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Center for Information Integrity

UB’s Center for Information Integrity (CII) is rooted in the shared conviction that accurate information is required for vigorous public debate within democracy. Our goal is to develop solutions to some of society’s most serious challenges—integrity of democratic process, climate change, healthcare information, deepfakes and online fraud—problems that we cannot tackle unless we have actionable information on which we agree.

CII: Tackling Some of the World's Most Serious Challenges

Network security analyst working at a desk with several computers.
UB receives $1.8 million award to accelerate security for AI adoption in U.S. Department of Defense
Four UB faculty members are particpating in a new $1.8 million initiative to secure the U.S. Department of Defense’s most critical artificial intelligence models, while also accelerating the technology’s commercialization in the private sector. CII's Co-Director, Siwei Lyu, will serve as principal investigator.

Read the full story here.
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UB developing AI tool to increase integrity of medical information for those with limited English proficiency
Melissa McCarron, assistant clinical professor, was awarded a SUNY IITG grant to develop a mobile app with AI conversation support for culturally competent communication in Spanish across health professions. She leads an interdicisplinary team with members from UB, SUNY Brockport and SUNY Upstate Medical.

Read the full story here.
cell phone with an unknown caller.
DeepFake-o-meter featured as one of 5 things to do to keep you and your loved ones safe from AI phone scams
UB's DeepFake-o-meter is featured  as "one of five things to do to keep you and your loved ones safe from AI phone scams."

Read the full story here.
elementary teacher and two students.
CII leads News Literacy Project for WNY educators
In partnership with the national News Literacy Project and the Education Collaborative of WNY, CII helps educate area teachers and students, so they know what online information to trust, share and act on.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced UB as the home of Empire AI when she visited campus in January. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki.
UB named home of Empire AI research center
Leading the charge in AI, UB was named home of the new public-private Empire AI research center for the public good. New York State will invest $275 million to create and launch a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center on UB’s North Campus.

Read the full story here.
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UB combats deepfakes, a threat to democracy
A recent article by CII members highlights the threat to the integrity of elections posed by deepfakes. UB provides an open platform that bundles state-of-the-art deepfake detection methods for journalists, law enforcement investigators and the general public for deepfake detection, attribution and provenance.

Read the full story here.
graphic with major cities on the East Coast of the United States.
NSF awards $1 million grant to UB to help prepare for the next pandemic
A portion of the grant addresses a key problem that hampered the pandemic response, described as “an alarming lack of collaboration and trust among researchers, public health officials, government and the public," by Jennifer Surtees, associate professor of biochemistry.

Read the full story here.
Deep fake face swap with AI technology.
AI expert David Doermann addresses dangers of ‘Deepfakes’ on Capitol Hill
“For more than five centuries, authors have used variations of the phrase ‘Seeing is believing.’ But in just the past half-decade we’ve come to realize that’s no longer always true,” said Doermann, PhD, director of UB’s Artificial Intelligence Institute.

Read the full story here.
Cyber crime on laptop.
UB empowers vulnerable populations with AI
Deception Awareness and Resilience Training (DART) leverages a $5M NSF Convergence Accelerator award to refine gaming strategies designed for and with older adults to help recognize and navigate scams.

Read the full story here.

Join Our Efforts to Enhance and Ensure Information Integrity

The Center for Information Integrity's research and programs offer ways to engage with fellow researchers, funders and our community to spur innovation and help solve some of the most serious challenges of our time. Sign up for our newsletter to learn more about our faculty members, research projects, events and how you can get involved.

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Center for Information Integrity in Action

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Digital Literacy

We develop programs to help K-12 teachers, university faculty members, students and their parents better understand the legitimacy of information and develop digital literacy skills, as well as programs that increase disinformation awareness and improve resilience by protecting users against the impact of harmful disinformation and subsequently preventing its spread.

 

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Socio-Technological Solutions

Multidisciplinary teams create socio-technological solutions that address root causes of misinformation and balance the rights to privacy and free speech. For example, we created an open platform that bundles state-of-the-art deepfake detection methods for journalists, law enforcement investigators and the general public for deepfake detection, attribution and provenance.

 

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Community Engagement

Our faculty members initiate community engagement projects to educate and build trust among disenfranchised and disadvantaged members of our community and design additional tools and programs to educate those who are oftentimes the victims of online deceptions and reduce the staggering losses due to scams.

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Expertise and Advocacy

From artificial intelligence threats like deepfakes to protecting consumer data and privacy online, UB faculty members are regularly called upon to advise lawmakers and national security experts. Our research and expertise is helping drive public policy with the goal of making the world a safer place for all.

illustration of a cell phone with the DART app and its characters designed to fight online fraud.

DART: Helping to Educate and Protect Vulnerable Populations

Online scams are on the rise, especially targeting older adults. The FBI reports that $3.4 billion was scammed from the elderly in 2023 alone.

Our Deception Awareness and Resilience Training (DART) platform helps older adults recognize threats and scams and protect themselves and their loved ones.

A collaboration between researchers, game designers, and community organizations, the DART platform and its content are tailored to make it accessible, relevant and engaging for those most at risk.

Learn more
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Fuel the Future

Join the individuals, foundations, corporations and funding agencies that have invested in the Center for Information Integrity as we continue to develop solutions to some of today's most serious challenges. There is still time to include your gift in Boldly Buffalo: The Campaign for UB and help transform the university and communities around the world.

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