVALENT ONLINE AND (3) TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CORRECTIONS IN REAL TIME. IN
PHASE II, COURSE CORRECT WILL PARTNER WITH LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS AND FACT-CHECKING ORGANIZATIONS TO TEST HOW WELL THE COURSE CORRECT DIGITAL DASHBOARD HELPS
JOURNALISTS DETECT MISINFORMATION, CORRECT MISINFORMATION, SHARE MESSAGE INTERVENTIONS CONTAINING THE VERIFIABLE TRUTH INTO MISINFORMATION NETWORKS, AND VERIFYING THE SUCCESS OF THE
CORRECTIONS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO (1) EXTEND OUR USE OF COMPUTATIONAL MEANS TO DETECT MISINFORMATION, USING MULTIMODAL SIGNAL DETECTION OF LINGUISTIC AND VISUAL FEATURES SURROUNDING
ISSUES SUCH AS VACCINE HESITANCY AND ELECTORAL SKEPTICISM, COUPLED WITH NETWORK ANALYTIC METHODS TO PINPOINT KEY MISINFORMATION DIFFUSERS AND CONSUMERS; (2) CONTINUE DEVELOPING A/B-
TESTED CORRECTION STRATEGIES AGAINST MISINFORMATION, SUCH AS OBSERVATIONAL CORRECTION, USING AD PROMOTION INFRASTRUCTURE AND RANDOMIZED MESSAGE DELIVERY TO OPTIMIZE EFFICACY FOR
COUNTERING MISINFORMATION; (3) DISSEMINATE AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EVIDENCE-BASED CORRECTIONS USING VARIOUS SCALABLE INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS BY CONDUCTING SMALL, RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIALS WITHIN AFFECTED NETWORKS, FOCUSING ON DIFFUSERS, NOT PRODUCERS OF MISINFORMATION AND WHETHER OUR INTERVENTION SYSTEM CAN
REDUCE THE MISINFORMATION UPTAKE AND SHARING WITHIN THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS; AND (4) SCALE COURSE CORRECT INTO LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL NEWSROOMS, GUIDED BY DOZENS OF
INTERVIEWS AND ONGOING COLLABORATIONS WITH JOURNALISTS, AS WELL AS TECH DEVELOPERS AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERS. BY THE END OF PHASE II, COURSE CORRECT INTENDS TO HAVE FURTHER DEVELOPED THE
DIGITAL DASHBOARD IN WAYS THAT COULD ULTIMATELY BE ADOPTED BY OTHER END USERS SUCH AS PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS, AND COMMERCIAL OUTLETS. THIS AWARD
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: EXPERT VOICES TOGETHER: BUILDING TRUST IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS BY ADDRESSING ONLINE ABUSE AND HARASSMENT -THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE LINKS
11 George Washington $2.7 Million 9/15/2022 BETWEEN TWO SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS IMPACTING TRUST IN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS: (1) THE BROAD AND RAPID SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION AND (2) ABUSE AND HARASSMENT DIRECTED AT
University MEMBERS OF EXPERT COMMUNITIES. MISINFORMATION-DRIVEN HARASSMENT CAMPAIGNS HAVE PARTICULARLY LARGE IMPACTS ON THOSE AT THE FOREFRONT OF EFFORTS TO ACCURATELY INFORM THE PUBLIC,
INCLUDING JOURNALISTS, SCIENTISTS, AND PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS. AS A RESULT, THIS HARASSMENT UNDERMINES CONFIDENCE IN PIVOTAL SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE AND REDUCES EXPERT PARTICIPATION IN THE
INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP EXPERT VOICES TOGETHER (EVT), A SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES REAL-TIME SUPPORT TO EXPERTS EXPERIENCING ONLINE HARASSMENT. THE
PROJECT WILL INITIALLY FOCUS ON SUPPORTING JOURNALISTS, LATER EXPANDING ITS REACH TO OTHER EXPERT COMMUNITIES. EVT AIMS TO SUPPORT EXPERTS IN MOMENTS OF CRISIS, WHILE ALSO BUILDING
INDIVIDUAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, AND SOCIETAL CAPACITY TO PREVENT AND MITIGATE HARMS FROM ONLINE ABUSE AND HARASSMENT IN THE LONG TERM. THE TEAM OF SCIENTISTS, TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS,
PSYCHOLOGISTS, AS WELL AS CIVIL SOCIETY AND MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES WILL BRING TOGETHER THEIR EXPERTISE IN A WIDE RANGE OF FIELDS?INCLUDING MIS-/DISINFORMATION STUDIES, DATA ETHICS, SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING, EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, CASE MANAGEMENT, JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION PRACTICE AND RESEARCH?TO CREATE A RAPID-RESPONSE
SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS JOURNALISTS AND OTHER EXPERTS FACING ONLINE ABUSE AND HARASSMENT. THE SYSTEM WILL COMPRISE A SECURE, RAPID-RESPONSE TECHNICAL PLATFORM, SUPPORT
FROM TRAINED CASE MANAGERS, AND AN INTERVENTION ?TOOLKIT?. TAILORED TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF EACH USER, THE EVT TOOLKIT WILL OFFER A MENU OF OPTIONS, INCLUDING: (1) PERSONALIZED
ASSISTANCE WITH DIGITAL SAFETY AND SECURITY, (2) SUPPORT MONITORING AND REPORTING ABUSE, AND (3) HELP IDENTIFYING AND BUILDING A COMMUNITY CARE SYSTEM. GROUNDED IN BEST PRACTICES FROM
TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE, THE COMMUNITY CARE SYSTEM IN PARTICULAR IS DESIGNED TO BRING TOGETHER PEERS, FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES, AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE SPECIALISTS WHO CAN PROVIDE
SUPPORT FOR THE EXPERT FACING ONLINE ABUSE, WHILE ALSO HELPING TO BUILD LONG-TERM RESILIENCE WITHIN SOCIAL NETWORKS, INSTITUTIONS, AND SOCIETY AS A WHOLE THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: ONLINE DECEPTION AWARENESS AND RESILIENCE TRAINING (DART) -AS ONE OF THE MOST VEXING PROBLEMS OF THE CENTURY, WE ARE WITNESSING THE ESCALATING
12 State University of New York $2.5 Million 9/15/2022 SPEED, SCALE, AND LEVEL OF SOPHISTICATION OF ONLINE DECEPTION (SPEAR PHISHING AND CATFISHING SCAMS, PERSONAL INFORMATION HUNTING SCHEMES, FAKE CONTENT, IMPERSONATION, AND DISINFORMATION
ON SOCIAL MEDIA) THAT HAVE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES (RANSOMWARE ATTACK, FINANCIAL LOSS, AND BREACH OF PRIVATE INFORMATION). THE MOST VULNERABLE DEMOGRAPHIC IS OLDER ADULTS, WHO ARE
DISPROPORTIONATELY TARGETED FOR ONLINE EXPLOITATION, MANIPULATION, AND FRAUD RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL LOSS AND EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. DECEPTION AWARENESS AND RESILIENCE TRAINING
(DART) AIMS TO EQUIP OLDER ADULTS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO RECOGNIZE VARIOUS FORMS OF ONLINE DECEPTION AND HELP OTHERS IN THEIR SOCIAL CIRCLE AVOID OR MITIGATE HARM. DESIGNED BY EXPERTS
IN EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY, COMMUNICATION, CYBERSECURITY, AND MEDIA STUDIES, THE DART CURRICULUM CONTAINS HIGH-QUALITY AND TIMELY SYNTHETIC CONTENTS AND REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS. THE DART
PROJECT TEAM INCLUDES EXPERTS IN PSYCHOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA, ECONOMICS, CYBERSECURITY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, GAME DESIGN, SYNTHETIC MEDIA, AND AGING STUDIES. DART DELIVERABLES
WILL BE DEVELOPED BY A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEAM AND TESTED WITH OLDER ADULTS. THE DART SYSTEM CONSISTS OF TWO COMPLEMENTARY COMPONENTS: (1) DART LEARN: A WEB-BASED STRUCTURED,
DYNAMIC, AND SELF-PACED LEARNING PROGRAM ON ONLINE DECEPTIONS. (2) DART PRACTICE: AN INTERACTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA SIMULATION THAT PROVIDES A SAFE AND REALISTIC PLATFORM FOR THE USERS TO
PRACTICE WHAT THEY LEARNED ABOUT ONLINE DECEPTION. (3) DART PLAY: A SET OF SIMPLE, FUN MOBILE GAMES ON MOBILE PLATFORMS (IOS AND ANDROID) DESIGNED TO FAMILIARIZE OLDER ADULTS WITH COMMON
DECEPTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW
CRITERIA.
REU SITE: BROADENING ACCESS TO TEXT ANALYTICS FOR SOCIAL SCIENTISTS -THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED FROM THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU) SITES PROGRAM IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR
13 Syracuse University $437K 9/15/2022 SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES. IT HAS BOTH SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIETAL BENEFITS, AND INTEGRATES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THIS SUMMER RESIDENTIAL EXPERIENCE PROVIDES MENTORSHIP,
RESEARCH METHODS TRAINING, AND DATA SETS FOR GROUPS OF UNDERGRADUATES FROM DIVERSE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL BACKGROUNDS AND FROM A RANGE OF U.S COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. THE SITE
EDUCATES STUDENTS ON COMPUTERIZED METHODS FOR ANALYZING LARGE DATA SETS OF TEXT OBTAINED FROM THE INTERNET AND OTHER SOURCES. THE SITE PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS TO TEST
THEIR NEW SKILLS ON ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS. THE SITE ACTIVITIES OCCUR AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES WHICH HAS EXCELLED FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS AT PROVIDING
EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACTS ON INDUSTRY, EDUCATION, AND OTHER SECTORS. LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR THE STUDENTS IN THIS REU SITE INCLUDE RESEARCH METHODS
WORKSHOPS, DATA ETHICS SEMINARS, TRAINING ON SEVERAL SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. STUDENTS ASK AND ANSWER IMPACTFUL RESEARCH QUESTIONS USING
DATA SETS PROVIDED BY THEIR FACULTY MENTORS. STUDENTS PRESENT THEIR OWN RESEARCH RESULTS IN THE FINAL WEEK. EVERY STUDENT IS ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT THEIR RESEARCH TO AN APPROPRIATE
RESEARCH CONFERENCE AFTER COMPLETION OF THE EXPERIENCE. STUDENTS FROM PRIOR SUMMERS CONTINUE THEIR INVOLVEMENT THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN A SUPPORTIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY TO OBTAIN PEER
AND MENTOR SUPPORT. STUDENTS ACHIEVE THEIR LEARNING GOALS IN THIS REU SITE BY AFFILIATING THEMSELVES WITH ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS BEING CONDUCTED BY SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY FACULTY MEMBERS
AND THEIR DOCTORAL MENTEES. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION STUDIES FACULTY MEMBERS CONDUCT RESEARCH ON HUMAN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGIES, COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE, SOCIAL MEDIA,
DISINFORMATION, HUMAN-CENTERED COMPUTING, AND A VARIETY OF RELATED TOPICS. THESE RESEARCH PROJECTS TYPICALLY OFFER VOLUMINOUS DATA SETS THAT REU STUDENTS CAN EXPLORE AS THEY DEVELOP
THEIR TECHNICAL SKILLS WITH PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES, DATA MINING METHODS, STATISTICS, LINGUISTICS, AND DEEP LEARNING. A KEY GOAL OF THE REU SITE LIES IN ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO SUSTAIN THEIR
RESEARCH INTERESTS IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR SUBSEQUENT EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES UPON RETURN TO THEIR HOME INSTITUTIONS. THE PROJECT CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CAPABLE STEM
WORKFORCE FOR THE U.S., INSOFAR AS THE ABILITY TO ANALYZE NATURAL LANGUAGE TEXT WITH COMPUTERS HAS BECOME A MISSION-CRITICAL SKILL IN MANY SECTORS. SOME STUDENTS MAY ALSO PROGRESS TO
RESEARCH CAREERS WHERE THEY DEVELOP INSIGHTS INTO INTERNET-RELATED SOCIAL PHENOMENA THAT IMPACT MANY PEOPLE?S LIVES. UPON RETURN TO THEIR HOME INSTITUTIONS, STUDENTS CAN DEMONSTRATE
THE NEW METHODS AND TOOLS THEY HAVE LEARNED AND INSPIRE OTHERS TO TRY THEM. THIS SITE IS SUPPORTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ASSURE PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NSF REU PROGRAM.
III: SMALL: PURPOSEFUL CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS BASED ON HIERARCHICAL KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS -THERE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS PROGRESS RECENTLY IN THE AREA OF OPEN DOMAIN CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS
14 State University of New York $567K 9/1/2022 (CA), ALSO REFERRED TO AS CHATBOTS OR SOCIALBOTS, BY LEVERAGING NEURAL RESPONSE GENERATORS AND LARGE, DIVERSE TRAINING CORPORA. THE RECENT ALEXA PRIZE COMPETITION RESULTED IN SOCIALBOTS
THAT CAN ENGAGE IN PROLONGED CONVERSATIONS ON ANY TOPIC, PAVING THE WAY FOR MEANINGFUL USE. THESE SYSTEMS ARE LIMITED TO CHITCHAT, WHERE THE CONVERSATION MEANDERS FROM TOPIC TO TOPIC
WITHOUT ANY SPECIFIC GOAL. THERE IS NOW AN OPPORTUNITY (AND NEED) TO DEVELOP MODELS FOR PURPOSEFUL CONVERSATIONS, MOTIVATED BY SOCIETAL GOALS. THIS FACILITATES COMPELLING SOLUTIONS SUCH
AS CHATBOTS TO ASSIST WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, PROVIDING COMPANIONSHIP TO SENIOR CITIZENS, AND EVEN COMBATING DISINFORMATION. CAS CAN BE CONFIGURED FOR DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, DIVERSE
AND MULTILINGUAL POPULATIONS AND THUS HOLD GREAT POTENTIAL TO ADDRESS SOCIETAL PROBLEMS AT SCALE. REALIZING THIS GOAL REQUIRES ADVANCES ON MULTIPLE FRONTS, INCLUDING ETHICAL ISSUES AND
TRUSTWORTHINESS. THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES TWO KEY TECHNICAL CHALLENGES. FIRST, THE PROJECT ELIMINATES ARTIFACTS OF NEURAL RESPONSE GENERATION SUCH AS INCONSISTENCY, INCOHERENCE, AND
REPETITION. THESE RESPONSES DIMINISH THE TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SOCIALBOTS AND HENCE THEIR IMPACT. SECOND, THE PROJECT ADDRESSES THE COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR PURPOSEFUL
CONVERSATIONS, SPECIFICALLY, PERSUASION. THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A FULLY FUNCTIONAL CA, THAT INCORPORATES FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE, LOGICAL REASONING, AND CONVERSATIONAL STRATEGIES FOUND IN
HUMAN-TO-HUMAN DIALOGUE, TO ENGAGE IN COHERENT, INTERESTING AND PERSUASIVE CONVERSATIONS ACROSS SEVERAL TOPICS RELATED TO SOCIETAL ISSUES. PURPOSEFUL CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS MUST
ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL EXCHANGES WITH A MOTIVE: A PERSUASIVE CONVERSATION MAY CYCLE THROUGH INQUIRY, NEGOTIATION, OR DELIBERATION INTERSPERSED WITH CHIT-CHAT AND ANECDOTES. IN ORDER TO
REALIZE THESE OBJECTIVES, THIS PROJECT INCORPORATES THE USE OF SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED MULTI-LAYERED KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS, ALONG WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART NEURAL RESPONSE GENERATORS, INTENT
CLASSIFIERS, AND A ROBUST NATURAL LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDING AND DIALOGUE MANAGEMENT MODULE. THE CORE LAYERS OF THE OPEN KNOWLEDGE NETWORK CONSIST OF CONSOLIDATED CONCEPTS AND
RELATIONSHIPS FROM EXISTING OPEN KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS AND CAUSAL GRAPHS, SUITABLY ENHANCED TO FACILITATE NEURO-SYMBOLIC APPROACHES FOR KNOWLEDGE GROUNDED CONVERSATION. THE
PERIPHERAL LAYERS CONSTITUTE ARGUMENTATION GRAPHS WHICH ARE AUTOMATICALLY CONSTRUCTED THROUGH PROCESSING EXISTING CORPORA OF PERSUASIVE CONVERSATIONS AND EXTRACTING ELEMENTAL
DISCOURSE UNITS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEM. AN INNOVATIVE NEURO-SYMBOLIC APPROACH IS NECESSARY TO (I) AVOID THE TYPICAL ?HALLUCINATIONS? EXHIBITED BY NEURAL RESPONSE GENERATORS
ALONE AND (II) INTELLIGENTLY NAVIGATE THROUGH THE VARIOUS STAGES OF A PERSUASIVE CONVERSATION. THE NEURAL RESPONSE GENERATORS ARE CONFIGURED TO EFFICIENTLY RETRIEVE, REASON AND
INCORPORATE INFORMATION FROM THE OPEN KNOWLEDGE NETWORK, IN ORDER TO GENERATE FACTUALLY CORRECT, COHERENT, ENGAGING AND PERSUASIVE RESPONSES. BOTH NOVEL AND TRADITIONAL METRICS
WILL BE USED IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE QUALITY OF THE GENERATED CONVERSATIONS AND MEASURE ITS IMPACT. AUTOMATED EVALUATION WILL BE CONDUCTED ON REPRESENTATIVE DATA SETS; THE PROTOTYPES
WILL ALSO BE EVALUATED BY EXPERTS WHO WILL PROVIDE FEEDBACK REGARDING VIABILITY FOR FUTURE DEPLOYMENT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: IIS: HCC: SMALL: THE NEW GATEKEEPERS: CONTENT MODERATION AND INFORMATION THREATS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES -THIS PROJECT MAPS HOW VOLUNTEER MODERATORS ARE
15 Michigan State University $203K 9/1/2022 FUNCTIONING AS GATEKEEPERS OF LOCAL CIVIC INFORMATION AND FIRST RESPONDERS TO INFORMATION THREATS WITHIN ONLINE LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS. THIS IS A CRUCIAL FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING
EFFECTIVE TOOLS (SOCIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND POLICY) THAT CAN SUPPORT MODERATORS OF ONLINE COMMUNITY GROUPS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO RESPOND TO THE THREATS CAUSED BY INFORMATION POLLUTION.
