Students in the Tech Policy Lab work with Milstein Program faculty fellow Sarah Kreps, along with other faculty and graduate research assistants, and are studying three core research areas:
- Defense: the use of drones for counterterrorism; cyber security, cyber escalation
- Health: research, development, and uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine; the use of scientific models in projecting virus transmission
- Democracy: language models that amplify fake voices and distort democratic representation; online misinformation by foreign actors meddling in the domestic electoral process
As part of this project, Nate Watson and Jasper Weed, are researching the use of artificial intelligence in social media, and created a quiz to test if people can distinguish between AI-generated content and human-generated content. They will be collecting and presenting on this data.
Student Reflection: Tanvi Namjoshi '24:
"As a student in the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity, I am particularly interested in the intersection of computer science and policymaking, as well as ethics. When Professor Kreps introduced the Tech Policy Lab, I was drawn to its interdisciplinary approach to studying issues such as misinformation and cyber escalation. One thing I really enjoy is that as a part of the lab, I’m not only learning about the process of conducting research, but I am able to actively participate in it. From reading literature on topics that fascinate me, to participating in designing experiments, I’ve picked up skills that will help me in any future endeavor.
I also really enjoy our weekly lab meetings because it is a very collaborative setting. When we discuss our projects I really enjoy learning about the different projects other members are working on, such as using OpenAI to help detect misinformation about Covid-19 in tweets. Having this really unique research experience as an undergrad has helped me shape my own learning experience here at Cornell and tailor it to my specific interests."
Watch Nate Watson, Milstein Program class of 22, talk about his work on the Tech Policy Lab.
Milstien Program Project Team Members:
- Jasper Weed
- Nate Watson
- Max Hadden
- Noah Watson
- Ishika Argrawal
- Tanvi Kedar Namjoshi
- Gloria Cai
- Lizzie Ominsky
- Naba Deyab