Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of US

It’s no secret that world opinion of the US has hit a low point. So the US Department of Homeland Security is funding university research to develop software and monitor negative opinions expressed in foreign newspaper accounts. The agency will rely on the analysis “to identify potential threats to the nation,” explains journalist Eric Lipton. Spies traditionally rely on reading newspapers to gather foreign intelligence, but the new software would automate the process, assessing intensity of dislike for US policies and tracking patterns from individual journalists or newspapers. To date, software programs trip over nuances – failing to determine that the comment “this spaghetti is good” is less favorable than “this spaghetti is not very good – it’s excellent.” One analyst calls the program “creepy and Orwellian.” A test-run of the software will tally comments in newspapers from 2001 and 2002 on topics ranging from global warming to handling detainees at Guantánamo Bay. On such issues, US policies might benefit from more reading of the foreign press. – YaleGlobal