RESIDENTS OF AMERICAN COMMUNITIES INCREASINGLY RELY ON GEOGRAPHICALLY FOCUSED ONLINE GROUPS TO ACCESS LOCAL INFORMATION. THESE LOCAL GROUPS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY
OF LIFE IN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES BY HELPING RESIDENTS LEARN ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES, CONNECT WITH NEIGHBORS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND IDENTIFY IMPORTANT LOCAL ISSUES. HOWEVER, THESE
GROUPS FACE SIGNIFICANT THREATS TO INFORMATION QUALITY, INCLUDING MIS/DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS, INCIVILITY, AND TROLLING. MODERATORS OF ONLINE COMMUNITY GROUPS ARE TYPICALLY UNTRAINED
VOLUNTEERS WHO SERVE AS A FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE. HOWEVER, THEY ARE PROVIDED ONLY A LIMITED SET OF TOOLS AND PRACTICES FOR THREAT MITIGATION. AS A RESULT, MODERATORS ARE IN A TENUOUS
POSITION TO RESPOND TO INFORMATION THREATS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY NAVIGATING CHANGE IN THE WORKINGS OF PLATFORMS THEMSELVES, RAPIDLY EVOLVING USER PRACTICES, AND THE INCREASING
POLITICIZATION OF LOCAL ISSUES. THIS PROJECT HAS THREE GOALS: (1) ASSESSING HOW WELL PLATFORM COMPANIES PREPARE LOCAL GROUP MODERATORS TO FACE INFORMATION THREATS; (2) UNDERSTANDING HOW
LOCAL GROUP MODERATORS MANAGE INFORMATION THREATS IN THEIR EVERYDAY PRACTICES; (3) UNDERSTANDING HOW MODERATOR PRACTICES RESPOND TO CHALLENGES DURING PERIODS OF INCREASED
INFORMATION QUALITY THREAT. THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH WILL EXPAND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO BETTER SUPPORT VOLUNTEER MODERATORS ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS AS THEY ARE ASKED TO FUNCTION AS
A NEW KIND OF GATEKEEPER IN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX LOCAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURES. THE PROJECT DOES THIS THROUGH (1) AN ANALYSIS OF THE TOOLS AND TRAININGS PROVIDED TO MODERATORS BY
THREE PLATFORM COMPANIES: FACEBOOK, NEXTDOOR, AND REDDIT; (2) AN EIGHT-WEEK ASYNCHRONOUS REMOTE COMMUNITY STUDY WITH MODERATORS OF LOCAL GROUPS; AND (3) A FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW STUDY
EXAMINING MODERATOR PRACTICES DURING CONDITIONS OF HIGH-LEVELS OF INFORMATION THREAT. THIS INVOLVES GRAPPLING WITH PLATFORM DESIGN AND AFFORDANCES, AS WELL AS SOCIAL PRACTICES,
BEHAVIORS, AND COMPETENCIES, SO AS TO INFORM HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, INFORMATION SCIENCE, AND PUBLIC POLICY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY
OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
16 Arizona State University $77K 9/1/2022 FUNCTIONING AS GATEKEEPERS OF LOCAL CIVIC INFORMATION AND FIRST RESPONDERS TO INFORMATION THREATS WITHIN ONLINE LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS. THIS IS A CRUCIAL FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING
17 Penn State University $187K 9/1/2022 FUNCTIONING AS GATEKEEPERS OF LOCAL CIVIC INFORMATION AND FIRST RESPONDERS TO INFORMATION THREATS WITHIN ONLINE LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS. THIS IS A CRUCIAL FIRST STEP TOWARD BUILDING
EAGER: OPINION SPAM IN DIGITAL RULEMAKING: TECHNIQUES, EFFECTS, AND INTERVENTIONS -ONE OF THE PILLARS OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES IS PEOPLE'S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN
18 University of Oklahoma $300K 9/1/2022 SETTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. REGULATORY AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED (WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS) TO SOLICIT COMMENTS FROM VARIOUS PUBLICS (E.G., GENERAL CITIZENRY, AFFECTED ORGANIZATIONS, INTEREST
GROUPS) TO LEARN ABOUT THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF PROPOSED RULE CHANGES. TO EXTEND PARTICIPATION AND REDUCE COSTS, THE COMMENTING PROCESS HAS BEEN DIGITIZED AND OFTEN TAKES PLACE
THROUGH THE INTERNET. HOWEVER, DIGITIZATION OPENED THE DOOR TO OPINION SPAM (E.G., MASS, COMPUTER-GENERATED, OR FRAUDULENT COMMENTS) THAT MAY UNDERMINE THE RULEMAKING PROCESS BY
DECEIVING AGENCY EVALUATORS AND MANIPULATING WHAT CITIZENS' ACTUAL ATTITUDES ARE REGARDING PROPOSED REGULATIONS. OPINION SPAM COMPLICATES THE EVALUATION THAT AGENCIES MUST PERFORM IN
SETTING RULES AND THREATENS THE LEGITIMACY OF THE RULEMAKING PROCESS IN THE EYES OF STAKEHOLDERS. THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES WAYS IN WHICH OPINION SPAM MIGHT BE PREVENTED AND PROVIDES
EVIDENCE REGARDING WHICH TECHNIQUES ARE MOST EFFECTIVE, THEREBY PRESERVING (OR POTENTIALLY RESTORING) PUBLIC TRUST IN DIGITAL RULEMAKING. IN THREE PHASES, THIS PROJECT EXAMINES THREATS TO
DIGITAL RULEMAKING AND TESTS MITIGATION APPROACHES TO REDUCE OPINION SPAM. PHASE 1 INCLUDES A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH SUBMITTERS OF COMMENTS, COMMENT EVALUATORS, AND SCHOLARLY
EXPERTS ON MIS/DISINFORMATION TO GAUGE HOW THESE GROUPS CONCEIVE OF OPINION SPAM AND ITS PREVALENCE IN COMMENTING DISCOURSE AND TO UNCOVER POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS THAT MAY LIMIT THE
SUBMISSION OF OPINION SPAM OR HELP AGENCIES DETECT ITS SUBMISSION. PHASE 2 INCLUDES GENERATING MACHINE LEARNING DATASETS (E.G., LEGITIMATE, FICTITIOUS, AND AUTOMATED TEXT REPLACEMENT OR
TEXT RECOMBINATION COMMENTS) AND MODELS FOR DISTINGUISHING FICTITIOUS/ARTIFICIAL COMMENTS FROM LEGITIMATE COMMENTS. PHASE 3 INTEGRATES THE FINDINGS FROM THE PRIOR PHASES AND INCLUDES
SELECTING SEVERAL VIABLE OPINION-SPAM MITIGATING STRATEGIES AND TESTING THEIR EFFICACY IN RANDOMIZED, CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS. THIS MULTI-METHOD, INTERDISCIPLINARY INVESTIGATION CONTRIBUTES
TO THE THEORY OF COORDINATED INFLUENCE CAMPAIGNS. THE PROJECT DEVELOPS A SYNTAX-AWARE DEEP LEARNING MODEL FOR DETECTING FICTITIOUS COMMENTS AND HELPS DETERMINE WHICH MITIGATION
APPROACHES WORK BETTER FOR REDUCING OPINION SPAM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S
DIGITALLY INOCULATING VIEWERS AGAINST VISUAL MISINFORMATION WITH A PERCEPTUAL TRAINING -MISINFORMATION IMPEDES PEOPLE?S ABILITY TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS IN MANY AREAS, FOR EXAMPLE
19 University of Wisconsin $850K 9/1/2022 POLITICS, HEALTH CARE, PURCHASING, OR INVESTING. MISINFORMATION CAN BE CREATED BY ACCIDENT OR INTENTIONALLY. MISLEADING GRAPHS ARE A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS FORM OF MISINFORMATION BECAUSE
THEY CAN MAKE FALSE INFORMATION MORE BELIEVABLE AND REACH VIEWERS FASTER. TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION IN GRAPHS, ONE NEEDS TO CONSIDER TWO ASPECTS OF GRAPH COMPREHENSION: CONCEPTUAL
REASONING AND PERCEPTION. PRIOR RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON CONCEPTUAL REASONING ABOUT GRAPHS. YET, BECAUSE PERCEPTION IS AUTOMATIC IT IS ESPECIALLY PRONE TO FALSE INFORMATION IN MISLEADING
GRAPHS. THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON PERCEPTION. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL DEVELOP A PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD THAT HELPS VIEWERS TO EXTRACT CORRECT INFORMATION FROM MISLEADING GRAPHS. THE
PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD WILL BE PROVIDED AS A WEB BROWSER PLUGIN. IT WILL PROVIDE FEEDBACK AS VIEWERS SEE MISLEADING GRAPHS ON THE WEB. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL USE MACHINE LEARNING
ALGORITHMS TO DESIGN THE PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD. THE PROJECT WILL ADVANCE SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF PERCEPTION IN GRAPH COMPREHENSION. IT WILL ALSO DEVELOP MACHINE LEARNING
ALGORITHMS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE NEW TOOLS FOR ADDRESSING ISSUES OF MISINFORMATION. MISINFORMATION POSES A SEVERE RISK TO SOCIETY. MISLEADING GRAPHS ARE A
TYPE OF VISUAL MISINFORMATION THAT CAN QUICKLY CONVEY FALSE INFORMATION TO VIEWERS. WHILE EXISTING INTERVENTIONS FOR VISUAL MISINFORMATION TARGET CONCEPTUAL PROCESSES, PERCEPTUAL
PROCESSES ALSO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE. PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES ARE AUTOMATIC AND PRONE TO BIASES. VISUAL MISINFORMATION OFTEN TARGETS PERCEPTUAL OVER CONCEPTUAL PROCESSING. THEREFORE,
THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY TARGETS PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES. INVESTIGATORS WILL DEVELOP A PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD THAT WILL TEACH VIEWERS TO EXTRACT CORRECT INFORMATION FROM MISLEADING
GRAPHS SO THAT THEY BECOME ?IMMUNE? AGAINST VISUAL MISINFORMATION. THE PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD WILL BE DELIVERED AS A WEB BROWSER PLUGIN AND WILL HAVE TWO COMPONENTS. FIRST, UPON
INSTALLING THE BROWSER PLUGIN, VIEWERS WILL RECEIVE A 2-MINUTE MASSED TRAINING THAT WILL SERVE AS THE INITIAL ?VACCINE? AGAINST MISLEADING GRAPHS. SECOND, THE BROWSER PLUGIN WILL DELIVER A
SPACED TRAINING BY GIVING FEEDBACK WHEN VIEWERS ENCOUNTER MISLEADING GRAPHS ON THE WEB, WHICH SERVES AS A ?BOOSTER? FOR THEIR IMMUNITY. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL USE MACHINE LEARNING
ALGORITHMS TO DECIDE WHICH TYPE OF FEEDBACK THE PERCEPTUAL TRAINING SHOULD OFFER AND HOW OFTEN SUCH FEEDBACK SHOULD BE PROVIDED. TWO RANDOMIZED EXPERIMENTS WILL EVALUATE COMPONENTS
OF THE PERCEPTUAL TRAINING METHOD WHILE PARTICIPANTS BROWSE THE WEB. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF PERCEPTUAL LEARNING, EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS OF MACHINE
LEARNING ALGORITHMS, AND WILL DEVELOP NOVEL APPROACHES TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION
USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HNDS-R: DYNAMICS AND MECHANISMS OF INFORMATION SPREAD VIA SOCIAL MEDIA -THERE HAS NEVER BEEN SO MUCH INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT EVERYONE?S FINGERTIPS THAN THERE IS
20 Rensselaer Polytechnic $337K 8/15/2022 TODAY. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH SO MUCH INFORMATION COMES A LOT OF MISINFORMATION THAT CAN BE SPREAD TO HUMAN POPULATIONS AND ADOPTED BY THEM AS THE TRUTH. UNDERSTANDING HOW INFORMATION
Institute FLOWS AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS IMPORTANT FOR DETERMINING HOW TO PROTECT SOCIETY FROM THE EFFECTS OF MISINFORMATION, PROPAGANDA, AND ?FAKE NEWS.? THIS PROJECT TRACES HOW
INFORMATION SPREADS ON SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AND HOW IDEAS, OPINIONS, AND BELIEFS CHANGE AS THEY SPREAD. CONDUCTING THIS RESEARCH REQUIRES COMBINING CONCEPTS FROM COMPUTATIONAL SOCIAL
SCIENCES, COMPUTER SCIENCE, SOCIOLOGY, AND STATISTICS TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION SPREAD IN SOCIAL MEDIA THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS A NEW APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF
INFORMATION DIFFUSION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER SEVERAL DIFFERENT MECHANISMS FOR INFORMATION FLOW. TOGETHER THESE ARE USED TO ANALYZE HOW INFORMATION SPREADS IN SOCIAL MEDIA. THE RESEARCH
HAS TWO MAIN GOALS: FIRST, IT WILL SPOT AND PREDICT OPINION TRENDS AND IDENTIFY USERS? POLARIZATION ON TOPICS OF BROAD INTEREST TO SOCIETY (E.G., CLIMATE CHANGE OR THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC).
