Information theoretic modelling of deception
About the project
Deceptive behaviour is an evolved capability in organisms that aids survival in competitive environments, such as among prey and predators. Humans have migrated this capability into social systems, and more recently into machine systems, usually to gain an unfair advantage.
The aim of this project is to develop a comprehensive theoretical foundation for accurate quantitative modelling of deceptions and their effects, for use in cognitive, game and decision theory models.
Models developed from this research have been applied to analysing diverse problems, including major social problems arising from the exploitation of social cognitive dysfunctions:
- forensic analysis and classification of compound deceptions in biology
- forensic analysis of information warfare attacks
- forensic analysis of deceptive propaganda
- simulation and modelling of cooperation and diffusion in populations exposed to ‘fake news’
- forensic analysis of social cognitive dysfunctions, such as pluralistic ignorance and Janis' groupthink
With the advent of digital media, agenda and mischief, motivated deceit has grown to global pandemic proportions. Therefore tools for the detection, analysis and modelling of deceptions are immensely important in mitigating and overcoming the damage communities may experience.
Researchers involved
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