SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 — Nishant Vishwamitra, an assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security has been awarded a two-year, $175,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative to combat cybersecurity threats such as cyberbullying, cyber harassment and online offensiveness by creating more effective content moderation systems for social media platforms.
Vishwamitra and his collaborators will develop machine learning techniques that can be trained using only a few samples of hate speech, called few-shot learning. The researchers hope that large social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube will utilize their new tools to update the platforms’ hate speech moderation systems and address hateful content in a timelier manner. Vishwamitra’s goal is to reduce the psychological and social trauma that certain minorities and underrepresented groups face on online platforms.
“We believe that our methods pave the way forward to make online spaces safer from the negative effects of hate speech that are engendered by rapidly evolving events,” stated Vishwamitra, a faculty member in the Carlos Alvarez College of Business.
Drawing inspiration from real-world societal issues, Vishwamitra’s research delves into the relationship between social cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI). His research focuses on how AI can address cybersecurity issues like hate speech and misinformation and how technology can exacerbate certain cybersecurity and social-cybersecurity issues.
Hate speech such as racism and antisemitism have commonalities, but the pandemonium escalated as the COVID-19 pandemic brought forth new waves of online hate in the forms of anti-Asian ideologies and ageism.
Vishwamitra joined the UTSA faculty in 2022 and teaches network security. He shares his knowledge of AI and social cybersecurity with underrepresented minorities and high school students through carefully developed, hands-on labs. He has developed six hands-on labs that are currently being implemented in other universities and high schools nationwide.
“We are also working on developing experiential learning educational materials, based on our work, that will train high school and college students to defend against new waves of hate,” he explained.
Additionally, Vishwamitra is working on projects that address the large-scale hate speech and mis/dis-information caused by large language models such as ChatGPT, educate students in the social harms of generative AI and explore how systematic biases affect the veracity of crowdsourcing.
“This grant will help me recruit Ph.D. students to conduct experiments, pay study participants, and attend conferences and workshops to disseminate the findings that come from this research,” he said.
Building on an undergraduate background in electrical engineering from India, Vishwamitra completed graduate studies at Clemson University and obtained his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from SUNY Buffalo State University.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Don’t mind the writing but hate formatting citations and bibliographies? Working on your thesis or dissertation, or even a long paper this semester? Citation managers such as Zotero® can help you store and organize the citations you find during your research. Take part in this session about using Zotero®.
Virtual EventDid you know the library offers much more than books and study spaces? Our librarians can also support your research and publishing and strengthen your instruction. Join us for a one-hour workshop about all that UTSA Libraries offers.
Virtual EventNeed a Job/Internship? Connect with over 80+ employers in the Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics industry looking to fill their opportunities. This event is the perfect chance to start building your career path.
Galleria & Bexar Rooms, H-E-B Ballrooms, Main CampusAre you interested in learning more about incorporating digital methods into your research? This workshop will introduce you to approaches and tools that can help support your research. Through hands-on activities, you will learn about text analysis and digital mapping and how these methods can enrich your projects.
Group Spot B, 2.01.22, John Peace LibraryLearn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventAproduction of the Gudalupe Cultural Arts Center, Rio Bravo showcases the vibrant music and dance traditions of the Texas-Mexico border region. Featuring the Guadalupe Dance Company and Mariachi Azteca de América, the performances will be filmed live both nights, courtesy of UTSA's College of Liberal and Fine Arts.
UTSA Downtown CampusCheer on our Roadrunners as they face Houston Christian University. Featuring a special halftime show with Ballet Folklórico Sol de San Antonio and Mariachi Los Paisanos performing with the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