SECOND, IT WILL TRACK INFORMATION PROPAGATION TO UNDERSTAND ITS ROLE IN SHAPING OPINION TRENDS AND IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR ITS SPREAD AND ADOPTION. THE RESEARCHERS
HAVE ACCESS TO A LARGE AMOUNT OF DATA THAT PERMITS THEM TO BUILD AND TEST LARGE-SCALE MODELS OF INFORMATION DIFFUSION. THE OUTCOMES OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDE NEW COMPUTER ALGORITHMS THAT
ARE CAPABLE OF UNDERSTANDING INFORMATION FLOW IN SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEW AVENUES FOR RESEARCH IN THE SCIENCE OF INFORMATION SPREAD AND DIFFUSION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY
MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
SBP: INEQUITY AND MISTRUST OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION - UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE MISINFORMATION IN BLACK COMMUNITIES AND DEVELOPING COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES -BLACK
21 University of Wisconsin $576K 8/15/2022 AMERICAN EXPERIENCES CAN POSE PARTICULAR CHALLENGES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ON ISSUES RELATED TO SCIENCE AND MEDICINE, AND RECENT MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS HAVE INCREASINGLY
SOUGHT TO CAPITALIZE ON BELIEFS UNDERLYING MISTRUST WITHIN BLACK COMMUNITIES TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION. WHILE PHENOMENA RELATED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ARE MOST TIMELY, THERE IS A NEED TO
DEVELOP COMMUNITY-DRIVEN, EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS TARGETED TOWARD BLACK AMERICANS ON A RANGE OF SCIENCE-RELATED ISSUES, BASED ON DETAILED FINDINGS ABOUT SPECIFIC
BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES RELEVANT TO THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES BLACK AMERICANS HAVE WITH SCIENCE. DEVELOPING A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW BLACK AMERICAN EXPERIENCES SHAPE THINKING ABOUT
SCIENCE-RELATED TOPICS, AND THE GROUP-LEVEL DYNAMICS THAT MAY LEAD TO THE UPTAKE (OR REJECTION) OF MISINFORMATION AND THE FORMATION (OR AVOIDANCE) OF MISPERCEPTIONS WITHIN THESE
COMMUNITIES, HOLDS GREAT PROMISE FOR ADVANCING RESEARCH ON SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN EMERGING FIELDS SUCH AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, GENETICS AND GENOMICS, AND MORE. SUCH AN APPROACH
WOULD HELP GUIDE MORE EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS, AND PROVIDE PRACTITIONERS WITH NEW INSIGHTS INTO HOW TO RESPONSIBLY ADDRESS PAST AND PRESENT INEQUITIES IN
MESSAGING ACROSS A VARIETY OF SCIENTIFIC ISSUES AND POLICY AREAS, AND TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATELY TARGETED AND TAILORED EFFORTS TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF WIDESPREAD
MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENTIFIC TOPICS, BOTH IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM. TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, OUR PROJECT TAKES AN ITERATIVE APPROACH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE SPECIFIC WAYS THAT
UNDERLYING BELIEFS AND WORLDVIEWS ABOUT SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS ARE RELATED TO SCIENTIFIC MISPERCEPTIONS AMONG BLACK AMERICANS, AND THEN, IN CONJUNCTION WITH BLACK AMERICAN
COMMUNITIES, DEVELOP AND TEST COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR MORE EFFECTIVE EFFORTS TO COMBAT SCIENCE-RELATED MISINFORMATION AND MISPERCEPTIONS. IN THE EARLIER PHASES OF THE PROJECT, WE
WILL USE BLACK AMERICAN FOCUS GROUPS AND NATIONAL SURVEYS WITH OVERSAMPLES OF BLACK AMERICANS TO IDENTIFY KEY TOPICS AND ISSUES IN WHICH BLACK AMERICANS ENCOUNTER SCIENCE-RELATED
MISINFORMATION, AS WELL AS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND SPECIFIC BELIEFS AND WORLDVIEWS RELATED TO SCIENCE WITHIN BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITIES. BASED ON THESE FINDINGS, AS WELL AS IN-DEPTH
INTERVIEWS WITH SEASONED COMMUNICATION PRACTITIONERS WITH A HISTORY OF COMBATTING MISINFORMATION IN BLACK AMERICAN COMMUNITIES, WE WILL THEN DEVELOP A COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT TO GUIDE
OTHER SCIENCE COMMUNICATORS ENGAGED IN SIMILAR EFFORTS ACROSS A RANGE OF SCIENCE-RELATED ISSUES. KEY STRATEGIES AND MESSAGES FROM THE TOOLKIT WILL BE EVALUATED IN THREE NATIONAL SURVEY
EXPERIMENTS ADMINISTERED TO BLACK AMERICAN SAMPLES. THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT, A SERIES OF COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS WILL SUPPORT A RICH DIALOGUE BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITY
MEMBERS, ENSURING THAT OUR INSIGHTS AND RECOMMENDED COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES POSITION BLACK AMERICANS' LIVED EXPERIENCES AS INTEGRAL TO THEIR ENGAGEMENT WITH SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION,
INSTITUTIONS, AND CAREERS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER
IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
22 UCLA $327K 8/15/2022 TODAY. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH SO MUCH INFORMATION COMES A LOT OF MISINFORMATION THAT CAN BE SPREAD TO HUMAN POPULATIONS AND ADOPTED BY THEM AS THE TRUTH. UNDERSTANDING HOW INFORMATION
FLOWS AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS IMPORTANT FOR DETERMINING HOW TO PROTECT SOCIETY FROM THE EFFECTS OF MISINFORMATION, PROPAGANDA, AND ?FAKE NEWS.? THIS PROJECT TRACES HOW
23 City University of New York $328K 8/15/2022 TODAY. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH SO MUCH INFORMATION COMES A LOT OF MISINFORMATION THAT CAN BE SPREAD TO HUMAN POPULATIONS AND ADOPTED BY THEM AS THE TRUTH. UNDERSTANDING HOW INFORMATION
FLOWS AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS IMPORTANT FOR DETERMINING HOW TO PROTECT SOCIETY FROM THE EFFECTS OF MISINFORMATION, PROPAGANDA, AND ?FAKE NEWS.? THIS PROJECT TRACES HOW
HNDS-R: EXTRACTING THE BACKBONE OF UNWEIGHTED NETWORKS -IN THIS PROJECT, METHODS ARE DEVELOPED FOR EXTRACTING THE BACKBONE FROM DENSE, UNWEIGHTED NETWORKS TO FACILITATE THEIR
24 Michigan State University $109K 8/15/2022 ANALYSIS. NETWORKS INFLUENCE ALL DOMAINS OF SOCIETY, INCLUDING THE DIFFUSION OF INFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION, THE CONTAGION OF ILLNESS, THE PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION, THE EMERGENCE AND
MAINTENANCE OF NORMS, AND THE FORMATION OF CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS. IN MANY CASES, THESE NETWORKS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO ANALYZE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN SO MANY RELATIONSHIPS, AND BECAUSE THE
STRENGTH OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS IS UNKNOWN. BACKBONE EXTRACTION INVOLVES IDENTIFYING AND RETAINING ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS, WHICH YIELDS A SIMPLER NETWORK THAT CAN BE MORE
READILY ANALYZED AND VISUALIZED. IN THIS PROJECT, IN ADDITION, THE WIDELY EMPLOYED BACKBONE SOFTWARE IS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THESE NEWLY DEVELOPED METHODS SO THAT RESEARCHERS CAN USE
THEM EASILY. THIS WORK FACILITATES THE ANALYSIS OF NETWORKS THAT ARISE IN MANY DIFFERENT CONTEXTS AND ARE STUDIED IN MANY DIFFERENT FIELDS. IT ALSO INVOLVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING
MATERIALS TO GUIDE RESEARCHERS IN THE SELECTION OF BACKBONE METHODS. DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS FOR EXTRACTING THE BACKBONE FROM UNWEIGHTED NETWORKS PROCEEDS IN THREE STAGES. FIRST,
THE COMMON STEPS INVOLVED IN EXISTING BACKBONE EXTRACTION METHODS ARE IDENTIFIED. NEXT, EACH OF THESE STEPS IS IMPLEMENTED INTO A NEW FUNCTION IN THE BACKBONE PACKAGE FOR R. THIS FUNCTION
ALLOWS FOR THE APPLICATION OF BOTH EXISTING BACKBONE MODELS AND NEW BACKBONE MODELS DESCRIBED BY NOVEL RECOMBINATIONS OF COMMON STEPS. FINALLY, THE PERFORMANCE OF EACH EXISTING AND
EACH NEW BACKBONE MODEL IS EVALUATED BY EXTRACTING THE BACKBONE FROM SIMULATED DENSE UNWEIGHTED NETWORKS THAT HAVE BEEN EMBEDDED WITH HIDDEN COMMUNITY OR HUB STRUCTURES. ONCE THE
MOST PROMISING BACKBONE MODELS ARE IDENTIFIED, THEIR SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATIONS ARE REFINED FOR SCALABILITY, ALLOWING THEM TO BE APPLIED TO LARGE NETWORKS. ADDITIONALLY, SOFTWARE
DOCUMENTATION AND TRAINING MATERIALS ARE PREPARED THAT PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO RESEARCHERS USING BACKBONE MODELS AND THE ASSOCIATED BACKBONE PACKAGE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
AFFECTIVE VIRALITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: THE ROLE OF CULTURE AND IDEAL AFFECT -SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ALLOW PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS MORE
25 Leland Stanford Junior $550K 8/1/2022 QUICKLY THAN EVER. WHILE THIS CONVENIENCE AND SPEED HAS BENEFITS, IT ALSO HAS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIETAL COSTS. FOR INSTANCE, RESEARCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA USERS IN THE UNITED STATES (US)
University SUGGESTS THAT EXPRESSIONS OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS (E.G., HAPPINESS) ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN MAKE OTHER USERS FEEL DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS, AND THAT THEY ARE MISSING OUT, WHILE EXPRESSIONS OF NEGATIVE
EMOTIONS (E.G., DISGUST, FEAR, AND ANGER) CAN INCREASE THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION AND INTENSIFY POLITICAL POLARIZATION. COMBATING THESE POTENTIAL COSTS REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING THE UNIQUE
CULTURAL AND EMOTION-CONTENT SIGNATURES OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE. IN THE US, USERS POST MORE POSITIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT, AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH
MISINFORMATION AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION. THIS RESEARCH TESTS THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THESE EMOTIONAL PATTERNS REFLECT AMERICAN CULTURAL VALUES IN GENERAL AND AN AMERICAN EMPHASIS ON
POSITIVITY IN PARTICULAR. TO TEST THESE CULTURALLY-EMBEDDED PREDICTIONS, THE RESEARCH EXAMINES THE PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE US AND JAPAN.
RESEARCH FINDINGS CAN INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS TO COMBAT THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON USERS. THIS RESEARCH SPECIFICALLY EXAMINES THE
PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH THE WELL-BEING OF USERS, SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISINFORMATION, AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN THE US AND JAPAN.
STUDY 1 USES COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO COMPARE THE SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL NEWS POSTS IN US AND JAPANESE SOCIAL MEDIA. STUDIES 2A-B USE SURVEY AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS TO EXAMINE HOW
USERS' CULTURAL VALUES INFLUENCE THE PREVALENCE AND SPREAD OF EMOTIONAL CONTENT. STUDY 3 EXAMINES A POTENTIAL REMEDY, TESTING WHETHER A TOOL THAT ALLOWS USERS TO CONTROL THEIR
EXPOSURE TO EMOTION CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA CAN INCREASE THEIR WELL-BEING, DECREASE THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISINFORMATION, AND INCREASE THEIR EMPATHY WITH POLITICAL OUTGROUPS. THESE
STUDIES CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEFENSES TO PROTECT AGAINST THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
PIPP PHASE I: COMPUTATIONAL THEORY OF THE CO-EVOLUTION OF PANDEMICS, (MIS)INFORMATION, AND HUMAN MINDSETS AND BEHAVIOR -EPIDEMIOLOGICAL MODELS ARE USED TO PREDICT THE SPREAD OF HIGHLY
26 Florida Institute for Human & $1 Million 8/1/2022 CONTAGIOUS AND LETHAL DISEASES SUCH AS COVID-19. PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS USE SUCH MODELS TO INFORM PANDEMIC RESPONSE POLICIES AND ADVISORIES. YET THESE MODELS REQUIRE A RIGOROUS
Machine Cognition Inc. SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION ABOUT HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY TO BETTER PREDICT PEOPLE?S RESPONSES TO INFORMATION AND POLICIES ABOUT PANDEMICS. THE RECENT COVID-19 PANDEMIC ILLUSTRATES THE CENTRAL
ROLE OF HUMAN DECISION MAKING AND BEHAVIOR IN THE SPREAD OF SUCH A TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASE. PEOPLE?S DECISIONS REGARDING SOCIAL ISOLATION, SOCIAL DISTANCING, MASK WEARING, HAND WASHING, AND
VACCINATION ARE CORRELATED WITH THE RATE AT WHICH THE COVID-19 VIRUS SPREADS OR THE SERIOUSNESS OF GETTING INFECTED. PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL MINDSETS, AND THESE CAN VARY ACROSS
DIFFERENT REGIONS AND SUBGROUPS, SO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO MESSAGING AND MANDATES AND THOSE RESPONSES CHANGE OVER TIME. THERE IS ALSO AN ONGOING SCIENTIFIC
DEBATE ABOUT THE DEGREE TO WHICH PANDEMIC INFORMATION OR MISINFORMATION, OR THE PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF INFORMATION SOURCES, INFLUENCES THE DEGREE TO WHICH PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR
BEHAVIOR. TO ADDRESS THESE SCIENTIFIC NEEDS, THIS PROJECT INVOLVES ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP A MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CORE AND AGENDA AND TO DEVELOP A STRONG PLAN FOR A COHESIVE RESEARCH
CENTER FOR PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR PANDEMIC PREVENTION. THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON COMPUTATIONAL MODELS OF HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY, INFORMATION FLOW AND INFLUENCE,
AND RESULTING PANDEMIC TRANSMISSION. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE TRAINING AND MENTORING OF GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO REPRESENT THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS TACKLING THESE
GLOBAL CHALLENGES. THIS PROJECT USES COMPUTATIONAL THEORIES AND MODELS TO EXAMINE THE FUNDAMENTAL INTERDEPENDENT EVOLUTION OF INFECTION, BEHAVIOR, AND INFORMATION AT MULTIPLE LEVELS
AND DRAWING UPON MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES IN ORDER TO SUPPORT IMPROVED PANDEMIC INTELLIGENCE, PREDICTION, EXPLANATION, AND COUNTERMEASURES. THE PROJECT IS ORGANIZED INTO (1) INTERDISCIPLINARY,
STRATEGIC RESEARCH THRUSTS TO ACCELERATE CONVERGENT SCIENCE TOWARDS THE GRAND CHALLENGE, (2) THREE INVITATIONAL MEETINGS TO DRAW IN DIVERSE RESEARCHERS TO ADDRESS FOCAL RESEARCH
TOPICS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS, TO FILL IN GAPS IN THE RESEARCH CHALLENGES, AND DEVELOP A STRONG RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AGENDA FOR A COHESIVE PIPP CENTER, AND (3) PILOT STUDIES TO
DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY OF INTEGRATED COMPUTATIONAL MODELS OF INFORMATION, HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY, AND PANDEMIC TRANSMISSION. FOR THE PILOT RESEARCH, A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM COMBINES
EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENTS WITH COMPUTATIONAL COGNITIVE MODELS IN AN AGENT-BASED MODELING SYSTEM. FOR DATA THE INVESTIGATORS DRAW ON VACCINATION DISCUSSIONS IN MASS MEDIA, TWITTER,
GEOLOCATED TIMESERIES DATA ON VACCINATION RATES, INFECTION, DEATH AND RECOVERY RATES, STATE AND NATIONAL MANDATES REGARDING COVID-19 POLICIES ABOUT VACCINATION AND MASK WEARING FROM
FEBRUARY 2020 THROUGH DECEMBER 2021 IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE DATA WILL BE SEGMENTED BY STATE AND MAJOR CITIES WITHIN THOSE STATES. THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE CROSS-DIRECTORATE
PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR PANDEMIC PREVENTION PHASE I (PIPP) PROGRAM, WHICH IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE DIRECTORATES FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (BIO), COMPUTER INFORMATION SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING (CISE), ENGINEERING (ENG) AND SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES (SBE). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH
EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
RAPID: IMMEDIATE SOCIAL MEDIA DATA COLLECTION IN KEY ELECTION CONTEXTS -ELECTIONS POSE A CRITICAL CHALLENGE TO THE SECURITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS OF CYBERSPACE. COORDINATED INFORMATION
27 University of North Carolina $200K 8/1/2022 OPERATIONS AND ONLINE ORGANIZATION OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE DURING ELECTIONS THREATEN THE INTEGRITY OF A WIDE RANGE OF DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES. WE LACK COMPARABLE CROSS-NATIONAL DATA THAT
Chapel Hill CAN HELP US TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE THREATS OPERATE ACROSS COUNTRIES, AND HOW POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, CYBER-INFRASTRUCTURE, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT SHAPE SUCH THREATS. WE ALSO
LACK COMPREHENSIVE DATA ABOUT CANDIDATE SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR. THIS PROJECT WILL DRAMATICALLY INCREASE SCHOLARS' ACCESS TO DATA ON ELECTORAL CANDIDATES' SOCIAL MEDIA BEHAVIOR AND HOW
VOTERS RESPOND TO THIS BEHAVIOR. THIS WORK WILL ALLOW CURRENTLY IMPOSSIBLE INVESTIGATIONS OF HOW FALSE INFORMATION TRAVELS ONLINE DURING ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS AND HOW SUCH INFORMATION
AFFECTS BELIEFS OF AVERAGE VOTERS ACROSS A RANGE OF POLITIES FACING DIFFERENT STAGES OF DEMOCRATIC EXPANSION. THESE DATA CAN ALSO INFORM GOVERNMENTS INTERESTED IN SECURING THEIR
ELECTIONS AND CAN ASSIST SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS IN UNDERSTANDING HOW THEIR PLATFORMS ARE USED DURING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON BUILDING A DATA RESOURCE FOR SCHOLARS FROM SOCIAL
MEDIA DATA COLLECTION SURROUNDING UPCOMING ELECTIONS IN POLARIZED, DEMOCRATIZING, AND OTHERWISE RELATIVELY UNSTABLE CONTEXTS. THE RESEARCH TEAM IS PURPOSIVELY SAMPLING ELECTION
CONTEXTS OF CANDIDATE SOCIAL MEDIA DATA COLLECTION THAT MEET OBJECTIVE CRITERIA BASED ON THEIR LEVEL OF DEMOCRACY, POLARIZATION, STABILITY, AND CYBER INFRASTRUCTURE. ACROSS ALL OF THESE
CONTEXTS, THE RESEARCH TEAM IS COMPILING SOCIAL MEDIA CANDIDATE DATA, INCLUDING CANDIDATE (PUBLIC) SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS, PUBLICLY AVAILABLE CANDIDATE BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS, AND
OTHER VARIABLES CAPTURING THE NATIONAL, ELECTION, AND SEAT(S) CONTEXT. IN THREE OF THESE CONTEXTS, THE RESEARCH TEAM IS EXECUTING A SURVEY AMONG VOTERS, COLLECTING DATA ON VOTERS' ABILITY
TO ACCESS CANDIDATES' ONLINE MESSAGES, VOTERS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS CANDIDATES' SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY, THE EXTENT TO WHICH CANDIDATES MOBILIZE OFFLINE POLITICAL ACTIVITY (INCLUDING ELECTION
VIOLENCE) THROUGH DIGITAL NETWORKS, HOW COMMONLY AND EFFECTIVELY POLITICIANS SPREAD DISINFORMATION USING ONLINE PLATFORMS, AND VOTERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE SECURITY AND STABILITY OF
POLITICAL CYBERSPACE IN THEIR CONTEXT. THE RESEARCH TEAM IS DEVELOPING TRAINING IN THE FORM OF WEBINAR SERIES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, PUBLIC POLICY, AND CYBERSECURITY TO
ENCOURAGE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH USING THE DATA. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S
PIPP PHASE I: DEVELOP AND EVALUATE COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORKS TO PREDICT AND PREVENT FUTURE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMICS -ONCE A NOVEL CORONAVIRUS OR A NEW VARIANT IS DETECTED, HOW LIKELY
28 University of Tennessee $1 Million 8/1/2022 WOULD THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS OR NEW VARIANT TRANSMIT FROM PERSON TO PERSON, AND HOW SICK COULD PATIENTS BECOME? WHAT KIND OF NEW CORONAVIRUSES COULD CAUSE FUTURE PANDEMICS?
