Ninth conference in the Aula Árabe Universitaria 5 series will be given in Madrid by Salma Jamoussi, a researcher and associate professor at the University of Sfax.

Social media are a reflection of our society today. In them we find communities and organizations, as well as relationships between users and the media. Social media are, in short, a place for sharing in which users can express themselves and voice their opinions and feelings. Because of this sharing of information, artificial intelligence has come closer than ever to humans. Researchers and scientists are able to capture human emotions, understand complex psychological processes and monitor them, and understand how collective and individual opinions are formed. At present, artificial intelligence algorithms can help us detect, analyze and predict opinions, emotions, intentions and behaviors.

However, social networks may also be used for other purposes. They are considered a powerful weapon for propaganda, which many extremists have already used to spread their ideologies, mostly among young people and teenagers. Artificial intelligence also plays an important role in dealing with this, as well, by profiling extremist users, tracking their radicalization processes, detecting the existence of their communities and studying the nature of the conversations they take part in. These are some of the areas of greatest interest to researchers today.

This conference by Salma Jamoussi, an associate professor at the University of Sfax and a specialist in artificial intelligence, data science and machine learning, will attempt to cast some light on this field of work and highlight the important contribution made by ificial intelligence to fight extremism, radicalization and violence.

It will include participation by Ana Planet, a professor of Arab and Islamic Studies and Vice Dean of Postgraduate Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), who will be presenting the speaker and the session, as part of the Master’s degree programs at that university, Carola García Calvo, a lecturer on the subject of International Terrorism in the bachelor’s degree program in International Relations at the URJC and Senior Analyst at the Violent Radicalization and Global Terrorism Program at the Real Instituto Elcano, and José Luis Ledesma, coordinator of the UCM-Sciences Po Toulouse Dual International Degree, who will be both providing an initial reaction to/commentary on the lecture, in representation of the UCM and URJC degree programs, before the debate is opened up to the students and public. Moderating the session will be Olivia Orozco, Casa Árabe’s Training and Economics Coordinator.

Salma Jamoussi

Salma Jamoussi is a researcher and associate professor at the University of Sfax, Tunisia. With a PhD from the University of Lorraine, France, she is a specialist in artificial intelligence, data science and machine learning. After her engineering studies, she specialized in the field of artificial intelligence at the National School of Computer Sciences in Tunis. She is also a member of the MIRACL research laboratory (Multimedia, Information Systems and Advanced Computing Laboratory).

One of her current areas of interest is Natural Language Processing (NLP), which she intends to apply to the detection of behavior patterns and emotions. One of her intentions is to use this tool to detect mental health issues, in order to determine customized forms of intervention. At a personal level, one aspect she considers to be important is inclusiveness of more women in the fields of research and technology.

Further information: https://en.casaarabe.es/event/artificial-inteligencie-social-media-and-radicalisation