Google’s next mission: Fighting violent extremism
Sergei Chuzavkov / AP file Ukrainian skinheads and nationalists gesture as they take part in a May Day rally in downtown Kiev on May 1, 2006.Look, there’s that symbol again… the one that’s supposedly completely innocuous and that doesn’t really mean anything according to hateblogger Baron Bodissey at Gates of Vienna…
Today Google’s new think tank will host a summit on what makes some youths join radical groups and what makes others turn away.
Neo-Nazi groups and al-Qaeda might not seem to have much in common, but they do in one key respect: their recruits tend to be very young. The head of Google’s new think tank, Jared Cohen, believes there might be some common reasons why young people are drawn to violent extremist groups, no matter their ideological or philosophical bent. So this summer, Cohen is spearheading a conference, in Dublin, Ireland, to explore what it is that draws young people to these groups and what can be done to redirect them.
Technology, of course, is playing a role both in recruiting members to extremist groups, as well as fueling pro-democracy and other movements — and that’s where Google’s interest lies. “Technology is a part of every challenge in the world, and a part of every solution,” Cohen tells Fast Company. “To the extent that we can bring that technology expertise, and mesh it with the Council on Foreign Relations’ academic expertise — and mesh all of that with the expertise of those who have had these experiences — that’s a valuable network to explore these questions.”