KNOWING THE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS CAN HELP NATIONS MAKE PROPER STRATEGIC DECISIONS. THE DILEMMA IS HOW TO PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR AND PATHOGENIC SEVERITY OF NEW VIRUSES AS EARLY AS
POSSIBLE. A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS THINKS THEY HAVE FOUND WAYS TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS BY DEVELOPING NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE TOOLS TO PREDICT THE VIRUS?S BEHAVIORS BASED ON
ITS GENOME SEQUENCE. THIS TEAM OF RESEARCHERS RECOGNIZES THE POTENTIAL BIAS IN MACHINE LEARNING APPLICATIONS AND THE NEED TO INCREASE DIVERSITY IN THE FUTURE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
WORKFORCE. LEVERAGING THEIR EXPERTISE IN GENOMICS, DATA SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, GENETICS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND COMMUNICATION, THIS TEAM OF
RESEARCHERS WILL ORGANIZE TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES PROVIDING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DATA SCIENCE TRAINING TO TEACHERS, AND CONTEXT-RELEVANT
CODING EXPERIENCES TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE TEAM WILL PROMOTE PUBLIC TRUST IN SCIENCE AND DISCERNMENT OF MISINFORMATION THROUGH COMMUNITY OUTREACH. THIS RESEARCH TEAM WILL
PROTOTYPE A DEEP LEARNING MODEL BASED ON BIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND HYPOTHESES THAT CAN PREDICT VIRAL PATHOGENIC FITNESS FROM GENOMIC SEQUENCES TO TEST THE POTENTIAL RULES FOR VIRAL
PATHOGENICITY. THE TEAM WILL EXPLORE SEVERAL METHODS TO CORRECT THE SAMPLING BIAS IN VIRAL GENOMIC SURVEILLANCE IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY ESTIMATE THE FITNESS OF A VIRAL STRAIN. THE TEAM WILL
INVESTIGATE THE MUTATION AND RECOMBINATION PROFILES IN ALL AVAILABLE BAT CORONAVIRUS GENOMES FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN ASIA AND BUILD A PROTOTYPE GEOSPATIAL MODEL TO PREDICT THE
RECOMBINATION PROBABILITY FOR ALL AVAILABLE BAT CORONAVIRUSES. LEVERAGING THEIR EXPERTISE IN GENETICS AND MACROMOLECULAR STRUCTURE MODELING, THE TEAM WILL TEST A FEW CANDIDATE GENES IN
SARS-COV-2 FOR POTENTIAL PATHOGENIC RULES. BASED ON THE OUTCOMES OF THESE PILOT PROJECTS, THE TEAM WILL BE ABLE TO ESTIMATE THE PATHOGENIC FITNESS OF AN EMERGING SARS-COV-2 VARIANT OR
ANOTHER NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE CROSS-DIRECTORATE PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE FOR PANDEMIC PREVENTION PHASE I (PIPP) PROGRAM, WHICH IS JOINTLY FUNDED BY THE
DIRECTORATES FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (BIO), COMPUTER INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (CISE), ENGINEERING (ENG) AND SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCES (SBE). THIS AWARD REFLECTS
NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RAPID: A NOVEL FRAMEWORK & TOOLKIT TO MEASURE PROTEST LEGACIES IN NON-DEMOCRATIC STATES -LARGE-SCALE PROTESTS ARE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE OUR
29 University of Michigan $83K 7/15/2022 UNDERSTANDING OF WHY SOME CASES OF MOBILIZATION LEAD TO RENEWED PROTEST AND UNEXPECTED REGIME CHALLENGES AND OTHER CASES IT BUILDS REGIME SUPPORT. TO UNDERSTAND THESE DIFFERENT
OUTCOMES, THIS PROJECT SHIFTS FOCUS TO PROTEST LEGACIES: THEIR SUSTAINED EFFECTS ON REGIME LEGITIMATION STRATEGIES, SOCIETAL CAPACITY TO RESIST, AND FUTURE REGIME DEVELOPMENT. TO DATE,
LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE TO EXAMINE THE ROLE OF STATE NARRATIVES AND DISINFORMATION FOLLOWING PROTEST AND ITS EFFECT ON PUBLIC OPINION. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS A RAPID RESPONSE TOOLKIT
TO STUDY PROTEST LEGACIES IN AUTHORITARIAN STATES, HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION POLITICS. PROTEST SPREAD AS GRIEVANCES EVOLVED TO INCLUDE POLITICAL FRUSTRATION AND, IN SOME PLACES,
PEACEFUL PROTEST GAVE WAY TO RIOTS. INITIALLY THE REGIME OFFERED POLICY CONCESSIONS, BUT WHEN PROTEST CONTINUED, THE STATE TURNED TO REPRESSION. THE PROJECT USES TOOLKIT MEASURES TO
TRACK TOP-DOWN STRATEGIES TO RESTORE ORDER AND CITIZENS' REACTIONS TO REGIME EFFORTS TO RESTORE ORDER. THIS NEW APPROACH TO STUDYING LEGACIES WILL PROVIDE A BASIS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE
EMERGENCE OF NEW PROTEST CYCLES AND CONTINUED REGIME INSTABILITY. THIS PROJECT BREAKS NEW GROUND ON THE STUDY OF LARGE-SCALE PROTEST BY MOVING BEYOND THE QUESTION OF WHETHER
PROTESTS RESULT IN REGIME CHANGE TO ANALYZING THE VIABILITY OF STATE STRATEGIES IN RESPONSE TO MASS MOBILIZATION. IT USES A THREE-PERSON LEADER-FOLLOWER SIGNALING GAME, WHICH ENABLES THE
TESTING OF PROPOSITIONS FROM TWO BROAD APPROACHES IN THE EXISTING LITERATURE: (1) THE STATE-CENTRIC APPROACH, WHICH DRAWS FROM THE LITERATURE ON AUTHORITARIAN STATE CAPACITY AND
CHARACTERIZES PROTEST AS A CRISIS THAT THE STATE MUST ADDRESS TO REESTABLISH CONTROL, AND (2) THE PROTEST ACCUMULATION MODEL, DRAWN FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENT STUDIES. AUTOCRATIC STATES CAN
REACT TO PROTEST BY ATTEMPTING TO BOLSTER THEIR LEGITIMACY THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, POLICY CHANGE AND BY CONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING NARRATIVES ABOUT THE PROTEST EVENTS AND
THE STATE'S RESPONSE TO THESE EVENTS. INDIVIDUALS REACT BY ACCEPTING OR REJECTING STATE NARRATIVES TO DIFFERENT DEGREES, AFFECTING FUTURE SOCIETAL PROTEST CAPACITY. THE PIS' LEADER-
FOLLOWER GAME PREDICTS THOSE RESPONSES. UTILIZING RECENT MASS MOBILIZATIONS, THE PROJECT DEVELOPS A RAPID RESPONSE TOOLKIT TO ENABLE SCHOLARS TO STUDY PROTEST LEGACIES IN AUTHORITARIAN
STATES, HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION POLITICS. THE TOOLKIT TRAVEL ACROSS PROTEST CONTEXTS TO BUILD A COMPARATIVE DATA SET OF PROTEST LEGACIES, DEFINED AS: STATE NARRATIVES ABOUT
EVENTS, STATE POLICY CHANGE TO RESPOND TO PROTEST, AND SOCIAL ATTITUDES AND CAPACITY FOR RENEWED PROTEST. AS MASS MOBILIZATION IN NON-DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES BECOMES MORE COMMON, AN
UNDERSTANDING OF LEGACIES IS CRITICAL TO PREDICT REGIME DURABILITY, MARKET DISRUPTIONS, AND FUTURE CONFLICT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RAPID: A NOVEL FRAMEWORK & TOOLKIT TO MEASURE PROTEST LEGACIES IN NON-DEMOCRATIC STATES -LARGE-SCALE PROTESTS ARE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE OUR
30 Indiana University $42K 7/15/2022 UNDERSTANDING OF WHY SOME CASES OF MOBILIZATION LEAD TO RENEWED PROTEST AND UNEXPECTED REGIME CHALLENGES AND OTHER CASES IT BUILDS REGIME SUPPORT. TO UNDERSTAND THESE DIFFERENT
OUTCOMES, THIS PROJECT SHIFTS FOCUS TO PROTEST LEGACIES: THEIR SUSTAINED EFFECTS ON REGIME LEGITIMATION STRATEGIES, SOCIETAL CAPACITY TO RESIST, AND FUTURE REGIME DEVELOPMENT. TO DATE,
LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE TO EXAMINE THE ROLE OF STATE NARRATIVES AND DISINFORMATION FOLLOWING PROTEST AND ITS EFFECT ON PUBLIC OPINION. THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS A RAPID RESPONSE TOOLKIT
TO STUDY PROTEST LEGACIES IN AUTHORITARIAN STATES, HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION POLITICS. PROTEST SPREAD AS GRIEVANCES EVOLVED TO INCLUDE POLITICAL FRUSTRATION AND, IN SOME PLACES,
PEACEFUL PROTEST GAVE WAY TO RIOTS. INITIALLY THE REGIME OFFERED POLICY CONCESSIONS, BUT WHEN PROTEST CONTINUED, THE STATE TURNED TO REPRESSION. THE PROJECT USES TOOLKIT MEASURES TO
TRACK TOP-DOWN STRATEGIES TO RESTORE ORDER AND CITIZENS' REACTIONS TO REGIME EFFORTS TO RESTORE ORDER. THIS NEW APPROACH TO STUDYING LEGACIES WILL PROVIDE A BASIS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE
EMERGENCE OF NEW PROTEST CYCLES AND CONTINUED REGIME INSTABILITY. THIS PROJECT BREAKS NEW GROUND ON THE STUDY OF LARGE-SCALE PROTEST BY MOVING BEYOND THE QUESTION OF WHETHER
PROTESTS RESULT IN REGIME CHANGE TO ANALYZING THE VIABILITY OF STATE STRATEGIES IN RESPONSE TO MASS MOBILIZATION. IT USES A THREE-PERSON LEADER-FOLLOWER SIGNALING GAME, WHICH ENABLES THE
TESTING OF PROPOSITIONS FROM TWO BROAD APPROACHES IN THE EXISTING LITERATURE: (1) THE STATE-CENTRIC APPROACH, WHICH DRAWS FROM THE LITERATURE ON AUTHORITARIAN STATE CAPACITY AND
CHARACTERIZES PROTEST AS A CRISIS THAT THE STATE MUST ADDRESS TO REESTABLISH CONTROL, AND (2) THE PROTEST ACCUMULATION MODEL, DRAWN FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENT STUDIES. AUTOCRATIC STATES CAN
REACT TO PROTEST BY ATTEMPTING TO BOLSTER THEIR LEGITIMACY THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, POLICY CHANGE AND BY CONSTRUCTING AND RECONSTRUCTING NARRATIVES ABOUT THE PROTEST EVENTS AND
THE STATE'S RESPONSE TO THESE EVENTS. INDIVIDUALS REACT BY ACCEPTING OR REJECTING STATE NARRATIVES TO DIFFERENT DEGREES, AFFECTING FUTURE SOCIETAL PROTEST CAPACITY. THE PIS' LEADER-
FOLLOWER GAME PREDICTS THOSE RESPONSES. UTILIZING RECENT MASS MOBILIZATIONS, THE PROJECT DEVELOPS A RAPID RESPONSE TOOLKIT TO ENABLE SCHOLARS TO STUDY PROTEST LEGACIES IN AUTHORITARIAN
STATES, HIGHLIGHTING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION POLITICS. THE TOOLKIT TRAVEL ACROSS PROTEST CONTEXTS TO BUILD A COMPARATIVE DATA SET OF PROTEST LEGACIES, DEFINED AS: STATE NARRATIVES ABOUT
EVENTS, STATE POLICY CHANGE TO RESPOND TO PROTEST, AND SOCIAL ATTITUDES AND CAPACITY FOR RENEWED PROTEST. AS MASS MOBILIZATION IN NON-DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES BECOMES MORE COMMON, AN
UNDERSTANDING OF LEGACIES IS CRITICAL TO PREDICT REGIME DURABILITY, MARKET DISRUPTIONS, AND FUTURE CONFLICT. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF
FROM RIGHTS TO VOTES: UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE AND MOBILIZATION VIA TEXT MESSAGING AMONG SYSTEM-IMPACTED GROUPS -RECENT EFFORTS TO DISMANTLE DISENFRANCHISEMENT REGIMES HAVE
31 UC Irvine $336K 7/1/2022 THE POTENTIAL TO SUBSTANTIALLY EXPAND ELECTORAL ELIGIBILITY. YET, EVEN IN STATES THAT ALLOW INDIVIDUALS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS TO VOTE, VOTING RATES ARE VERY LOW, OFTEN IN THE SINGLE DIGITS.
MISINFORMATION ABOUT ELIGIBILITY, LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, AND LACK OF INTEREST ARE ALL THOUGHT TO PREVENT INDIVIDUALS WITH RECORDS FROM VOTING, RESULTING IN A MORE UNEQUAL POLITICAL SYSTEM.
THESE BARRIERS ARE WELL DOCUMENTED; HOWEVER, IT IS UNCLEAR HOW THEY INFLUENCE MOTIVATIONS AND CHALLENGES TO VOTE IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO AN ELECTION, AND IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER
SCALABLE AND ADAPTIVE INTERVENTIONS CAN ADDRESS BARRIERS TO VOTING. THIS RESEARCH USES TEXT MESSAGING TO SURVEY SYSTEM-IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS ABOUT THEIR PERSPECTIVES, EXPERIENCES, AND
BELIEFS ABOUT VOTING IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE NOVEMBER 2022 ELECTION. IN ADDITION, USING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT), THE PROJECT TESTS WHETHER TEXT MESSAGING INTERVENTIONS
CAN ADDRESS MISINFORMATION AND ISSUE SALIENCE TO INCREASE ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION AMONG SYSTEM-IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS. WITHIN THE RCT, A SECONDARY RANDOMIZATION UTILIZING AN ?ADAPTIVE?
INTERVENTION FRAMEWORK AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFECTIVE DESIGN OF INTERVENTIONS FOR ADDRESSING HETEROGENEITY IN VOTING BEHAVIOR IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE ELECTION. ACROSS THESE
AIMS, THE PROJECT EXAMINES HOW DEMOGRAPHICS (AGE, RACE/ETHNICITY, GENDER), THE EXTENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE CONTACT, AND STRENGTH OF SELF-IDENTIFICATION AS A SYSTEM-IMPACTED CONSTITUENT
MODERATE MOTIVATIONS, CHALLENGES, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERVENTIONS. FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE AND INHIBIT ELECTORAL
PARTICIPATION. FINDINGS WILL ALSO PROVIDE CONCRETE, ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS ABOUT LARGE-SCALE MOBILIZATION INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE REGISTRATION AND VOTING RATES AMONG SYSTEM-IMPACTED
GROUPS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW
CRITERIA.
EAGER: SATC: SHIFTS IN MISINFORMATION TOPICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: MANIPULATORS MASQUERADING AS HUMANS -ANTI-VACCINE MISINFORMATION SPREAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WHETHER UNINTENTIONAL OR DELIBERATE,
32 Kent State University $200K 7/1/2022 CAN RESULT IN MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES, INCLUDING LONG-TERM LARGE-SCALE COMMUNITY IMPACTS IN THE FORM OF PREVENTABLE ILLNESSES AND DEATHS. THIS PROJECT ANALYZES MECHANISMS OF
HOW MISINFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH ANTI-VACCINATION MESSAGING IS SPREAD ACROSS ACCOUNTS AND TOPICS, INCLUDING CHARACTERIZATION OF THE BREADTH OF TOPICS AND MESSAGES COMING FROM
ACCOUNTS MASQUERADING AS HUMAN USERS. UNDERSTANDING HOW MISLEADING MESSAGES AND NARRATIVES ARE AMPLIFIED THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP AUTOMATED
TOOLS AND USER EDUCATION-FOCUSED PRACTICES THAT PROTECT USERS FROM CONSUMING AND SPREADING MIS/DISINFORMATION. THE TEAM IS EXAMINING TWITTER MESSAGES TO IDENTIFY MESSAGES AND TOPICS
ASSOCIATED WITH LIKELY AGENTS OF DISINFORMATION BASED ON THE SUDDEN SWITCHES ACROSS TOPICS AND NARRATIVES. A MACHINE LEARNING-BASED FRAMEWORK IS USED TO CLASSIFY VARIOUS ANTI-VAX
MISINFORMATION TOPICS AND THEIR KEY SHARED ELEMENTS, ULTIMATELY AIMING TO APPROXIMATE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SUCH MESSAGES COMING FROM INTENTIONAL DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS. THE DEVELOPED
TOOLS ARE OPENLY SHARED WITH THE BROADER SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO FACILITATE EFFORTS AT COUNTERING VACCINE HESITANCY AND SIMILAR NARRATIVES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION
AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
EAGER: DCL: SATC: ENABLING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION: ADAPTING ECONOMIC GAMES TO PERSONALIZE PRIVACY AND SECURITY NUDGES -MODERN SOCIAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, RANGING FROM EMAIL
33 University of Michigan $300K 7/1/2022 TO SOCIAL MEDIA SYSTEMS, PRESENT A DIZZYING NUMBER OF DECISIONS FOR THEIR USERS. MOREOVER, PRIVACY AND SECURITY CONFIGURATIONS ARE OFTEN HIDDEN AND OPAQUE. THUS IT IS HARD FOR INDIVIDUALS
TO MANAGE CONFIGURATIONS AND BEHAVIORS IN WAYS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR PREFERENCES. BAD ACTORS OR ADVERSARIAL AGENTS CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AMBIGUITY OR INFORMATION LEAKS THAT
RESULT FROM POOR SETTINGS AND USER UNCERTAINTY TO FIND ATTACK ROUTES FOR DISINFORMATION AND PHISHING. CONVERSELY, SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL BEHAVIORS THAT REQUIRE DATA SHARING ARE ALSO
HINDERED. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PREFERENCES, BEHAVIORS, AND INTERFACES CAN HELP ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS. BUSINESS INTERESTS IN PREVENTING PHISHING CAN BE
PRESERVED BY UNDERSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORS. PERSONALIZED INTERVENTIONS CAN BE APPLIED WHEN PREFERENCES CONFLICT WITH SOCIALLY
BENEFICIAL DATA BEHAVIORS. THIS PROJECT SYNTHESIZES INSIGHTS FROM BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS AND COMPUTING TO PROMOTE INFORMATION SECURITY. THE PROJECT TEAM SEEKS TO TACKLE THIS CHALLENGE BY
MODELING INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES THROUGH THE USE OF DECISION- AND GAME- THEORETIC ECONOMIC GAMES TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL RISK, AMBIGUITY, AND INFORMATION PREFERENCES. THE EXPERIMENTAL
GAMES SIMULATE COMPETING AND COOPERATING INCENTIVES AND STRATEGIES, SUCH AS IN THE PRISONER?S DILEMMA GAME. THE APPEAL OF THESE TYPES OF GAMES IS THAT A COMPARATIVELY SMALL SUBSET OF
THEM MAY BE USEFUL TO MODEL A SET OF PREFERENCES THAT ARE PREDICTIVE OF A BROAD RANGE OF REAL-WORLD BEHAVIORS. THE TEAM IS MODIFYING THESE GAMES TO BETTER ALIGN WITH REAL-WORLD
COMMUNICATION TASKS IN A SOCIAL MEDIA SYSTEM. BEHAVIORAL EXPERIMENTS CAN PROVIDE NOVEL EVIDENCE OF THE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF THE GAMES AND VALIDATE THEIR USE IN NOVEL CONTEXTS. THE RESULTS
MAY TRANSFORM WORK IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION, SECURITY, AND PRIVACY RESEARCH AND DESIGN BY ISOLATING SIMPLER INCENTIVE-COMPATIBLE INSTRUMENTS THAT MODEL USER PREFERENCES AND
CORRELATE WELL WITH BEHAVIORS. THIS CONNECTION ENABLES NOVEL INTERVENTIONS FROM PERSONALIZED INTERFACES TO PERSONALLY OR SOCIALLY BENEFICIAL INTERVENTIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
CAREER: UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLES OF WORKING MEMORY IN PHISHING DECISION MAKING -PHISHING IS THE PRACTICE OF DECEIVING PEOPLE INTO DISCLOSING SENSITIVE INFORMATION OR INAPPROPRIATELY
34 University of Washington $115K 7/1/2022 GRANTING ACCESS TO A SECURE SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH PHISHING ATTACKS ARE RAMPANT ON THE INTERNET, DUE TO AUTOMATION, THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN INDIVIDUAL ENCOUNTERING AN ATTACK DAILY OR WEEKLY IS
SMALL. YET PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO DETECT THE RARE ATTACKS THAT AUTOMATION MISSES. THESE ATTACKS TEND TO BE NOVEL AND TARGETED AND, THEREFORE, DIFFICULT TO DETECT. PAST RESEARCH HAS
BLAMED INATTENTION TO IMPORTANT CUES FOR HUMAN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PHISHING, BUT THE UNDERLYING COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS THAT PREVENT PEOPLE FROM PAYING ATTENTION TO INDICATORS IN A PHISHING
MESSAGE ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. THIS PROJECT IS DEVELOPING FOUNDATIONAL THEORIES OF COGNITIVE PROCESSES TO EXPLAIN AND PREDICT HUMAN DECISIONS TO TRUST OR SUSPECT PHISHING ATTACKS.
