Computer Scientists Say Meme Research Doesn't Threaten Free Speech

dcblogs (1096431) writes "In a letter to lawmakers Tuesday (PDF), five of the nation's top computing research organizations defended a research grant to study how information goes viral. The groups were responding to claims that the government-funded effort could help create a 1984-type surveillance state. The controversy arises over a nearly $1 million research grant to researchers at Indiana University to investigate "why some ideas cause viral explosions while others are quickly forgotten," particularly on Twitter. "We do not believe this work represents a threat to free speech or a suppression of any type of speech over the internet," the letter said. "The tools developed in the course of this research are capable of making no political judgments, no prognostications, and no editorial comments, nor do they provide any capability for exerting any control over the Twitter stream they analyze," they wrote. The controversy over Truthy may be just another sign of the ongoing deterioration between the science community and lawmakers over basic research funding as well as the science itself.

Comments

The first step to control

[cold fjord]

It's hard to control a thing without being able to analyze it. It's even better when you can accurately model it. Measures of control come afterwards.

I'm not sure that I like this being studied by the government. Use is right out.

I wonder if the Obama White House still has its political "hear something, say something" site to report dissent?