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1. Our Digital Future: The Security Implications of Metaverses

Author:
Jean-Marc Rickli and Frederico Mantellassi
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Although the concept of a metaverse or metaverses is not new, current developments in the creation of possible metaverses offer credible prospects of generating increasingly immersive digital experiences that will also provide people with more information, connections and knowledge than ever before. However, metaverses are also likely to exacerbate existing risks surrounding the increased digitalisation of our lives and the role of social media companies in our societies, such as the spread of disinformation or increased societal polarisation. Similarly, technology companies’capacity to collect private data and profile users will also increase. Growing levels of immersivity will reinforce risks such as increased digital crime or extremist radicalisation, but will also create new ones that pertain to cognitive manipulations. This could lead to the transformation of social organisations and a questioning of the legitimacy of traditional institutions. Metaverses also offer new dimensions for power politics and geopolitical confrontations, and a platform for conducting cognitive warfare. Responsible innovations and security-by-design must be the guiding principles of efforts to develop metaverses.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Social Media, Innovation, and Digital Culture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. The UN and the use of "serious games" as an element of citizen awareness: Survival case study/La ONU y el uso de “serious games” como elemento de concienciación ciudadana: Estudio de caso de Survival

Author:
Antonio César Moreno
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
Games have always been a powerful tool for learning behaviours and attitudes necessary for an efficient socio-cultural performance. In today's digital society this role is played mainly by video games. They provide video players with skills and abilities typical of the time and facilitate the learning of complex processes effectively. The UN, through its different agencies and through various Education programmes, has used this format to bring together and raise awareness among citizens about the main international issues, such as crises and the displacement of refugees. The aim of this text is to analyse how these issues are projected through the case study of the Spanish video game Survival, as well as to assess whether it is a useful tool for raising awareness and providing adequate information to the population. To this end, this article will analyze the message of this title as well as initiatives such as the UNAOC's PEACEapp initiative./Los juegos han constituido siempre una poderosa herramienta de aprendizaje de conductas y actitudes necesarias para el eficiente desempeño sociocultural. En la actual sociedad digital ese papel lo protagonizan, principalmente, los videojuegos. Estos proveen a los video jugadores de habilidades y destrezas propias de la época y facilitan el aprendizaje de procesos complejos con eficacia. La ONU a través de sus diferentes agencias y mediante diversos programas de Educación se ha servido de este formato para aproximar y concienciar a la ciudadanía sobre las principales problemáticas internacionales, como las crisis y desplazamientos de refugiados. El objetivo del presente texto es analizar cómo se proyectan estos temas a través del estudio de caso del videojuego español Survival así como valorar si es una herramienta útil para concienciar e informar adecuadamente a la población. Para ello analizaremos el mensaje de este título e iniciativas como la iniciativa PEACEapp de la UNAOC.
Topic:
United Nations, Refugees, Media, Citizenship, Digital Culture, and Video Games
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Evolve or Perish: The Global Forces Changing the Business of Banks

Author:
Robert Fay and Angelo Arcelli
Publication Date:
04-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Group of Twenty embarked on an ambitious financial regulatory reform plan that has seen many banks worldwide make substantial progress in terms of both capitalization and governance. Over this period, banks have also become increasingly exposed to business risks from digitization, artificial intelligence and cybercrime, and major investments are necessary to manage these risks. New regulations have been introduced in the European Union to reduce these risks, but their associated costs have potentially created a lasting competitive disadvantage for European banks. This situation has raised some key questions that deserve to be discussed and investigated: How does regulation — including that outside the sector — affect banks’ ability to compete globally? What will be the impact of fintech players as well as globally active banks from China and other emerging markets? Can the Basel regulatory framework and Financial Stability Board (FSB) ensure a level playing field globally going forward, or has the regulatory pendulum swung too far? How will the supervisory approach need to be adapted to the changing structure of the global financial system? Moreover, how will the implementation of Basel reforms affect the industry? These and other questions remain about the effectiveness of the already-achieved reforms as well as their future direction. These issues were at the core of CIGI and Oliver Wyman’s fifth annual Financial Regulatory Outlook Conference, held in Rome on November 28, 2018. This conference report summarizes the key points of discussions at the conference, with a special focus on the 10 years of regulatory reform that was conducted under the auspices of the FSB and the new forces that are currently affecting banks and could have an impact on the future.
Topic:
Financial Crisis, Regulation, Europe Union, and Digital Culture
Political Geography:
Europe and Global Focus

4. Humanitarian Technology: Taking the ‘Human’ out of Humanitarianism?

Author:
Christopher Chen
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
There has been a rapid turn towards the use of both physical and digital technologies in the humanitarian sector. New forms of humanitarian technology (HUMTECH) encompass both hardware – drones, modular shelters, robots and software, such as data collection systems, biometric identification programs, block chain components. Unfettered and uncritical interactions with technology could bring about certain risks.
Topic:
Science and Technology, NGOs, Innovation, and Digital Culture
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Computational International Relations What Can Programming, Coding and Internet Research Do for the Discipline?

Author:
H. Akin Unver
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:
Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:
Computational Social Science emerged as a highly technical and popular discipline in the last few years, owing to the substantial advances in communication technology and daily production of vast quantities of personal data. As per capita data production significantly increased in the last decade, both in terms of its size (bytes) as well as its detail (heartrate monitors, internet-connected appliances, smartphones), social scientists’ ability to extract meaningful social, political and demographic information from digital data also increased. A vast methodological gap exists in ‘computational international relations’, which refers to the use of one or a combination of tools such as data mining, natural language processing, automated text analysis, web scraping, geospatial analysis and machine learning to provide larger and better organized data to test more advanced theories of IR. After providing an overview of the potentials of computational IR and how an IR scholar can establish technical proficiency in computer science (such as starting with Python, R, QGis, ArcGis or Github), this paper will focus on some of the author’s works in providing an idea for IR students on how to think about computational IR. The paper argues that computational methods transcend the methodological schism between qualitative and quantitative approaches and form a solid foundation in building truly multi-method research design.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Internet, Research, Digital Culture, Methods, and Computer Science
Political Geography:
Global Focus