Did Donald Trump Use Artificial Intelligence to Win the Election?

[applegrove]

https://hackernoon.com/did-donald-trump-use-artificial-intelligence-to-win-the-election-8008c2c0bf59#.xmiq7s5as

by Trent Lapinsky at hackernoon

"SNIP..........


Steve Bannon is on the board of directors of a privately held company out of London called Cambridge Analytica. They’re a data mining, analytics, and strategic communications company funded by Robert Mercer, a friend and supporter of now President Donald Trump. This company has developed strategic processes and products for automating the ability to track and analyze everyone’s social media presence, and then target and optimize advertising specifically to millions of people using machine learning to show them “news” that matches their political identity. They are then able to use the engagement data to geographically see where Trump could potentially persuade people to vote for him, especially in swing states. Or just poison the well, and persuade people not to vote for Hillary Clinton.

In other words, Steve Bannon and company figured out that social networks such as Twitter and Facebook put everyone into echo chambers, which I wrote about the night of the election, and realized they could use that to their advantage to persuade the masses into voting for Donald Trump. By using machine learning, which enables computers to learn without being programmed, they were able to develop software to analyze everyone’s personalities based on purchased data and Facebook. They then used that analysis to display specifically tailored ads or “news” on Facebook and other websites (sometimes following users across the Internet), showing these users dark posts that only that person saw. By doing this, they could significantly optimize engagement and target people they knew statistically had a high probability of becoming a Trump supporter. They could also target Hillary Clinton supporters, and potentially persuade them not to vote.

Those who did not engage, Bannon and company then knew to ignore and no longer pursue (saving time and money). Those who did engage were put into new echo chambers controlled by Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica. By continuing to advertise to them what the machine learning software determined they wanted to read, they were able to persuade people to vote for Donald Trump who may not have normally voted; or perhaps discourage people from voting for Hillary.

If all of this is true, Steve Bannon essentially used Silicon Valley’s own means of social engineering, echo chambers, and monetization strategies against those company’s and Hillary Clinton to persuade Twitter and Facebook users to vote for Donald Trump instead. Only spending a fraction of what Hillary spent, and with much greater efficiency and accuracy.


...........SNIP"

[malthaussen]

1. Well, he certainly didn't use natural intelligence...

... since he has none.

-- Mal

[GoCubsGo]

3. Nor, does anyone who gave this con man their vote.

[Maeve]

2. Well, heaven knows it wasn't thru NATURAL intelligence!

someone had to say it....

[LunaSea]

4. More

https://www.scout.ai/story/the-rise-of-the-weaponized-ai-propaganda-machine

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028660773

[JHan]

5. It may sound outrageous but it's real. Weaponized AI is a game changer..

"Dank memes" swarmed the internet during the elections, mostly in favor of Trump. I'm a millenial, so I saw how effective they were among my age group. Objective truth is being trounced by the best "dank memes" and propaganda, with "Truth" fashioned by those with the power to shape perception - even propaganda that leads millions to vote against their self interests. Data analytics has already morphed into a direct assault on what we know or think we know to be true.

This isn't just about elections, where one candidate is pilloried and the other propped. These tools are used to direct hostility towards groups or ideas deemed to be the enemy of those with power. US vs THEM is the oldest conflict in the world and with AI, propaganda can be refined and weaponized to target the most vulnerable because it is highly sensitive and responsive in real time.

What's scary is that we think these methods don't work on us, but they do. Our views are never entirely our own, and dependent solely on the work we do or don't do to constantly challenge our preconceived notions ( which were conceived by *something* ). A sophisticated AI that knows our interests and patterns of behavior, and responds accordingly, is the perfect weapon to manipulate our shifting perceptions but it is fashioned to respond depending on input - so the problem isn't the technology but the people shaping what informs the behavior of the AI.

[Ilsa]

6. Well, trumputin didn't, but his puppeteers did. nt