Digital – the key to unlocking environmental challenges

On the 5th of September Nadejda Komendantova Research Group Leader of Cooperation and Transformative (CAT) Governance group within the Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) program contributed to the event “Constructing a Digital Environment” which was organized by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and held at the Royal Society in London. The topics of discussion included among other the decision support systems for flood risk assessment, the adaptive citizen science and intelligent digital engagement as well as alerts and monitoring technologies for various risks and natural hazards.  

NERC’s “Digital Gathering 23′ (#DG23) aims to bring together the NERC research community to highlight the increasing role of digital technologies in environmental research, including spotlighting the outcomes from the Digital Environment Projects, which explored methodologies and tools for assessing, analyzing, monitoring and forecasting the state of the natural environment at higher spatial and temporal resolutions than previously possible, and the activities of the Digital Environment Expert network. The conference goals are to spark new collaborations, new ideas and innovative approaches to utilizing technology and digital resources in environmental research.

Nadejda Komendantova provided contribution on building confidence and trust with the usage of artificial intelligence tools to prebunk and debunk misinformation in social media.

Misinformation, in the form of false or inaccurate information deliberately created and spread through various channels, including social media, has become pervasive in the context of migration. An analysis of 45,000 English tweets revealed a wide range of attitudes towards migrants, including the presence of misinformation, concerns, and positive and negative attitudes. This study acknowledges the negative effects of misinformation, such as the formation of preconditions that promote false representations of migrants, foster negative attitudes, and consolidate prejudices against them. Misinformation also leads to mistrust among migrants towards official authorities and creates an environment conducive to exploitation by smugglers and traffickers. To address these issues, this study suggests corrective measures, including raising awareness, promoting evidence-based reasoning, and facilitating diverse forms of interpersonal dialogue.

This presentation was based on the results delivered in frames of the Adaptation AGORA project.