THE PROJECT WILL INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW EMAIL SECURITY AND TRAINING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE GENERAL PUBLIC?S ABILITY TO DETECT PHISHING ATTACKS, AND IN THIS WAY, THE PROJECT HAS
BROAD POTENTIAL SOCIETAL IMPACT. THIS RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED USING LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL MODELS TO REVEAL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS CRITICAL TO PHISHING
DETECTION. THE RESEARCH APPLIES NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING METHODS TO DETERMINE THE FEATURES IN PHISHING MESSAGES THAT PEOPLE ENCODE TO THEIR MEMORY DURING DECISION-MAKING, AND THE
IMPACT OF THESE FEATURES ON SUCCESSFUL DETECTION. THIS RESEARCH ALSO STUDIES AND CHARACTERIZES FUNCTIONS CRITICAL TO MEMORY PROCESSES THAT IMPACT INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PHISHING
ATTACKS. THE CHALLENGES OF APPLYING COGNITIVE MODELS AND REINFORCEMENT LEARNING MODELS TO PROVIDE PERSONALIZED PHISHING TRAINING EXPERIENCES ARE ALSO INVESTIGATED. KNOWLEDGE AND
METHODS PRODUCED FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF THIS PROJECT HAVE IMPLICATIONS BEYOND PHISHING. THEY INFORM RELATED CHALLENGES IN MISINFORMATION DETECTION AND THREAT DETECTION. THE LONG-TERM
GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ESTABLISH A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROGRAM IN SECURITY AND EDUCATE A DIVERSE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE THROUGH INCLUSIVE RESEARCH, EDUCATIONAL, AND OUTREACH
ACTIVITIES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW
CRITERIA.
CONFERENCE: COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES FOR CONTAGION ON COMPLEX SOCIAL SYSTEMS -CONTAGION PROCESSES ARE MATHEMATICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WAY SOMETHING SPREADS THROUGH A SYSTEM. IN A
35 University of Colorado $35K 6/15/2022 SOCIAL SYSTEM, IN WHICH THINGS SPREAD FROM PERSON TO PERSON, WHAT SPREADS MIGHT BE AN EPIDEMIC, IDEAS AND OPINIONS, OR RADICALIZATION AND POLARIZATION. UNDERSTANDING THESE KINDS OF
PROCESSES IS IMPORTANT FOR MANY REASONS, INCLUDING NOT ONLY CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASIC SCIENCE BUT ALSO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICY AND THE PRESERVATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY.
THIS AWARD PROVIDES FUNDING FOR THE CONFERENCE ?COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES FOR CONTAGION ON COMPLEX SOCIAL SYSTEMS? (CACCSS). THE CONFERENCE PROMOTES THE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AROUND
NOVEL COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR THE MODELING OF CONTAGION IN COMPLEX SOCIAL SYSTEMS. THE CONFERENCE FEATURES SPEAKERS WHO WILL GIVE TALKS ON TOPICS INCLUDING EPIDEMIC MODELING,
MISINFORMATION SPREAD, HIGHER-ORDER CONTAGION, AND BEHAVIORAL MODELS. THE CONFERENCE IS ALSO DEDICATED TO TRAINING PARTICIPANTS ON THESE TOPICS AND THE USE OF SOFTWARE THAT FACILITATES
THE ANALYSIS OF CONTAGION DATA. THE WORKSHOP WILL PROMOTE THE USE OF COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS THAT WILL FACILITATE MODELING OF CONTAGION IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS FOR RESEARCHERS WITH A WIDE
VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS. THE AWARD SUBSIDIZES THE TRAVEL OF STUDENTS, POSTDOCS, AND JUNIOR FACULTY TO ATTEND THE WORKSHOP, AND TRAINS YOUNG RESEARCHERS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS IMPORTANT
AREA OF RESEARCH. IT SUPPORTS ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION OF RESEARCHERS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, AND IN SO DOING INCREASES THE DIVERSITY OF RESEARCHERS IN THIS FIELD. THIS AWARD
EAGER: DCL: SATC: ENABLING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION: COMBATTING DISINFORMATION AND RACIAL BIAS: A DEEP-LEARNING-ASSISTED INVESTIGATION OF TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF DISINFORMATION -THIS
36 Arizona State University $300K 6/1/2022 PROJECT EXPLORES THE DIFFUSION OF RACIAL DISINFORMATION ONLINE AND ITS SOCIAL IMPACTS, PARTICULARLY FOCUSING ON ASIAN AMERICANS. WHILE THE HATRED AND BIAS AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE
BECOME NOTABLE AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, ASIAN-TARGETING DISINFORMATION HAS YET BEEN FULLY EXPLORED. THE PROJECT'S NOVELTIES ARE IN UNIQUE MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO (1) DETECT ASIAN-
TARGETING DISINFORMATION AND ITS COUNTERMEASURE MESSAGES, AND UNDERSTAND HOW THEY ARE SPREAD ON THE WEB, (2) EXAMINE HOW THE SPREAD OF DISINFORMATION AND COUNTERMEASURE MESSAGES
ON THE WEB IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTENSITY OF THE BIAS AND HATE CRIMES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS, AND (3) DEVELOP VARIOUS DATA-DRIVEN COMPUTATIONAL MODELS TO HELP UNDERSTANDING THE
DISINFORMATION DYNAMICS. THE PROJECT'S BROADER SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE ARE TO INFORM CIVIL SOCIETY, INCLUDING ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, ABOUT HOW TO STRATEGIZE
COMMUNICATION EFFORTS IN BATTLING RACIAL DISINFORMATION, AND TO MAKE THE DEVELOPED TOOLS AND OUTCOMES PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FOR BROADER USES. THE PROJECT TAKES THREE-STAGED APPROACHES.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE FIRST PHASE IS TO DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR THE DETECTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE TEMPORAL DYNAMICS BETWEEN ASIAN-TARGETED DISINFORMATION AND
COUNTERMEASURES ON THE WEB. A SPECIFIC FOCUS IS ON DEVELOPING AUTOMATED IDENTIFICATION TOOLS AND DEEP-LEARNING CLASSIFICATION MODELS BY FEATURE-ENGINEERING UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF
DISINFORMATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE SECOND PHASE IS TO UNDERSTAND TO WHAT EXTENT THE SPREAD OF DISINFORMATION AND COUNTERMEASURES ONLINE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SOCIETAL TREND OF
IMPLICIT BIAS AND HATE CRIME OCCURRENCES AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS IN THE REAL-WORLD, WHICH CAN BE ACHIEVED VIA DEVELOPING DEEP-LEARNING CAUSALITY MODELS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE THIRD PHASE IS
TO DESIGN SCALABLE DATA-DRIVEN DEEP-LEARNING MODELS OF DISINFORMATION DYNAMICS IN MACRO AND MICRO LEVELS, IDENTIFYING UNKNOWN DYNAMICS FROM THE REAL-WORLD MEASUREMENTS, WHICH ALSO
ENABLES SIMULATIONS OF THE LEARNED DYNAMICS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL
MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS AND COMPUTATION TO UNDERSTAND MISPLACED BELIEFS -CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDE ANSWERS TO WHY AN EVENT HAPPENED. BELIEFS IN CAUSAL
37 Stevens Institute of $207K 6/1/2022 EXPLANATIONS (FOR EXAMPLE, INVESTING IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL CAUSE YOUR AVAILABLE MONEY FOR RETIREMENT TO INCREASE) GUIDE WHICH BEHAVIORS TO ENGAGE IN FOR THE FUTURE (E.G., INVEST IN
Technology (Inc) CRYPTO-CURRENCY). BUT PEOPLE CAN ? AND OFTEN DO ? BELIEVE CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF THE WORLD THAT ARE WRONG. UNDERSTANDING WHAT IN THE NATURE OF AN INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATION MAKES IT
BELIEVABLE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR TEACHING PEOPLE TO REJECT INCORRECT EXPLANATIONS OF EVENTS. IN THIS WORK, THE PIS INVESTIGATE WHAT MAKES INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF EVENTS
APPEALING TO PEOPLE AND WHAT ENCOURAGES THE ADOPTION OF THESE MISPLACED BELIEFS. HOLDING INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS CAN HAVE CRITICALLY DAMAGING EFFECTS, SUCH AS PEOPLE PURSUING
HEALTH TREATMENTS THAT ARE INEFFECTIVE OR INVESTING IN FINANCIAL STRATEGIES THAT DO NOT PAY OUT. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
APPEALING SO STRATEGIES CAN BE DEPLOYED TO COUNTERACT THEIR ADOPTION. IN THE WORK, THE PIS CONDUCT A SERIES OF STUDIES TO PROVIDE A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IN THE NATURE OF A CAUSAL
EXPLANATION MAKES IT APPEALING. ACROSS STUDIES, THE PIS EXPLORE MANY DIFFERENT CAUSAL ELEMENTS OF EXPLANATIONS. USING THEIR RESULTS, THE PIS THEN MAKE A PRELIMINARY ATTEMPT TO REDUCE
ENDORSEMENT OF INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS. THIS RESEARCH HAS A BROADER IMPACT ON SCIENCE BY INVOLVING STUDENTS IN RESEARCH THAT HAS A STRONG TRANSLATIONAL COMPONENT. SUCH
RESEARCH HELPS STUDENTS CONNECT SCIENCE TO THE REAL-WORLD, GROWING THEIR INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND CRITICAL THINKING AT LARGE. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED WORK WILL HAVE BROADER IMPACTS ON
SCIENCE LITERACY BY ISOLATING WHAT IN SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS MAY MAKE THEM MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO BE BELIEVED. THE PIS USE PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS FROM THE CAUSAL EXPLANATION LITERATURE TO
STUDY PERCEPTIONS OF A WIDE RANGE OF MISPLACED AND INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS. THESE METHODS INCLUDE HAVING PEOPLE READ EXPLANATIONS AND RATE HOW COMPELLING, SATISFYING, AND
BELIEVABLE THE EXPLANATIONS ARE. IN ADDITION, PARTICIPANTS IN THESE STUDIES MAKE JUDGMENTS ABOUT THE CAUSAL STRUCTURE OF THE EXPLANATIONS, SUCH AS HOW MANY CAUSAL FACTORS THE
EXPLANATIONS INCLUDE, HOW COMPLEX THE EXPLANATIONS ARE, AND HOW MANY EVENTS THE EXPLANATIONS CAN EXPLAIN. THE PIS USE LARGE SAMPLES OF ONLINE PARTICIPANTS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WITH
MANY DIFFERENT BELIEFS ARE BEING INCLUDED IN THE STUDIES. IN EACH STUDY, THE PIS HAVE PARTICIPANTS RATE INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS (E.G., ?EATING SUGAR IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES?)
AS WELL AS FACT-BASED CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF THE SAME EVENTS (E.G., ?TYPE 2 DIABETES HAS MULTIPLE CAUSES, INCLUDING BEING OVERWEIGHT AND HAVING A GENETIC PREDISPOSITION?). THIS COMPARISON
ALLOWS FOR ISOLATION OF WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT MISPLACED EXPLANATIONS. USING MACHINE LEARNING, THE RESEARCHERS INVESTIGATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH THERE ARE CHARACTERISTIC STRUCTURES OF
FACTUAL AND MISINFORMATION EXPLANATIONS, BEYOND HOW THEY ARE PERCEIVED (E.G., THE COMPLEXITY OF CAUSAL STRUCTURE), WHICH MAY ALLOW FOR MORE AUTOMATIC DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THESE
EXPLANATION TYPES. FINALLY, THE PIS USE THEIR FINDINGS TO CREATE A SET OF BEHAVIORAL STUDIES WHERE THEY ALTER HOW EXPLANATIONS ARE PRESENTED TO EXPLORE THE DEGREE TO WHICH PRESENTATION
IMPACTS ENDORSEMENT OF THE EXPLANATIONS. SPECIFICALLY, THE PIS CREATE NEW CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS THAT MANIPULATE THE CAUSAL ELEMENTS THAT WERE MOST PREDICTIVE OF ENDORSEMENT FOR
INCORRECT CAUSAL BELIEFS IN EARLIER EXPERIMENTS (E.G., COMPLEXITY, NUMBER OF CAUSAL FACTORS). THE GOAL IS TO SEE IF BY CHANGING THESE IMPORTANT CAUSAL ELEMENTS, ENDORSEMENT OF INCORRECT
BELIEFS CAN BE REDUCED. THROUGH THESE STUDIES WE CAN LEARN MORE GENERALLY HOW TO PREVENT THE UPTAKE OF INCORRECT INFORMATION IN FAVOR OF FACT-BASED EXPLANATIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: USING CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS AND COMPUTATION TO UNDERSTAND MISPLACED BELIEFS -CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDE ANSWERS TO WHY AN EVENT HAPPENED. BELIEFS IN CAUSAL
38 Lehigh University $360K 6/1/2022 EXPLANATIONS (FOR EXAMPLE, INVESTING IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES WILL CAUSE YOUR AVAILABLE MONEY FOR RETIREMENT TO INCREASE) GUIDE WHICH BEHAVIORS TO ENGAGE IN FOR THE FUTURE (E.G., INVEST IN
CRYPTO-CURRENCY). BUT PEOPLE CAN ? AND OFTEN DO ? BELIEVE CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF THE WORLD THAT ARE WRONG. UNDERSTANDING WHAT IN THE NATURE OF AN INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATION MAKES IT
BELIEVABLE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR TEACHING PEOPLE TO REJECT INCORRECT EXPLANATIONS OF EVENTS. IN THIS WORK, THE PIS INVESTIGATE WHAT MAKES INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF EVENTS
APPEALING TO PEOPLE AND WHAT ENCOURAGES THE ADOPTION OF THESE MISPLACED BELIEFS. HOLDING INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS CAN HAVE CRITICALLY DAMAGING EFFECTS, SUCH AS PEOPLE PURSUING
HEALTH TREATMENTS THAT ARE INEFFECTIVE OR INVESTING IN FINANCIAL STRATEGIES THAT DO NOT PAY OUT. IT IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
APPEALING SO STRATEGIES CAN BE DEPLOYED TO COUNTERACT THEIR ADOPTION. IN THE WORK, THE PIS CONDUCT A SERIES OF STUDIES TO PROVIDE A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IN THE NATURE OF A CAUSAL
EXPLANATION MAKES IT APPEALING. ACROSS STUDIES, THE PIS EXPLORE MANY DIFFERENT CAUSAL ELEMENTS OF EXPLANATIONS. USING THEIR RESULTS, THE PIS THEN MAKE A PRELIMINARY ATTEMPT TO REDUCE
ENDORSEMENT OF INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS. THIS RESEARCH HAS A BROADER IMPACT ON SCIENCE BY INVOLVING STUDENTS IN RESEARCH THAT HAS A STRONG TRANSLATIONAL COMPONENT. SUCH
RESEARCH HELPS STUDENTS CONNECT SCIENCE TO THE REAL-WORLD, GROWING THEIR INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND CRITICAL THINKING AT LARGE. ADDITIONALLY, THE PROPOSED WORK WILL HAVE BROADER IMPACTS ON
SCIENCE LITERACY BY ISOLATING WHAT IN SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS MAY MAKE THEM MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO BE BELIEVED. THE PIS USE PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS FROM THE CAUSAL EXPLANATION LITERATURE TO
STUDY PERCEPTIONS OF A WIDE RANGE OF MISPLACED AND INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS. THESE METHODS INCLUDE HAVING PEOPLE READ EXPLANATIONS AND RATE HOW COMPELLING, SATISFYING, AND
BELIEVABLE THE EXPLANATIONS ARE. IN ADDITION, PARTICIPANTS IN THESE STUDIES MAKE JUDGMENTS ABOUT THE CAUSAL STRUCTURE OF THE EXPLANATIONS, SUCH AS HOW MANY CAUSAL FACTORS THE
EXPLANATIONS INCLUDE, HOW COMPLEX THE EXPLANATIONS ARE, AND HOW MANY EVENTS THE EXPLANATIONS CAN EXPLAIN. THE PIS USE LARGE SAMPLES OF ONLINE PARTICIPANTS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE WITH
MANY DIFFERENT BELIEFS ARE BEING INCLUDED IN THE STUDIES. IN EACH STUDY, THE PIS HAVE PARTICIPANTS RATE INCORRECT CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS (E.G., ?EATING SUGAR IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES?)
