Artificial Intelligence, Social Media and Disruptive Technologies

This project will generate national-scale knowledge of the influence of violent extremist, misogynist, and ambiguous ideologies in digital forums on Australian young people, and aims to use this knowledge to generate for the National Intelligence Community (NIC) scalable approaches to identifying and curtailing the influence of such malign communities.

The threat of online extremism is spiralling as young Australians spend increasing time online in unregulated, offshore social media forums and, increasingly, in closed ‘alt-tech’ communities where the violent ideologies of religious extremist groups, far-right nationalists, sovereign citizens, violent misogynist movements, and ambiguous/inchoate ideologies, can operate unimpeded.

While ASIO (2022) has stated that online communities are ‘the world’s single most potent and powerful incubator of extremism’, we do not know the prevalence and impact of this exposure, nor how to effectively detect or prevent digital forms of extremism reaching Australian children and young people. Uncovering this knowledge is vital to organisations – government and third sector – that are concerned in protecting youth from the effects of violent ideologies.

Chief Investigator: Dr Melissa-Ellen Dowling (Flinders University), Dr Nathan Manning (University of Adelaide), Professor Tim Legrand (University of Adelaide)

Grant Funder: Office of National Intelligence – National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grant 2024

Funding: $782,375

Information warfare is a key emerging trend in homeland security. However, there is great uncertainty regarding both where the legal boundaries lie and strategically, where Australia might like them to be.

This project examined the defining characteristics of Information warfare, how it is currently applied in Australia, and the relevant domestic and international laws that apply to its characterisation and use.

A JBC Policy Perspective on this topic is available here and a public report was produced from this project which is available here.

Chief Investigator: Professor Melissa de Zwart (University of Adelaide), Associate Professor Stacey Henderson (Flinders University), and Professor Matthew Stubbs (University of Adelaide)

Grant Funder: Department of Defence – Strategic Policy Division Grant

Funding: $123,604.80