The 2nd edition of the Hackathon for Peace, Justice and Security will take place in The Hague, The Netherlands from 14-16 June. Organized by the Municipality of The Hague, participants are invited to use their skills in artificial intelligence to hack for peace, justice and security by solving real world problems. UNICRI, through its Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, has joined this initiative, becoming a challenge owner alongside Translators Without Borders and the National Rapporteur for Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children.
Through the Hackathon, UNICRI invites participants to create tools for the detection of manipulated videos that can support law enforcement, security agencies, courts and the media to readily verify the authenticity of images and videos.
Advancements in video manipulation technology and the programmatic generation of videos are giving rise to a world where it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is fake and what is real. Highly realistic “fake” videos, combining or superimposing images and video using machine learning techniques, can be created with relative ease and with limited resources. Although the technology has certainly enormous positive potential, its advent may equally fuel the spread of misinformation; be used to tarnish the reputation of individuals or discredit their name; to undermine trust in public authorities or manipulate political figures to incite violence or hatred; or even to call into question the validity of image or video evidence presented in court. The dangerous effects of the ‘fake news’ era are already very evident throughout society. Left unchecked, this technology is likely to produce a destabilising impact.
For more information about the Hackathon for Peace, Justice and Security or to register to participate please click here.