AS WELL AS FACT-BASED CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS OF THE SAME EVENTS (E.G., ?TYPE 2 DIABETES HAS MULTIPLE CAUSES, INCLUDING BEING OVERWEIGHT AND HAVING A GENETIC PREDISPOSITION?). THIS COMPARISON
ALLOWS FOR ISOLATION OF WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT MISPLACED EXPLANATIONS. USING MACHINE LEARNING, THE RESEARCHERS INVESTIGATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH THERE ARE CHARACTERISTIC STRUCTURES OF
FACTUAL AND MISINFORMATION EXPLANATIONS, BEYOND HOW THEY ARE PERCEIVED (E.G., THE COMPLEXITY OF CAUSAL STRUCTURE), WHICH MAY ALLOW FOR MORE AUTOMATIC DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THESE
EXPLANATION TYPES. FINALLY, THE PIS USE THEIR FINDINGS TO CREATE A SET OF BEHAVIORAL STUDIES WHERE THEY ALTER HOW EXPLANATIONS ARE PRESENTED TO EXPLORE THE DEGREE TO WHICH PRESENTATION
IMPACTS ENDORSEMENT OF THE EXPLANATIONS. SPECIFICALLY, THE PIS CREATE NEW CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS THAT MANIPULATE THE CAUSAL ELEMENTS THAT WERE MOST PREDICTIVE OF ENDORSEMENT FOR
INCORRECT CAUSAL BELIEFS IN EARLIER EXPERIMENTS (E.G., COMPLEXITY, NUMBER OF CAUSAL FACTORS). THE GOAL IS TO SEE IF BY CHANGING THESE IMPORTANT CAUSAL ELEMENTS, ENDORSEMENT OF INCORRECT
BELIEFS CAN BE REDUCED. THROUGH THESE STUDIES WE CAN LEARN MORE GENERALLY HOW TO PREVENT THE UPTAKE OF INCORRECT INFORMATION IN FAVOR OF FACT-BASED EXPLANATIONS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS
EAGER: DCL: SATC: ENABLING INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION: IMPROVING HUMAN DISCERNMENT OF AUDIO DEEPFAKES VIA MULTI-LEVEL INFORMATION AUGMENTATION -THIS PROJECT INCREASES LISTENERS?
39 University of Maryland $300K 6/1/2022 DISCERNMENT OF AUDIO DEEPFAKES THROUGH AUGMENTATION OF INFORMATION, BOTH TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC. THIS PROJECT ESTABLISHES AN INNOVATIVE PATHWAY FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
Baltimore ACROSS SOCIOLINGUISTICS, HUMAN CENTERED ANALYTICS, AND DATA SCIENCE AND LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR FUTURE ANALYSES OF DEEPFAKES THAT ARE BROADLY RELEVANT ACROSS DISCIPLINES, INFORMED BY
HUMAN BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVES. THE PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THE SOCIETAL CHALLENGE OF MISINFORMATION BY GENERATING INSIGHTS THAT CAN INCREASE THE ABILITY OF LISTENERS ? PARTICULARLY COLLEGE
STUDENTS, WHOSE LIVES ARE INDELIBLY SHAPED BY TECHNOLOGY ? TO EVALUATE THE VERACITY AND AUTHENTICITY OF INFORMATION ONLINE. THE PROJECT'S BROADER SIGNIFICANCE IS TO ADDRESS THE SOCIETAL
CHALLENGE OF MISINFORMATION BY GENERATING INSIGHTS THAT CAN HELP EMPOWER LISTENERS TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW TO EVALUATE THE VERACITY AND AUTHENTICITY OF INFORMATION THEY ENCOUNTER
ONLINE. THE PROJECT IMPROVES UNDERSTANDING AND MODELING OF HOW DEEPFAKES ARE INVOLVED IN SPREADING MISINFORMATION AND TRACKING HOW LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY IS ADAPTED FOR SOCIAL HARM
AND/OR USED IN UNETHICAL WAYS. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL INCREASE LISTENERS? DISCERNMENT OF AUDIO DEEPFAKES THROUGH AUGMENTATION OF INFORMATION THAT DRAWS UPON INTEGRATED
INTERDISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE AND ADVANCES DATA AUGMENTATION AS AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR DEEPFAKE DETECTION. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO: (1) STUDY AND EVALUATE LISTENER PERCEPTIONS
OF AUDIO DEEPFAKES THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED WITH VARYING DEGREES OF LINGUISTIC COMPLEXITY; (2) STUDY AND EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF TRAINING SESSIONS THAT INCREASE LISTENERS? SOCIOLINGUISTIC
PERCEPTUAL ABILITY AND IMPROVE THEIR ABILITY TO DISCERN DEEPFAKE AUDIO CONTENT; (3) AUGMENT THE AUDIO DEEPFAKE DISCERNMENT VIA MULTI-LEVEL TEMPORAL AND LINGUISTIC SIGNATURES, INFORMED BY
TRAINING AND LINGUISTIC LABELING; (4) EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF AUGMENTED SIGNATURE INFORMATION ON LISTENER PERCEPTIONS OF AUDIO DEEPFAKES; (5) CREATE OPEN-ACCESS ONLINE MODULES AND MATERIALS
WITH SOCIAL SCIENCE AND DATA SCIENCE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT TO IMPROVE LISTENERS? DISCERNMENT OF AUDIO CUES ON A WIDER PUBLIC SCALE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN
DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
MEMORIALIZATION, CONTESTED KNOWLEDGE, AND THE SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF DISINFORMATION IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 -THE WAVES OF INFECTION AND VARIANTS OF SARS-COV-2 CAUSING SOCIAL
40 George Washington $350K 6/1/2022 DISRUPTION, SICKNESS, AND DEATH CONTINUE TO REVEAL A CRISIS IN SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE AND AUTHORITY, AS WELL AS THE WIDESPREAD POLITICIZATION OF THE PANDEMIC AMONG POLICYMAKERS AND THEIR
University CONSTITUENTS. THIS PROJECT EXAMINES HOW DISINFORMATION (THE INTENTIONAL AIRING OF MISLEADING INFORMATION), MISINFORMATION (FALSEHOODS), AND THE ?INFODEMIC? (A CONDITION OF EXCESSIVE
INFORMATION THAT MAKES THE SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM MORE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE), INFLUENCE HOW INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES MOURN THE DEAD. IT FOCUSES ON HOW PEOPLE
MANAGE THEIR SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL LIVES WHEN COVID-19 DEATHS ARE VARIOUSLY MOURNED, DISMISSED, OR BLAMED ON OTHERS IN A POLITICALLY FRACTIOUS ENVIRONMENT. THE STUDY CONTRIBUTES TO
UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF MISINFORMATION AND INFORMS PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSES TO BOTH THE CURRENT PANDEMIC AND FUTURE PUBLIC HEALTH CRISES THAT RESULT IN MASS FATALITY,
INCOMPLETE MOURNING, AND POLITICIZED DEATH. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO TRAIN EIGHTEEN GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHODS OVER THE COURSE OF THE THREE-YEAR
STUDY. WHILE MOST STUDIES OF PUBLIC DEBATES FOCUS ON TEXTS, SUCH AS POLITICAL SPEECHES, NEWSPAPER AND SCHOLARLY ARTICLES, THIS PROJECT EXPLORES WHAT BEHAVIORS, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
PANDEMIC, HAVE BECOME CENTRAL TO THE EXPERIENCE OF MOURNING, AND HOW MOURNERS SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY IN HOMES, CEMETERIES, GRIEF COUNSELING SESSIONS, RITUALS, VIRTUAL COMMEMORATIONS, AND
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, AMONG OTHER VENUES. IN DOING SO, IT ADDRESSES: (1) HOW COVID-19 MISINFORMATION HAS SHIFTED OVER THE COURSE OF ITS EVOLUTION; (2) HOW CONTESTED KNOWLEDGE HAS SHAPED THE
MOURNING PROCESS FOR COVID-19 VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES; (3) HOW COVID-19 MOURNERS HAVE DEFINED AND PURSUED ACCOUNTABILITY IN THEIR EFFORTS TO COUNTER MISINFORMATION; AND (4) HOW ALTERED
BURIAL, FUNERAL, AND COMMEMORATIVE PRACTICES AFFECT MOURNING. THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS, IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL ETHNOGRAPHIC ENGAGEMENT, AND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS, THE PROJECT
ANALYZES CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS IN THEIR LINGUISTIC, MEDIA, AND SOCIAL RELATIONAL CONTEXTS OF USE. DATA AND FINDINGS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF RITUAL,
PARTICULARLY ITS EFFICACY IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL AS PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF INCOMPLETE MOURNING DURING A PROLONGED PUBLIC HEALTH
CRISIS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW
CRITERIA.
UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENCE -SCIENCE PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD THAT CAN INFORM POLICY AND PERSONAL DECISIONS, IMPROVE HUMAN AND
41 National Academy of $414K 5/15/2022 ECOLOGICAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, AND ADVANCE KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENCE, HOWEVER, CAN LEAD TO HARMFUL OUTCOMES. CONCERN ABOUT THE SPREAD
Sciences OF MISINFORMATION AND ITS ROLE IN UNDERMINING SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE AND FACTS IN CIVIC DIALOGUE HAS GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST 5-10 YEARS. USING THE CONSENSUS STUDY PROCESS
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE (NASEM), NASEM?S BOARD ON SCIENCE EDUCATION (BOSE) CONVENES AN EXPERT COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE AND SYNTHESIZE EXISTING
RESEARCH, AND PRODUCE A FINAL REPORT THAT CHARACTERIZES THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM OF MISINFORMATION, IDENTIFY POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS, AND OFFER GUIDANCE ON HOW TO PRIORITIZE INTERVENTIONS.
THIS GUIDANCE INCLUDES SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO HOW MISINFORMATION AND EXISTING RISK FACTORS AND INEQUITIES INTERSECT, AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS THESE INTERSECTIONS HAVE ON THE WELL-BEING OF
INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES. THE CONSENSUS STUDY PROVIDES A SYNTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH LITERATURE ACROSS A RANGE OF DISCIPLINES TO 1) DEFINE THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM OF
MISINFORMATION ABOUT SCIENCE; 2) PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFLUENCES AND IMPACTS OF MISINFORMATION INCLUDING THE RANGE AND SEVERITY OF IMPACTS ACROSS
COMMUNITIES AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH IT PROLIFERATES; 3) EXAMINE CURRENT INTERVENTIONS TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION; 4) RECOMMEND PRIORITY ACTIONS THAT HAVE THE GREATEST POTENTIAL TO
REDUCE HARM FROM MISINFORMATION; AND 5) PRIORITIZE THE NEEDS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. THE FINAL REPORT ADVANCES UNDERSTANDING OF THE PHENOMENON, AND PROVIDES BALANCED, AUTHORITATIVE,
EVIDENCE-BASED GUIDANCE AND A RELIABLE BASIS FOR POLICY DECISIONS AND TARGETED INTERVENTIONS FOR STAKEHOLDERS TO WORK TOWARD THE COMMON GOAL OF LIMITING THE SPREAD AND HARM FROM
MISINFORMATION IN SCIENCE. THESE STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDE PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS AND PRACTITIONERS, JOURNALISTS AND OTHER SCIENCE COMMUNICATORS, SCIENTISTS AND THEIR PROFESSIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS, LEADERS OF EFFORTS TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION, MEDIA COMPANIES, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LEADERS, POLICY MAKERS, AND RESEARCHERS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION
AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
PANDEMIC COMMUNICATION IN TIME OF POPULISM: BUILDING RESILIENT MEDIA AND ENSURING EFFECTIVE PANDEMIC COMMUNICATION IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES -THIS PROJECT USES SEVERAL METHODS TO STUDY HOW
42 George Washington $200K 5/1/2022 POPULIST POLITICIANS DISTORTED COVID-19 PANDEMIC HEALTH COMMUNICATION TO ENCOURAGE POLARIZED ATTITUDES AND DISTRUST AMONG CITIZENS, THUS MAKING THEM MORE VULNERABLE TO MISINFORMATION
University GENERALLY. IT ALSO STUDIES HOW BEST TO COUNTER THESE POPULIST NARRATIVES AND DEVELOP MORE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. THE RESEARCH STUDIES FOUR AREAS OF COMMUNICATION:
GOVERNMENT LED PANDEMIC COMMUNICATION, MEDIA POLICY, MEDIA COVERAGE, AND PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE MEDIA. THE PROJECT MAKES AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO RESEARCH ON POPULIST
COMMUNICATION AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION BY BRINGING TWO FIELDS OF EXPERTISE?POPULIST COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH?TOGETHER. THE RESEARCH WILL INFORM RECOMMENDATIONS AIMED AT
BUILDING MORE RESILIENT MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE BETTER EQUIPPED TO WITHSTAND THE CHALLENGES OF FUTURE PANDEMICS IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES. BY HELPING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH
COMMUNICATION, THIS RESEARCH WILL HELP TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH, HENCE LIVING STANDARDS OF US CITIZENS. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE, COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HEALTH CRISIS
COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF POPULIST POLITICS AND EXAMINES THE IMPACT OF POPULISM ON FOUR ASPECTS OF THE PANDEMIC COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT DURING COVID-19: GOVERNMENT-LED HEALTH CRISIS
COMMUNICATION, MEDIA POLICY, MEDIA COVERAGE, AND PUBLIC ATTITUDES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO STUDY HOW BEST TO COUNTER THESE POPULIST NARRATIVES AND DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE
COMMUNICATION. THE FOCUS IS ON FOUR COUNTRIES---BRAZIL, POLAND, SERBIA, AND THE US---ALL LED BY POPULIST LEADERS DURING THE PANDEMIC AND CAPTURE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POPULIST RESPONSES TO THE
PANDEMIC. THE PROJECT ALSO TAKES A TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE TO ANALYZE HOW THE INTERACTION BETWEEN POPULISM AND PANDEMIC COMMUNICATION WAS SHAPED BY CHINA AND RUSSIA?S PANDEMIC
GEOPOLITICS. BY HELPING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION, THIS RESEARCH WILL HELP TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH, HENCE LIVING STANDARDS OF US CITIZENS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
I-CORPS: SOCIAL MEDIA MISINFORMATION INTERACTIVE DASHBOARD -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ONLINE DASHBOARD WITH MISINFORMATION
43 Texas State University $50K 5/1/2022 FORECAST TRENDS AND ANALYSIS TO HELP ADDRESS THE MISINFORMATION ENDEMIC IN AMERICA. MISINFORMATION IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAT MAY CREATE CONFUSION AND MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT ESSENTIAL
TOPICS. MISINFORMATION ONLINE MAY RESULT IN PEOPLE QUESTIONING EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICAL GUIDANCE OR REFUSING SAFE TREATMENTS. UNDERSTANDING CURRENT MISINFORMATION CONTENT AND TRENDS
SUPPORTS BOTH CORPORATE ENTITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA USERS. FOR CORPORATIONS, THE PROPOSED SUITE OF TOOLS MAY SHOW HOW MISINFORMATION IMPACTS BUSINESSES BY EXPLORING AND FORECASTING
PUBLIC SENTIMENT CONCERNING RELEVANT MISINFORMATION TOPICS. THIS ANALYSIS MAY PROVIDE VALUE TO THESE AGENCIES BY SHIFTING RESOURCES FROM MANUAL IDENTIFICATION TO ANALYZING THE CONTENT
AND IMPLICATIONS OF MISINFORMATION POSTS. INDIVIDUAL USERS MAY BE BETTER EQUIPPED BY UNDERSTANDING NOT ONLY THE MAJOR TOPICS IN MISINFORMATION BUT ALSO AN EXPLANATION OF WHY THIS
MISINFORMATION TOPIC IS BEING SPREAD. POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS MAY BE DRAWN TO THIS PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY SINCE INFORMATION DEMAND IS MET FROM GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH CAN BE
INCONSISTENT WITH DATA QUALITY. THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED DATA COLLECTION, DATA ANALYTICS, AND DEEP LEARNING METHODOLOGIES. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AN
APPLICATION AND ASSOCIATED WEBSITE THAT CENTRALIZES UP-TO-DATE MISINFORMATION CONTENT AND METRICS. SUCH A SOLUTION WILL PROVIDE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS WITH AN ENTERPRISE-LEVEL SYSTEM TO
HELP BETTER UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS AND TYPES OF MISINFORMATION SPREAD ACROSS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. CURRENTLY, AN ARRAY OF TOOLS TO INTERACT WITH MISINFORMATION CONTENT IS UNDER
DEVELOPMENT. PIPELINES ARE BEING CONSTRUCTED TO CHANNEL AND STORE RAW DATA USING THE SELENIUM FRAMEWORK FOR THE COLLECTION STEP. THESE DATA ARE STORED LOCALLY AND WILL ACT AS THE RAW
INFORMATION TO SUPPORT THE FINALIZED DASHBOARD. DEEP LEARNING MODELS THAT ARE TRAINED TO IDENTIFY TEXT-BASED MISINFORMATION HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WITH THE GOAL OF EXPANDING TO IMAGE,
SOUND, AND VIDEO IDENTIFICATION TO ADDRESS CURRENT SOCIAL CONTENT TRENDS. THIS TRANSFORMERS FRAMEWORK ALSO IDENTIFIES SENTIMENT ON SPECIFIED TOPIC GROUPS TO SUPPORT ANALYSIS. THE
PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY INVOLVES MULTIPLE RESEARCH AREAS, INCLUDING BIG DATA, NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: MEDIUM: AN INCIDENT-RESPONSE APPROACH FOR EMPOWERING FACT-CHECKERS -FACT-CHECKING CAN BE EFFECTIVE IN COUNTERING THE GROWING THREAT OF ONLINE
44 University of Utah $441K 5/1/2022 MISINFORMATION BECAUSE PEOPLE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM AND DEMOGRAPHICS TEND TO TRUST CREDIBILITY JUDGMENTS OF FACT-CHECKERS. HOWEVER, A PIPELINE OF MANUAL AND LABOR-INTENSIVE
PRACTICES FRAGMENTED ACROSS DISPARATE TOOLS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SCALE FACT-CHECKING EFFORTS. AS A RESULT, FACT-CHECKERS ARE INUNDATED WITH INFORMATION AND LACK EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION
MECHANISMS FOR COUNTERING MISINFORMATION EARLY AND EFFECTIVELY. TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, THIS PROJECT COMBINES THE COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION PROCESSING STRENGTHS OF HUMANS AND
COMPUTATION TO TRANSFORM THE EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND SCALE OF FACT-CHECKING. THE PROJECT CAN ENABLE FACT-CHECKERS TO SPOT MISINFORMATION EARLY, PRIORITIZE EFFORT, AND UNIFY THE
VARIOUS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR FACT-CHECKING. THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES CAN SCALE THE WORK OF HUMAN FACT-CHECKERS AND BOOST INFORMATION LITERACY IN SOCIETY, WHICH CAN SIGNIFICANTLY
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPOSED TO MISINFORMATION. THE PROJECT DRAWS UPON THE CORE COMPONENTS OF SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE (I.E., PREPARATION, DETECTION, CONTAINMENT, AND POST-
INCIDENT ACTIVITY) TO TRANSFORM THE AD-HOC, TIME-CONSUMING, AND SMALL-SCALE NATURE OF CURRENT FACT-CHECKING PRACTICES WITH A SECURITY-ANALYST PERSPECTIVE AND A UNIFIED USER EXPERIENCE
