Researchers target fake news with AI screening tool

Monday, December 16, 2019

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering have developed a new screening tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help fact-checkers identify false information online.

The system sets a new benchmark for accuracy in stance detection, a key area in efforts by scientists and engineers around the world to create fully automatic technology capable of detecting fake news.

Alexander Wong is a professor of systems design engineering and a founding member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.ai).

Alexander Wong is a professor of systems design engineering and a founding member of the Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute (Waterloo.ai).

“We need to empower journalists to uncover truth and keep us informed,” said Chris Dulhanty, a master’s student in systems design engineering who led the project. “This represents one effort in a larger body of work to mitigate the spread of disinformation."

Dulhanty and PhD students Jason Deglint and Ibrahim Ben Daya collaborated with Alexander Wong, a systems design engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Medical Imaging.

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