International Panel on the Information Environment
Abbreviation | IPIE |
---|---|
Established | December 2023 (1 year ago) |
Types | Scientific body, non-governmental organization |
Headquarters | Zurich, Switzerland |
Website | www |
The International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) is an international consortium of over 250 experts[1] from 55 countries dedicated to providing actionable scientific knowledge on threats to the global information environment. The organization has been compared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but also CERN and the IAEA, because it uses the model of scientific panels and neutral assessments to identify points of consensus or gaps in knowledge.[2] The IPIE was legally registered as a charitable entity in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland in 2023.[3]
Origins
[edit]The concept was proposed in 2021 during the first Nobel Prize Summit organized by the US National Academy of Sciences and the Nobel Foundation, involving Dr. Sheldon Himelfarb, then head of PeaceTech Lab,[4] and Professor Philip N Howard, a Professor at Oxford University and then Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, [5] In September 2022 thirty scientists met at Oxford University to develop a mission statement, organizational structure, and process for developing scientific consensus. This chartering group included researchers from the social, behavioral and computer sciences. A larger group convened at the UN University of Peace in Costa Rica in February 2023 to continue planning.
In May 2023 the IPIE was officially introduced during the Nobel Prize Summit in Washington DC.[6] The Panel's inaugural announcement said,
Algorithmic bias, manipulation and misinformation has become a global and existential threat that exacerbates existing social problems, degrades public life, cripples humanitarian initiatives and prevents progress on other serious threats.
A New York Times report on the Panel's launch described its initial plans to "issue regular reports, not fact-checking individual falsehoods but rather looking for deeper forces behind the spread of disinformation as a way to guide government policy."[7]
Management
[edit]The CEO of IPIE is Dr. Philip N. Howard,[8] who is also the director of Oxford University's Programme on Democracy and Technology.[9] Jenny Woods is the Executive Director and COO of the IPIE, which has a Secretariat based out of Zuirch.[10] The organization is governed by a small Board of Trustees, a system of permanent methodology, ethics and membership committees, and limited-term scientific panels on particular topics. Dr. Sheldon Himelfarb is co-founder and chair of the IPIE Board of Trustees.[11]
Currently, the IPIE is operating a Scientific Panel on Global Standards for AI Auditing chaired by Professor Wendy Chun and Professor Alondra Nelson, and a Panel on Information Integrity about Climate Science chaired by Professor Klaus Jensen. The organization is neutral and nonpartisan, but does seek better access to data from technology companies so as to better appraise the impact of new technologies like AI on public life.[12]
References
[edit]- Amelia Arsenault; Sheldon Himelfarb; Susan Abbott (2011), Evaluating media interventions in conflict countries: Toward developing common principles and a community of practice (PDF), United States Institute of Peace, Wikidata Q124692340
- Guardian Nigeria (22 May 2023). "Global disinformation experts launch Int'l Panel on Information Environment". The Guardian. ISSN 0189-5125. Wikidata Q124711490.
- Sheldon Himelfarb; Philip N. Howard (7 October 2021). "What's stunning about the misinformation trend – and how to fix it". CNN. Wikidata Q124714356.
- Sheldon Himelfarb; Katherine Maher; Vint Cerf; Philip N. Howard; Ian Goldin; Tawakkol Karman (3 May 2021). ""A Call for an Intergovernmental Panel on the Information Environment" during the Nobel Prize Summit". YouTube. Wikidata Q124711671.
- Philip N. Howard (2020). Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-25020-7. Wikidata Q124713543.
- IPIE (2024a), IPIE Scientists, International Panel on the Information Environment, Wikidata Q124711439
- IPIE (2024b), Philip Howard, IPIE Co-founder and CEO, Wikidata Q124713098
- IPIE (2024c), Sheldon Himelfarb, Co-founder and Chair of the IPIE, Wikidata Q124711828
- Graham Lawton (2 June 2021). "We need to set up an international body to fight fake news". New Scientist. ISSN 0262-4079. Wikidata Q124711649.
- Steven Lee Myers (24 May 2023). "With Climate Panel as a Beacon, Global Group Takes On Misinformation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Wikidata Q124714300.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (22 June 2023). "Nobel Prize Summit Fuels Initiatives to Combat Misinformation and Disinformation and Build Trust in Science". National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Wikidata Q124711722.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - PeaceTech Lab (2023a), PeaceTech Lab announces its disollution (published December 2023), Wikidata Q124711801
- PeaceTech Lab (2023b), Sheldon Himelfarb, PeaceTech Lab President and CEO, Wikidata Q124711849
- Alison Snyder (28 May 2023). "Worries mount about misinformation in science". Axios. Wikidata Q124713797.
- University of Oxford (2024), Professor Philip Howard: Professor of Internet Studies, Wikidata Q124713536
- Wilson Center (2013). "Sheldon Himelfarb, Director of the Centers of Innovation at the United States Institute of Peace". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Wikidata Q124713008.
Notes
[edit]- ^ IPIE (2024a).
- ^ Myers (2023). https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/24/business/researchers-study-misinformation.html Archived 2024-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Myers (2023).
- ^ Lawton (2021). See also Himelfarb et al. (2021).
- ^ National Academies (2023).
- ^ Snyder (2023).
- ^ Myers (2023). https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/24/business/researchers-study-misinformation.html Archived 2024-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ IPIE (2024b).
- ^ University of Oxford (2024).
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ IPIE (2024c).
- ^ "Fighting disinformation gets harder, just when it matters most". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-08-27.