(UX). THE RESEARCH APPROACH LEVERAGES THE POWER OF COMPUTATION AND PERSONALIZATION WHILE RETAINING THE SYNERGISTIC ADVANTAGES OF THE HUMAN FACT-CHECKER IN THE LOOP. THE
INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIOTECHNICAL APPROACH INVOLVES EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF FACT-CHECKER PRACTICES, COLLECTION OF DATA AND DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS THEIR
CHALLENGES AND BARRIERS, AND DESIGN EXPLORATIONS OF NOVEL UI/UX TECHNIQUES TO CONNECT HUMANS AND COMPUTATION. THE RESEARCH INCORPORATES A FEEDBACK LOOP TO DISSEMINATE FACT-CHECKING
OUTCOMES, THUS BOOSTING THEIR VISIBILITY AND IMPACT ON END USERS EXPOSED TO MISINFORMATION. THE RESEARCHERS ARE DEVELOPING EARLY WARNING AND DETECTION TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE THE TIME
BETWEEN MISINFORMATION GENERATION AND FACT-CHECK DISSEMINATION AND ARE EMPLOYING PRIORITIZATION AND PERSONALIZATION FOR MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT USE OF FACT-CHECKING RESOURCES. THE
RESEARCHERS ARE ENGAGING WITH PROFESSIONAL FACT-CHECKERS TO TRANSLATE THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES TO THE REAL WORLD. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED
WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
45 New York University $400K 5/1/2022 MISINFORMATION BECAUSE PEOPLE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM AND DEMOGRAPHICS TEND TO TRUST CREDIBILITY JUDGMENTS OF FACT-CHECKERS. HOWEVER, A PIPELINE OF MANUAL AND LABOR-INTENSIVE
PRACTICES FRAGMENTED ACROSS DISPARATE TOOLS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SCALE FACT-CHECKING EFFORTS. AS A RESULT, FACT-CHECKERS ARE INUNDATED WITH INFORMATION AND LACK EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION
46 Georgia Tech Research $428K 5/1/2022 MISINFORMATION BECAUSE PEOPLE ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM AND DEMOGRAPHICS TEND TO TRUST CREDIBILITY JUDGMENTS OF FACT-CHECKERS. HOWEVER, A PIPELINE OF MANUAL AND LABOR-INTENSIVE
Corporation PRACTICES FRAGMENTED ACROSS DISPARATE TOOLS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO SCALE FACT-CHECKING EFFORTS. AS A RESULT, FACT-CHECKERS ARE INUNDATED WITH INFORMATION AND LACK EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION
WORKSHOPS ON AUGMENTING INDIVIDUAL INTELLIGENCE BY COLLABORATING WITH PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGIES -MOST IMPACTFUL INNOVATIONS INVOLVE PEOPLE INTERACTING WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE TOOLS
47 Indiana University $49K 4/15/2022 THAT THEY BUILD EXPLICITLY TO HELP THEM THINK AND/OR PERFORM BETTER. THE INVESTIGATORS WILL ORGANIZE TWO WORKSHOPS TO EXPLORE THE WAYS IN WHICH AN INDIVIDUAL?S THINKING IS AUGMENTED AND
SHAPED BY OTHER PEOPLE AS WELL AS BY TOOLS. COORDINATION AMONG PEOPLE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS, DECISION ALGORITHMS, AND LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES CAN GIVE RISE TO ADAPTIVE PROBLEM
SOLVING FAR BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF SINGLE INDIVIDUALS. WORKSHOP TOPICS WILL INCLUDE HOW TO: FACILITATE THE SPREAD OF USEFUL INFORMATION WHILE REDUCING MISINFORMATION, COMBINE
JUDGMENTS FROM MANY INDIVIDUALS (HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS) FOR IMPROVED DECISION MAKING, CREATE POLICIES AND INFRASTRUCTURES THAT ALLOW GROUPS TO EFFECTIVELY SOLVE THEIR SHARED
PROBLEMS, BEST COMBINE THE STRENGTHS OF HUMAN AND COMPUTER PROBLEM SOLVING TO CREATE SYSTEMS MORE ADVANCED THAN EITHER COMPONENT ON THEIR OWN, AND USE COMPUTERS TO MAKE HUMAN
LEARNING MORE EFFICIENT AND FLEXIBLE. THE WORKSHOPS WILL FEATURE PANELIST PRESENTATIONS ORGANIZED INTO THEMES AND MONTHLY GROUP DISCUSSIONS. A BROADER IMPACT OF THE WORKSHOP IS TO
PROVIDE A VENUE FOR STUDENTS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD TO LEARN ABOUT EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS IN AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE. FOR STUDENTS COMING FROM SMALLER UNIVERSITIES WITH FEW RESOURCES
FOR RESEARCH, THE WORKSHOP WOULD PROVIDE EXPOSURE TO STATE-OF-THE-ART RESEARCH AND OPPORTUNITIES TO INTERACT WITH LEADING RESEARCHERS IN THIS EMERGING FIELD. THE TOPIC OF AUGMENTED
INTELLIGENCE REPRESENTS AN EXCITING AREA OF RESEARCH THAT CAN INFORM MANY APPLICATIONS INCLUDING: THE OPTIMIZATION OF TEAM COORDINATION, THE DESIGN OF INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEMS,
COMPUTER SUPPORT FOR HUMAN DECISION MAKING, AND THE ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. THIS TWO-PART, TEMPORALLY AND GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTRIBUTED WORKSHOP WILL INTEGRATE
PERSPECTIVES FROM COGNITIVE SCIENTISTS, COMPUTER SCIENTISTS, EDUCATION RESEARCHERS, NEUROSCIENTISTS, AND BIOLOGISTS TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF A SHARED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR A NEW
SCIENCE OF AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE, PREMISED ON THE OBSERVATION THAT PEOPLE VERY RARELY SOLVE PROBLEMS OR DEVELOP UNDERSTANDINGS ON THEIR OWN. INSTEAD, PEOPLE RECRUIT OTHER PEOPLE AND
TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP THEM, AND TO SUCH A LARGE EXTENT THAT THE APT UNIT FOR UNDERSTANDING COGNITION IS TYPICALLY NOT AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON, BUT RATHER A LARGER SYSTEM THAT INCORPORATES
MULTIPLE PEOPLE AND THE TOOLS THAT THEY CREATED TO ENHANCE THEIR CAPABILITIES. THE WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS WILL GRAPPLE WITH THEORETICAL AND APPLIED QUESTIONS INVOLVING THE NATURE OF MINDS,
HOW ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS COME INTO EXISTENCE THAT CAN ROBUSTLY SOLVE A WIDE RANGE OF PROBLEMS, AND HOW HUMANS AND MACHINES CAN COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER?S STRENGTHS DURING LEARNING AND
KNOWLEDGE CREATION. THE WORKSHOP SEEKS TO STIMULATE NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS AT THE CONFLUENCE OF THEORETICAL, EMPIRICAL, AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES THAT HOLD PROMISE OF DEVELOPING
AN INTEGRATIVE SCIENCE OF AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE, DRAWLING FROM MULTIPLE DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES. DELIVERABLE PRODUCTS FROM THE WORKSHOP WILL INCLUDE ONLINE PUBLIC VIDEOS OF
PARTICIPANTS? LECTURES, ARCHIVES OF CONVERSATIONS, AND SPECIAL ISSUES OF JOURNALS DEVOTED TO AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: SMALL: UNDERSTANDING HOW VISUAL FEATURES OF MISINFORMATION INFLUENCE CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS -TODAY?S MISINFORMATION POSTS HAVE INCREASINGLY BEEN
48 UC Davis $285K 4/1/2022 PRESENTED IN VISUAL FORMATS, SUCH AS IMAGES, MEMES, AND VIDEOS. COMPARED TO TEXT, VISUALS ARE PROCESSED FASTER, REMEMBERED BETTER, AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AS
TECHNOLOGY MAKES IMAGE AND VIDEO MANIPULATION ACCESSIBLE TO THE MASSES, VISUAL MISINFORMATION CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY, SOCIAL COHESION, AND PUBLIC HEALTH. YET WE
NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW SPECIFIC VISUAL FEATURES, SUCH AS COLOR AND FACE PRESENCE, MAY INFLUENCE HOW PEOPLE EVALUATE THE CREDIBILITY OF SUCH VISUAL POSTS. THIS PROJECT OFFERS A
COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DIFFERENT VISUAL ELEMENTS MAY INFLUENCE USERS? PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF IMAGES AND VIDEOS. THE RESULTS HELP PLATFORMS AND FACT-CHECKING AGENCIES TO
DETECT VISUAL MISINFORMATION, CURB ITS DIFFUSION, IDENTIFY VULNERABLE USER GROUPS, AND DEVELOP CORRECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. DRAWING BROADLY FROM LITERATURE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, ADVERTISING,
MARKETING, COGNITIVE SCIENCE, AND COMMUNICATION, AND USING COMPUTER VISION ANALYSIS, QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS, LARGE-SCALE HUMAN ANNOTATION, AND EXPERIMENTS, THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO:
1) IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC VISUAL FEATURES AND MECHANISMS WHICH MAY INFLUENCE PEOPLE?S CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS, 2) EXAMINE HOW THESE VISUAL FEATURES INTERACT WITH NON-VISUAL FEATURES (SOURCE,
VIRALITY, ETC) AND USER CHARACTERISTICS (PARTISANSHIP, DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY, ETC), AND 3) EXAMINE HOW THESE VISUAL FEATURES CAN BE EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGED IN MISINFORMATION CORRECTION
EFFORTS. THE RESEARCH TEAM IS COMPILING A LARGE-SCALE OPEN DATASET OF VISUAL POSTS WITH HUMAN ANNOTATIONS. WHILE EXISTING MISINFORMATION DATASETS HAVE LARGELY FOCUSED ON THE VERACITY OF
MESSAGES, THIS DATASET PROVIDES CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS ALONG WITH OTHER RELEVANT OUTCOMES SUCH AS ATTENTION, EMOTIONAL REACTIONS AND AESTHETIC APPEAL. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH TEAM IS
CREATING A WEBSITE WITH ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION TO EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT MISINFORMATION PRESENTED IN IMAGES AND VIDEOS, SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN BE AWARE OF THEIR VULNERABILITIES
AND BE MORE VIGILANT TOWARDS CERTAIN TYPES OF VISUAL INFORMATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: SMALL: UNDERSTANDING HOW VISUAL FEATURES OF MISINFORMATION INFLUENCE CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS -TODAY?S MISINFORMATION POSTS HAVE INCREASINGLY BEEN
49 University of Georgia $215K 4/1/2022 PRESENTED IN VISUAL FORMATS, SUCH AS IMAGES, MEMES, AND VIDEOS. COMPARED TO TEXT, VISUALS ARE PROCESSED FASTER, REMEMBERED BETTER, AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AS
Research Foundation, Inc. TECHNOLOGY MAKES IMAGE AND VIDEO MANIPULATION ACCESSIBLE TO THE MASSES, VISUAL MISINFORMATION CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY, SOCIAL COHESION, AND PUBLIC HEALTH. YET WE
NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW SPECIFIC VISUAL FEATURES, SUCH AS COLOR AND FACE PRESENCE, MAY INFLUENCE HOW PEOPLE EVALUATE THE CREDIBILITY OF SUCH VISUAL POSTS. THIS PROJECT OFFERS A
COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW DIFFERENT VISUAL ELEMENTS MAY INFLUENCE USERS? PERCEIVED CREDIBILITY OF IMAGES AND VIDEOS. THE RESULTS HELP PLATFORMS AND FACT-CHECKING AGENCIES TO
DETECT VISUAL MISINFORMATION, CURB ITS DIFFUSION, IDENTIFY VULNERABLE USER GROUPS, AND DEVELOP CORRECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. DRAWING BROADLY FROM LITERATURE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, ADVERTISING,
MARKETING, COGNITIVE SCIENCE, AND COMMUNICATION, AND USING COMPUTER VISION ANALYSIS, QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS, LARGE-SCALE HUMAN ANNOTATION, AND EXPERIMENTS, THIS RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO:
1) IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC VISUAL FEATURES AND MECHANISMS WHICH MAY INFLUENCE PEOPLE?S CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS, 2) EXAMINE HOW THESE VISUAL FEATURES INTERACT WITH NON-VISUAL FEATURES (SOURCE,
VIRALITY, ETC) AND USER CHARACTERISTICS (PARTISANSHIP, DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY, ETC), AND 3) EXAMINE HOW THESE VISUAL FEATURES CAN BE EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGED IN MISINFORMATION CORRECTION
EFFORTS. THE RESEARCH TEAM IS COMPILING A LARGE-SCALE OPEN DATASET OF VISUAL POSTS WITH HUMAN ANNOTATIONS. WHILE EXISTING MISINFORMATION DATASETS HAVE LARGELY FOCUSED ON THE VERACITY OF
MESSAGES, THIS DATASET PROVIDES CREDIBILITY PERCEPTIONS ALONG WITH OTHER RELEVANT OUTCOMES SUCH AS ATTENTION, EMOTIONAL REACTIONS AND AESTHETIC APPEAL. IN ADDITION, THE RESEARCH TEAM IS
CREATING A WEBSITE WITH ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION TO EDUCATE THE GENERAL PUBLIC ABOUT MISINFORMATION PRESENTED IN IMAGES AND VIDEOS, SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN BE AWARE OF THEIR VULNERABILITIES
AND BE MORE VIGILANT TOWARDS CERTAIN TYPES OF VISUAL INFORMATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE
FAI: BRIMI - BIAS REDUCTION IN MEDICAL INFORMATION -THIS AWARD, BIAS REDUCTION IN MEDICAL INFORMATION (BRIMI), FOCUSES ON USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO DETECT AND MITIGATE BIASED, HARMFUL,
50 University of Connecticut $393K 3/15/2022 AND/OR FALSE HEALTH INFORMATION THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY HURTS MINORITY GROUPS IN SOCIETY. BRIMI OFFERS OUTSIZED PROMISE FOR INCREASED EQUITY IN HEALTH INFORMATION, IMPROVING FAIRNESS IN AI,
MEDICINE, AND IN THE INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM ONLINE (E.G., HEALTH WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT). BRIMI'S NOVEL STUDY OF BIASES STANDS TO GREATLY ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE
CHALLENGES THAT MINORITY GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS FACE WHEN SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION. BY INCLUDING SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS FOR BOTH PATIENTS AND DOCTORS AND ADVANCING THE STATE-OF-THE-
ART IN PUBLIC HEALTH AND FACT CHECKING ORGANIZATIONS, BRIMI AIMS TO INFORM PUBLIC POLICY, INCREASE THE PUBLIC'S CRITICAL LITERACY, AND IMPROVE THE WELL-BEING OF HISTORICALLY UNDER-SERVED
PATIENTS. THE AWARD INCLUDES SIGNIFICANT OUTREACH EFFORTS, WHICH WILL ENGAGE MINORITY COMMUNITIES DIRECTLY IN OUR SCIENTIFIC PROCESS; BROAD STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WILL ENSURE THAT THE
RESEARCH APPROACH TO THE GROUPS STUDIED IS RESPECTFUL, ETHICAL, AND PATIENT-CENTERED. THE BRIMI TEAM IS COMPOSED OF ACADEMICS, NON-PROFITS, AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS, THUS IMPROVING
COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTORS AND MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES. THE BRIMI PROJECT WILL LEAD TO FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH ADVANCES IN COMPUTER SCIENCE, WHILE INTEGRATING
DEEP EXPERTISE IN MEDICAL TRAINING, PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, AND FACT CHECKING. BRIMI IS THE FIRST LARGE SCALE COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF BIASED HEALTH INFORMATION OF ANY KIND. THIS AWARD
SPECIFICALLY FOCUSES ON BIAS REDUCTION IN THE HEALTH DOMAIN; ITS FOUNDATIONAL COMPUTER SCIENCE ADVANCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MAY GENERALIZE TO OTHER DOMAINS, AND IT WILL LIKELY PAVE THE WAY
FOR STUDYING BIAS IN OTHER AREAS SUCH AS POLITICS AND FINANCES. BRIMI HAS THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: (A) IDENTIFYING AND ANALYZING BIAS AND LANGUAGE MISUSE ONLINE; (B) ADVANCING THE
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MISINFORMATION SPREADS AMONGST DIFFERENT POPULATIONS; AND (C) TRIAGING HEALTH TOPICS WITH THE BIGGEST HARMS, AND CREATING AND DISSEMINATING TRIAGE GUIDELINES TO
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS AND PRACTITIONERS. BRIMI WILL DEVELOP NOVEL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPROACHES BOTH TO ESTABLISH HEALTH INFORMATION INEQUITIES EMPIRICALLY, AND TO REDUCE THEM. THE
METHODS USED INCLUDE LARGE-SCALE ONLINE AND SOCIAL NETWORK DATA COLLECTION AND A CONTENT ANALYSIS APPROACH TO ANNOTATING COMPLEX HEALTH DATA; SUPERVISED, SEMI-SUPERVISED AND TRANSFER
LEARNING TO DETECT BIASED AND FALSE HEALTH INFORMATION; CONTROVERSY AND MISINFORMATION ANALYSIS USING COMMUNITY DETECTION, STANCE DETECTION AND CLAIM DETECTION; AND INTERVENTION DESIGN
METHODS BASED ON BEST PRACTICES IN PUBLIC HEALTH. THE AWARD?S RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS WILL INCLUDE: (A) NOVEL METRICS TO COMPUTATIONALLY DEFINE BIASED HEALTH INFORMATION AND CHARACTERIZE
ITS DISSEMINATION ONLINE AND IN SOCIAL MEDIA, INCLUDING SPECIFICALLY WITHIN DIVERGENT POPULATION GROUPS; (B) UTILIZING TRANSFER LEARNING AND SEMI-SUPERVISED APPROACHES, IN ORDER TO GENERALIZE
SOLUTIONS DEVELOPED ON AND FOR MEDICAL LANGUAGE TO LAY LANGUAGE; (C) ANALYZING DISAGREEMENT WITHIN AND ACROSS POPULATIONS ON HEALTH INFORMATION, WHICH IN TURN REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT IN
STANCE DETECTION AND CLAIM MATCHING APPROACHES; AND (D) NOVEL COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES TO TRIAGE AND PRIORITIZE MISINFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF MITIGATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S
REU SITE: RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES IN DISINFORMATION DETECTION AND ANALYTICS -THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES SITE PROJECT WILL ENGAGE MOTIVATED STUDENTS
51 Old Dominion University $324K 3/1/2022 IN THE RAPIDLY GROWING RESEARCH AREA OF DISINFORMATION DETECTION AND ANALYTICS. WITH ITS FOCUS ON IDENTIFYING DISINFORMATION, THIS PROGRAM WILL BROADEN THE VIEWS OF THE STUDENTS, PROVIDING
THEM WITH A HOLISTIC AND IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF DISINFORMATION AND ITS VIRAL SPREAD ACROSS THE WEB. THEY WILL LEVERAGE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS LEARNED TO DISCERN AND DEBUNK
DISINFORMATION, WHICH COULD AID THEIR FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACTS AND EVENTUALLY HELP PREVENT DISINFORMATION FROM SPREADING. THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS WILL NOT ONLY
PREPARE STUDENTS FOR DISINFORMATION-RELATED JOBS IN RESEARCH OR INDUSTRY, IT WILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO PURSUE GRADUATE STUDY AND RESEARCH IN GENERAL. THIS PROGRAM WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DIVERSE, GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE BY PROVIDING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES TO AN ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE GROUP OF STUDENTS, INCLUDING FEMALE,
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND THOSE FROM UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS WHO MAY NOT HAVE PREVIOUS EXPOSURE TO RESEARCH OR GRADUATE SCHOOL.
STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE REU SITE PROJECT WILL LEARN: (1) THE CONCEPT OF DISINFORMATION, ITS TYPES, EXAMPLES, AND ACTIVE RESEARCH TOPICS, (2) MAINSTREAM COMPUTATIONAL METHODS TO DETECT
DISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA, INCLUDING HOW TO ACCESS, CLEAN, PREPROCESS, AND VISUALIZE DATA AND HOW TO BUILD ANALYTICAL AND PREDICTIVE MODELS USING OPEN SOURCE PROGRAMMING TOOLS, (3)
IMPORTANT METRICS TO EVALUATE RESEARCH RESULTS, COMPARE BASELINE MODELS, AND PRODUCE PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR PUBLICATION QUALITY RESEARCH PRODUCTS, AND (4) ESSENTIAL RESEARCH SKILLS
INCLUDING BRAINSTORMING DISCUSSION, PROGRAMMING EXPERIMENTS, FORENSICS, TRIAL-AND-ERROR, TECHNICAL WRITING, AND RESEARCH PRESENTATION. STUDENTS WILL CONDUCT HANDS-ON RESEARCH ON
TOPICS OF THEIR OWN CHOOSING THAT FIT WITHIN FACULTY MEMBERS' EXISTING BROAD DISINFORMATION RESEARCH PROGRAMS. THE GOAL OF THIS REU SITE IS TO ENGAGE PARTICIPATING STUDENTS IN REAL-WORLD
PROJECTS STUDYING DISINFORMATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF DATA ANALYTICS, INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, APPLIED MACHINE LEARNING, WEB ARCHIVING, AND SOCIAL COMPUTING. THE PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO SUPPORT FUTURE CAREERS, WHETHER RESEARCH OR APPLICATION ORIENTED. CO-FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT IS BEING PROVIDED BY THE SECURE AND TRUSTWORTHY
CYBERSPACE (SATC) PROGRAM AND THE CYBERCORPS/SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE (SFS) PROGRAM IN RECOGNITION OF THE ALIGNMENT OF THIS PROJECT WITH THE GOALS OF THESE TWO PROGRAMS. THIS AWARD
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HCC: SMALL: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS -THIS RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES SPREAD
52 Northwestern University $421K 3/1/2022 IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. SCIENCE COMMUNICATION HAS UNDERGONE DRAMATIC CHANGES OVER THE PAST DECADES. ONLINE PLATFORMS SUCH AS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, ELECTRONIC NEWS
OUTLETS, BLOGS, AND WIKIS ARE NOW USED BY MOST SCHOLARS AND THE PUBLIC FOR SHARING SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ONLINE CIRCULATION OF SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES IS IMPERATIVE
BECAUSE THESE NEW CHANNELS OF CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC HAVE BROUGHT NOVEL CHALLENGES IN DEALING WITH THE UNCONTROLLED DISTORTION OF INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY, IT REMAINS DIFFICULT TO
IDENTIFY RELIABLE KNOWLEDGE, GIVEN THE INCREASE OF SENSATIONALIST PRESENTATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. THIS WORK WILL MERGE IDEAS, APPROACHES, AND TECHNOLOGIES FROM INFORMATION SCIENCE,
COMMUNICATION, AND JOURNALISM TO ADDRESS NUMEROUS ISSUES OF SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT: (1) CONTRIBUTING TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC SERVING SCIENCE JOURNALISM; (2) PROVIDING
PRACTICAL AND ACTIONABLE EARLY PREDICTIONS OF SCIENCE DISSEMINATION FROM COLLECTIVE CUES ON SOCIAL MEDIA; (3) ENRICHING THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE WITH A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING AND TRACKING OF REAL-WORLD MESSAGE DISTORTION CAMPAIGNS; (4) INFORMING KEY CURRENT CRISES RELATED TO MISINFORMATION; AND, (5) GUIDING SCIENCE POLICY WITH NOVEL KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. WHILE MOST RESEARCH ON INFORMATION DIFFUSION HAS FOCUSED ON INDIVIDUAL PLATFORMS, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A
CRITICAL MULTI-PLATFORM ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENCE COMMUNICATION. A PRIMARY GOAL IS TO DISCOVER FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT: (1) TYPICAL TRAJECTORIES IN THE CROSS-PLATFORM
DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES; (2) HOW THESE TRAJECTORIES CONNECT TO THE IMPACT OF THE WORK, ITS NOVELTY, AS WELL AS THE REACTIONS FROM SCHOLARS AND THE PUBLIC; (3) PREDICTIONS OF
EVENTUAL REACTIONS FROM EARLY COVERAGE PATTERNS; AND, (4) EFFECTS OF CLICKBAIT AND INFORMATION DISTORTION ON DISSEMINATION. THIS PROJECT WILL ILLUMINATE HOW SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ARE SHARED,
DISCUSSED, AND DISTORTED ONLINE AND PROVIDE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF HOW EARLY SIGNALS DEDUCED FROM SOCIAL MEDIA CUES CAN BE HARNESSED COMPUTATIONALLY TO PREDICT THE COVERAGE OF
SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES. THE DESIGN OF AN INTERACTIVE TOOL WILL DEMONSTRATE HOW TRACES OF COLLECTIVE REACTIONS CAN BE COMPELLINGLY AND USEFULLY PRESENTED TO SCIENCE JOURNALISTS IN REAL
REPORTING SCENARIOS. THE WORK WILL BE FUELED BY AND WILL FURTHER EXISTING THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON THE USE OF NEW MEDIA IN SCIENCE DISSEMINATION, ASSESS INTENTIONAL AND
UNINTENTIONAL INFORMATION DISTORTION ONLINE, HARNESS COLLECTIVE CUES FROM WEB-BASED PLATFORMS FOR EARLY PREDICTION, AND DESIGN INFORMATION INTERFACES FOR JOURNALISTS. THIS AWARD
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: HCC: SMALL: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS -THIS RESEARCH WILL INVESTIGATE OPEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES SPREAD
53 University of Michigan $79K 3/1/2022 IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. SCIENCE COMMUNICATION HAS UNDERGONE DRAMATIC CHANGES OVER THE PAST DECADES. ONLINE PLATFORMS SUCH AS SOCIAL MEDIA SITES, ELECTRONIC NEWS
OUTLETS, BLOGS, AND WIKIS ARE NOW USED BY MOST SCHOLARS AND THE PUBLIC FOR SHARING SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS. A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ONLINE CIRCULATION OF SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES IS IMPERATIVE
BECAUSE THESE NEW CHANNELS OF CONNECTING WITH THE PUBLIC HAVE BROUGHT NOVEL CHALLENGES IN DEALING WITH THE UNCONTROLLED DISTORTION OF INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY, IT REMAINS DIFFICULT TO
IDENTIFY RELIABLE KNOWLEDGE, GIVEN THE INCREASE OF SENSATIONALIST PRESENTATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC RESULTS. THIS WORK WILL MERGE IDEAS, APPROACHES, AND TECHNOLOGIES FROM INFORMATION SCIENCE,
COMMUNICATION, AND JOURNALISM TO ADDRESS NUMEROUS ISSUES OF SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT: (1) CONTRIBUTING TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF PUBLIC SERVING SCIENCE JOURNALISM; (2) PROVIDING
PRACTICAL AND ACTIONABLE EARLY PREDICTIONS OF SCIENCE DISSEMINATION FROM COLLECTIVE CUES ON SOCIAL MEDIA; (3) ENRICHING THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE WITH A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING AND TRACKING OF REAL-WORLD MESSAGE DISTORTION CAMPAIGNS; (4) INFORMING KEY CURRENT CRISES RELATED TO MISINFORMATION; AND, (5) GUIDING SCIENCE POLICY WITH NOVEL KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT SCIENCE COMMUNICATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF DIGITAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. WHILE MOST RESEARCH ON INFORMATION DIFFUSION HAS FOCUSED ON INDIVIDUAL PLATFORMS, THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A
CRITICAL MULTI-PLATFORM ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENCE COMMUNICATION. A PRIMARY GOAL IS TO DISCOVER FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT: (1) TYPICAL TRAJECTORIES IN THE CROSS-PLATFORM
DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES, (2) HOW THESE TRAJECTORIES CONNECT TO THE IMPACT OF THE WORK, ITS NOVELTY, AS WELL AS THE REACTIONS FROM SCHOLARS AND THE PUBLIC, (3) PREDICTIONS OF
EVENTUAL REACTIONS FROM EARLY COVERAGE PATTERNS; AND, (4) EFFECTS OF CLICKBAIT AND INFORMATION DISTORTION ON DISSEMINATION. THIS PROJECT WILL ILLUMINATE HOW SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ARE SHARED,
DISCUSSED, AND DISTORTED ONLINE AND PROVIDE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF HOW EARLY SIGNALS DEDUCED FROM SOCIAL MEDIA CUES CAN BE HARNESSED COMPUTATIONALLY TO PREDICT THE COVERAGE OF
SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES. THE DESIGN OF AN INTERACTIVE TOOL WILL DEMONSTRATE HOW TRACES OF COLLECTIVE REACTIONS CAN BE COMPELLINGLY AND USEFULLY PRESENTED TO SCIENCE JOURNALISTS IN REAL
REPORTING SCENARIOS. THE WORK WILL BE FUELED BY AND WILL FURTHER EXISTING THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON THE USE OF NEW MEDIA IN SCIENCE DISSEMINATION, ASSESS INTENTIONAL AND
UNINTENTIONAL INFORMATION DISTORTION ONLINE, HARNESS COLLECTIVE CUES FROM WEB-BASED PLATFORMS FOR EARLY PREDICTION, AND DESIGN INFORMATION INTERFACES FOR JOURNALISTS. THIS AWARD
I-CORPS: COMPREHENSIVE TOOL TO CAPTURE SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH RISK COMMUNICATION FOR COVID-19 AND OTHER HEALTH RISKS -THE BROADER IMPACT/COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
54 Oklahoma University $16K 1/15/2022 OF THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOFTWARE PLATFORM THAT MAY BE INTEGRATED INTO CRISIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SUCH AS PUBLIC HEALTH (WHO, CDC), EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (FEMA),
AND TRANSPORTATION (DOT) AGENCIES TO FACILITATE THE TRANSMISSION OF CORRECT INFORMATION AND PROVIDE THE OPTION TO NOTIFY SOCIAL MEDIA PROVIDERS OF IDENTIFIED MISINFORMATION. IT IS BECOMING
INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, POLICY MAKERS, AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS TO BE CAPABLE OF ADDRESSING MAJOR CRISIS SCENARIOS UNDER ACUTE TIME AND RESOURCE
CONSTRAINTS. USING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS MORE EFFICIENTLY WOULD BE A CRITICAL STEP TOWARDS THIS VISION. FOR EXAMPLE, SUCH COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORMS COULD TO BE LEVERAGED TO BETTER
COMMUNICATE THE COVID-19 RISK. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO UNDERSTAND AND VALIDATE THE NEED FOR THIS CAPABILITY IN CIVILIAN OR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES, AND FEDERAL, STATE, OR CITY
LEVEL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY ALSO MAY BE USEFUL IN OTHER NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTER CONTEXTS IN WHICH PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS BECOME MAJOR CONCERNS. THIS I-CORPS
PROJECT IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE TOOL TO CAPTURE SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH RISK COMMUNICATION (I.E., INFORMATION OR MISINFORMATION) AT
DIFFERENT SCALES. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INTEGRATE DATA-DRIVEN METHODS FOR USER-FRIENDLY PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS AND INFOGRAPHICS TO ANTICIPATE CITIZEN NEEDS AND CRISIS RESPONSES. THE
PROPOSED TOOL WILL BE GROUNDED ON STATE-OF-THE-ART NETWORK SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND DATA SCIENCE THEORIES AND CONCEPTS. USING THE APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) OF PUBLICLY
AVAILABLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS SUCH AS TWITTER, LARGE-SCALE CRISIS COMMUNICATION DATA HAS BEEN COLLECTED IN THE EMERGENCE AND OUTBREAK OF THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. THESE DATA MAY SERVE
AS PROOF-OF-CONCEPT FOR THE ABILITY TO DEVELOP AND OPERATE PUBLICLY-AVAILABLE, NOVEL SOCIAL SHARING PLATFORMS TO AUTOMATICALLY AND PASSIVELY DETECT AND CONTROL INFORMATION TIPPING POINTS
TO FACILITATE BETTER RESPONSE IN PANDEMICS AND OTHER SOCIETAL EMERGENCIES. AS SUCH, THE PROPOSED APPROACH WILL PROVIDE HOLISTIC SUPPORT TO DETECT INFORMATION OVERLOAD, TURNOVER, USER
REACTION, AND RESPONSE IN SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS DURING A MAJOR CRISIS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: BUILDING TRUST IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS BY ADDRESSING MISINFORMATION-DRIVEN ONLINE ABUSE AND HARASSMENT
55 George Washington $750K 10/1/2021
University
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: AN ALGORITHMIC OBSERVATORY TO ADDRESS FINANCIAL MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION IN MINORITIZED COMMUNITIES (LOI ID: L02616265)
56 UC Irvine $750K 10/1/2021
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: ACTIONABLE SENSEMAKING TOOLS FOR CURATING AND AUTHENTICATING INFORMATION IN THE PRESENCE OF MISINFORMATION DURING CRISES
57 Ohio State University $750K 10/1/2021
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: A DISINFORMATION RANGE TO IMPROVE USER AWARENESS AND RESILIENCE TO ONLINE DISINFORMATION
58 State University of New York $750K 10/1/2021
NSF CONVERGENCE ACCELERATOR TRACK F: MISINFORMATION JUDGMENTS WITH PUBLIC LEGITIMACY
59 University of Michigan $750K 10/1/2021
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: LARGE: RAPID-RESPONSE FRAMEWORKS FOR MITIGATING ONLINE DISINFORMATION
60 Leland Stanford Junior $310K 10/1/2021
University
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SATC: CORE: LARGE: RAPID-RESPONSE FRAMEWORKS FOR MITIGATING ONLINE DISINFORMATION
61 University of Washington $797K 10/1/2021
EAGER: SATC: INVESTIGATION OF MISINFORMATION BELIEFS EXPRESSED AND SPREAD ONLINE
62 University of Southern $195K 9/1/2021
California
SBIR PHASE I: IDENTIFYING AND COUNTERING MISINFORMATION ON CLOSED MESSAGING PLATFORMS (COVID-19)
63 Meedan Labs, Inc. $256K 7/1/2021
A SIGNAL DETECTION APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MISINFORMATION
64 University of Texas at Austin $282K 6/1/2021

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