Artificially intelligent systems mimic the human brain. Just like us humans, they are able to evaluate and analyze large amounts of information to make decisions. This works in much the same way as with small children. A small child has to see a dog several times and learn that it is a dog. Only then has it learned what characteristics a dog has and recognizes it on its own.

PROVO (ABC4) – Algorithm can be a scary word, as Brigham Young University computer science professor Quinn Snell admits. The term, which has since reached a commonplace status in the modern-day lexicon, can conjure up imaginings of intrusive data analysis by artificial intelligence-led supercomputers that can understand human nature better than we as a species understand ourselves. Snell acknowledges that the expression can be a scary one for many, but when used properly, algorithms can be used to create impactful and positive change in human society. "When we say algorithm it can throw people off and make people nervous with artificial intelligence and all the hype surrounding that. But what we're really talking about is, the data is telling us a story," Quinn explains to ABC4.com.

Online dating is rapidly changing as technology progresses in our society. It has become a more popular and more accessible way to meet people and express attraction. While dating apps open up new opportunities, especially during this time of social distancing, the majority of online daters are still struggling with the process of online dating and the reality of harassment. Romantic attraction is difficult to predict. While data on personality traits like the Big Five and attachment types can effectively predict how much individuals want to be in partnerships and how desirable they may be as partners, romantic and sexual compatibility and relationship longevity are difficult to trace and anticipate.

They can be positive -- you might learn something fascinating, perhaps meet a remarkable person -- or they can be negative, even harmful. According to a Pew Media Research Center study, about 41 percent of American adults have experienced online harassment, most commonly on social media. A significant portion of those people -- 23 percent -- reported that their most recent experience happened in a comments section. A single toxic comment can make someone turn away from a discussion. Even seeing toxic comments directed at others can discourage meaningful conversations from unfolding, by making people less likely to join the dialogue in the first place.

Online harassment is a significant social problem. Prevention of online harassment requires rapid detection of harassing, offensive, and negative social media posts. In this paper, we propose the use of word embedding models to identify offensive and harassing social media messages in two aspects: detecting fast-changing topics for more effective data collection and representing word semantics in different domains. We demonstrate with preliminary results that using the GloVe (Global Vectors for Word Representation) model facilitates the discovery of new and relevant keywords to use for data collection and trolling detection. Our paper concludes with a discussion of a research agenda to further develop and test word embedding models for identification of social media harassment and trolling.

The video showed the woman in a pink off-the-shoulder top, sitting on a bed, smiling a convincing smile. But it had been seamlessly grafted, without her knowledge or consent, onto someone else's body: a young pornography actress, just beginning to disrobe for the start of a graphic sex scene. A crowd of unknown users had been passing it around online. She felt nauseous and mortified: What if her co-workers saw it? Would it change how they thought of her? Would they believe it was a fake?

The video showed the woman in a pink off-the-shoulder top, sitting on a bed, smiling a convincing smile. But it had been seamlessly grafted, without her knowledge or consent, onto someone else's body: a young pornography actress, just beginning to disrobe for the start of a graphic sex scene. A crowd of unknown users had been passing it around online. She felt nauseous and mortified: What if her co-workers saw it? Would it change how they thought of her? Would they believe it was a fake?

Where will you meet your next bae? If Facebook has anything to do with it, it'll be through its new dating feature, which it's now testing in Colombia. Announced back in May at the F8 developer's conference, Facebook wants to help its 200 million single users find more meaningful, deeper connections – and given its monopoly in online social interactions, it's pretty well-placed to do that. Online dating is hardly anything new, though, so what sets Facebook's dating feature apart from all the rest? Well, Facebook obviously has access to mountains of data on you that other dating sites don't. Your likes, the types of events you go to, the places you hang out, the circles you move in -- all of this intel will help glean better matches than apps that rely on looks, for example.

The internet is supposed to be a place that fosters community and conversation--but all too often, it's a place where people are subjected to hateful speech and online harassment. More than 40 percent of Americans have personally experienced some degree of online harassment, and in 2017, 27 percent reported that they wouldn't post a comment after witnessing harassment posted online. Meanwhile, the sheer volume of toxic commentary online has been enough to force prominent news organizations to shut down comments sections on their articles entirely. The New York Times, however, refuses to let the trolls win. They've invested significant resources in community moderation to ensure that their readers have a productive place to discuss all sides of an issue and connect freely over the topics that matter most, without being subjected to abuse.

Following the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, responsible for the loss of 17 lives, Donald Trump held a meeting at the White House. Seemingly intended to disabuse the nation of the imminent threat of semi-automatic weapons, the president shifted attention to other possible culprits: violent video games. He said: "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on [sic] video games is really shaping young people's thoughts." Considering he couldn't maintain focus on violent games for a full speech, let alone a news cycle, it's a challenge to muster concern about what Trump's bluster means for the future of the medium. Nor is the fate of the video game industry as pressing as the fate of the nation's populace, whose lives will remain in real peril, so long as Trump and his supporters continue to turn the conversation away from dramatic change in the commercial gun industry.