Gregory Asmolov raised some interesting questions during his public lecture at the Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) at CEU's School of Public Policy on April 12. The focus of his presentation was the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in modern conflicts. As Asmolov, who is a PhD candidate at the Media and Communications Department of the London School of Economics, pointed out, there is no doubt that ICTs have changed how people interact with and experience modern conflicts. What is less clear is whether this is a good or bad thing. Has this change helped to mitigate conflicts by providing enhanced opportunities to gather information and share opinions, or has it exacerbated conflicts by making it easier to offend or antagonize others? Asmolov suggested that discussing the role of the Internet in conflicts requires looking beyond the traditional focus on cyber threats, online extremism, information security, and digital propaganda. His lecture addressed the question of how information technologies change the relationship between users and conflicts.
Read the full article on the CMDS website here.