What Have I To Do With Combating Disinformation by Technological Measures?
2024 is expected to be an election year around the world, in the course of which elections will be held in more than seventy countries with a population of circa 4.2 billion people. Against this background, the World Economic Forum recently declared that the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation constitutes the biggest threat to the stability of democracies around the world in the short term. This challenge also tops the agenda for tech companies around the world, and a cooperative venture was recently announced—the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI—which includes leading tech companies. In parallel, against the background of the ongoing war in Gaza and the erosion of Israel’s legitimacy in the world, it is important that we develop in Israel the technological and regulatory means for contending with attacks of disinformation and misinformation.
Chief Justice Meir Shamgar Center for Digital Law and Innovation at the Buchmann Faculty of Law, Edmund J. Safra Center for Ethics, Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center and The Center for AI & Data Science at Tel Aviv University, Microsoft Israel, Microsoft for Startups, Israel Internet Association, The British Embassy in Israel, Meitar Law Office and Bright Data invite you to participate in a challenge:
Interested ?
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Goals
We are looking for technological solutions, which are based on a legal and institutional understanding of the problem that may assist in contending with the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation.
What is The Challenge?
The AI revolution and use of advanced technologies have accelerated the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation in a way that contradicts the democratic principle, which is based on a free marketplace of ideas in which people compete on a level playing field in an attempt to convince the public of the rightness of their positions and ideas. The dissemination of disinformation and misinformation undermines citizens’ trust in democracy and democratic institutions and disrupts social and political processes.
Important to Know
The challenge’s outputs may include: the development of tools and economic incentives for identifying and monitoring bots; tools for identifying inauthentic campaigns on social networks; technological means for the efficient implementation of legislative orderings/regulation that help to contend with the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation, while minimizing the harm to freedom of speech and the right to privacy; and more.
01
Submitting Application
Each team shall submit a candidacy application at the link below, which includes short biographies of the team’s members, identifying and defining the problem requiring a solution, and a preliminary model of the technological solution. At least the five most promising proposals will move on to the second stage.
02
Development
The winners in the first stage shall submit a “Proof of Concept” that includes (a) an in-depth explanation of the problem requiring a solution—analysis of the existing situation, identification of the target audience and existing hindrances; (b) a technological model of the solution, ways to assess the model’s success, and the feasibility of the proposed model, including anticipated setbacks.
The teams shall attend training courses adapted to the submitted proposals and shall be accompanied by relevant mentors in various fields. During the development stage the teams shall regularly conduct weekly meetings for a period of at least six weeks, for a minimum of four hours of working in tandem.
03
Declaring The Winners
of The Challenge
The proposals shall be examined by a team of judges, which will be drawn up in accordance with the necessary expertise per the content of the proposals.
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
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Innovation
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Efficacy
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Impact
The winning team shall be awarded a prize of 30,000 NIS, and the initiative will be presented to investors and venture capital.
Who can participate?
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Makeup of multidisciplinary team, according to the following parameters (at least two parameters):
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Discipline – exact sciences, engineering, humanities, social sciences, law.
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Education – students at an institution of higher learning, research students, senior researchers.
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Sector – academia, civil society, industry, private/public sector.
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Individuals aged 18 and above, residing in Israel.
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For winning proposals in the First Stage, availability to participate in the Development Stage.
A Q&A event for candidates will be held on Thursday, May 9th 2024, at 17:00 PM, at Tel - Aviv University (Specific Location TBA)
Additional information about the challenge will be provided at the event, and it will also be possible to get to know potential team members.
Prizes - For First Stage Winners:
Award
A prize of up to 5,000 NIS for each BA or advanced degree student, at any of the recognized institutions of higher learning in Israel, who is a member of the team.
Training
by experts in the fields of technology, sales, marketing, and more.
Networking
connections to mentors in relevant fields and hours of consultation with lawyers
Support and Benefits
A package of benefits and support from Microsoft for Startups Founders Hubs, which includes, among other things, $25,000 worth of access to Microsoft’s tools and services (Azure cloud services, Office 365. Dynamics 365, and more).
Access to public data from Bright Data.
For the Challenge Winners:
Networking and Introduction: presentation of the winning initiative to investors and venture capital in Israel and the U.K.
Grand Prize – 30,000 NIS
Access to Public Data
Timetable
17.3.24
Publication of Call For Candidates
9.5.24
Challenge Q&A Meeting - 16:00, TAU Entrepreneurship Center
19.5.24
Deadline for Submitting Candidacy
2.6.24
Declaration of First-Stage Winners
15.9.24
Submitting Proof of Concept
October 2024
Declaration of Winners