Roots of Distrust: Modern Technology and the Impact of a 19th Century Voter Suppression Plan
Much effort is devoted these days to understanding the root cause of distrust in election systems. Little effort is devoted to understanding the relationship between election technology and the historically significant distrust in populations whose rights have been denied.
Speaker: Richard DeMillo, Professor and Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair in Computing, School of Cybersecurity and Privacy
Abstract: Much effort is devoted these days to understanding the root cause of distrust in election systems. Little effort is devoted to understanding the relationship between election technology and the historically significant distrust in populations whose rights have been denied. In this talk, I will first draw connections between the modern language used to justify the computerization of elections and the language of the Post-Reconstruction revision of the constitution of the state of Mississippi. I will use this analogy to bolster the argument that in modern times building "trust" in elections is counter-productive and that energy is better spent on developing confidence-building evidence-based methods for reaching agreement on election outcomes.
Bio: Richard DeMillo holds the Charlotte B. and Roger C. Warren Chair in Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. With cybersecurity threats on the rise, he founded and led Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, the first-of-a-kind at a top research university, to close the national skills gap in cybersecurity. He was formerly the John P. Imlay Dean of Georgia Tech's College of Computing and Director of the Georgia Tech Information Security Center. He has held senior leadership positions in industry, government, and academia. He was Hewlett-Packard/s first Chief Technology Officer.
His academic research includes over 100articles, books, and patents in computer science and cybersecurity. He works at the intersection of fundamental problems in digital technology and the public impact of those technologies. His 1979 paper “Social Processes and Proofs of Theorems and Programs “has been reprinted dozens of times and was recently cited as one of the50most influential papers in computer science.
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IPaT: GVU Lunch Lecture Series
The IPaT: GVU Lunch Lecture Series is free and features guest speakers presenting on topics related to people-centered technologies and their impact on society. Lunch is provided at 12:00 p.m. and the talks begin at 12:30 p.m. Join us weekly or watch video replays. Most lectures are held in the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB) 1st floor ballroom.
https://research.gatech.edu/ipat/lunch-lectures
