CS492/692 - Spring 2020 - Assignment 4
Understanding and Addressing Digital Misinformation
Description
The purpose of this assignment is to have students learn more about the
problem of online digital misinformation, the social implications that have arisen
from its introduction and the expectations for the future.
For this assignment you will be working in groups of 5 (with groups
being formed by the instructor and the TAs, in an effort to balance
the talents of the students of the class). You will be asked to
produce a report which covers the following:
i) clarify what kinds of online digital misinformation you are choosing to
focus on in your essay; provide brief
descriptions with examples or illustrations
and explain how it is that the Internet allows this misinformation to exist
ii) describe negative impacts that have occurred due to the misinformation
and clarify who has been most affected
iii) provide recommendations for government and industry that might help to
reduce these negative impacts
iv) if technology can play a role in providing improvements, explain
the kinds of technologies that can be used and how they might help
v) provide a conclusion, clarifying as well what individuals can
do in the meantime, before your proposed steps forward are taken.
The assignment is due on Thursday Jul 2 at 10am and is worth 10 marks. It should be on
the order of 2500 words. (Some kind of introduction
should be included, in addition to the coverage of the five core
subtopics listed above).
Purpose
Digital misinformation is upon us already
and while some computer scientists, governments and tech organizations
have begun to imagine how to address this social problem,
a deeper understanding of the origins, obtained by groups of young computer
scientists such as you, may lead to novel, creative ideas for
what can be done in the future, and reveal greater insights into what we
should all be prepared for, as the problem continues to increase, unchecked.
The focus for this assignment is on open-ended thinking, guided by
current articles on the topic. There is no right or wrong answer.
Students are urged to be creative and constructive in their
recommendations.