Applied computational social choice theory as a framework for new cyber threats
By David M. Perlman, Ph.D.
| December 09, 2019
Social media and “big data” have combined to create a new era of marketing, political campaigning, and hostile propaganda. The tactics, such as microtargeting of ads, have recently received intense public scrutiny. However, little has been publicly said about the tools and techniques of strategy. In this context, Applied Computational Choice (ACSC) refers to a framework for analyzing data, modeling tactics, and planning strategy. Here we describe an ACSC framework derived from the work being done by some of the main actors and apply it to show how a few simple scenarios can be modeled and realistic behaviors predicted, as well as illuminate possible motivations for certain patterns observed in the real world. We introduce the concept of vulnerability assessment applied to voting systems by analyzing the cost of influence operations on simple model voting systems. We believe this framework reflects those being used by a number of different actors with goals and hope that this article helps to provide an overview and introduction to the field.
Applied computational social choice theory as a framework for new cyber threats